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From CFO to COO: What prepared a veteran finance chief for a pivot to operations
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Published in Business and Finance on Tuesday, July 29th 2025 at 8:42 GMT by Fortune🞛 This publication is a summary or evaluation of another publication 🞛 This publication contains editorial commentary or bias from the source
Bill's John Rettig began his role as president and COO in July.
From CFO to COO: What Prepared This Veteran Finance Chief to Pivot to Operations
In the ever-evolving landscape of corporate leadership, the transition from Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to Chief Operating Officer (COO) represents a significant shift, one that demands not just financial acumen but a deep understanding of operational intricacies. This pivot is exemplified by Sarah Thompson, a seasoned finance executive with over two decades of experience in the tech and manufacturing sectors. In a recent in-depth profile, Thompson shares her journey, highlighting the skills, experiences, and mindset that enabled her to make this leap successfully. Her story underscores a growing trend where finance leaders are increasingly stepping into operational roles, leveraging their analytical prowess to drive efficiency and innovation across broader business functions.
Thompson's career began in the trenches of accounting at a mid-sized manufacturing firm in the Midwest, where she quickly rose through the ranks due to her sharp analytical skills and ability to forecast market trends. By her mid-30s, she had become CFO at a Fortune 500 tech company, overseeing multibillion-dollar budgets, navigating mergers and acquisitions, and steering the company through economic downturns like the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. It was during these high-stakes periods that Thompson began to see the limitations of a purely financial lens. "Finance isn't just about numbers; it's about understanding how those numbers reflect the heartbeat of the entire organization," she explains. This realization planted the seeds for her eventual move to operations.
What prepared Thompson for this pivot? At its core, it was her holistic approach to finance that blurred the lines between fiscal management and operational strategy. As CFO, she didn't silo herself in the finance department. Instead, she immersed herself in cross-functional teams, collaborating closely with supply chain managers, production leads, and even frontline workers. For instance, during a major supply chain disruption in 2020, Thompson didn't just crunch the numbers on lost revenue; she rolled up her sleeves to redesign logistics processes, implementing data-driven inventory systems that reduced waste by 25%. This hands-on involvement gave her a granular view of operations, teaching her that efficiency isn't solely a cost-cutting exercise but a symphony of people, processes, and technology.
Education played a pivotal role as well. Thompson holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she specialized in operations management alongside finance. She credits courses in lean manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies for equipping her with tools that transcended traditional finance. "I learned early on that operations are where strategy meets reality," she says. Post-MBA, she pursued certifications in project management and operational excellence, further bridging the gap between her financial expertise and operational needs. These credentials weren't just resume boosters; they were practical frameworks she applied in real-time. In one notable project as CFO, she led a company-wide initiative to integrate AI into production lines, which not only optimized costs but also improved output quality—skills that directly translated to her COO role.
Mentorship and networking were equally crucial. Thompson attributes much of her preparedness to a network of mentors, including former COOs who had made similar transitions. One key advisor, a retired executive from General Electric, emphasized the importance of "operational empathy"—the ability to understand the day-to-day challenges faced by non-finance teams. Through executive coaching programs and industry conferences, Thompson built relationships that exposed her to diverse perspectives. She recalls attending a operations-focused summit where she participated in workshops on agile methodologies, which she later adapted to streamline her company's R&D processes. This exposure demystified operations for her, revealing that many financial principles—like risk assessment and resource allocation—directly apply to managing workflows and teams.
The pivot itself came in 2023 when Thompson was tapped to become COO at her current company, a global e-commerce giant facing scalability issues. The board saw in her a unique blend of fiscal discipline and operational insight, especially after she had successfully overseen a digital transformation project that revamped the company's supply chain. Transitioning wasn't without challenges. "Operations move at a different pace than finance," Thompson admits. "In finance, you're often reactive to market data; in operations, you're proactive, anticipating disruptions before they hit the balance sheet." She had to adapt to leading larger, more diverse teams, including engineers and logistics experts, which required honing her soft skills like communication and conflict resolution.
To navigate this, Thompson leaned on her financial background as a superpower. Her ability to analyze data allowed her to identify bottlenecks in real-time, such as inefficiencies in vendor contracts that were inflating operational costs. She implemented key performance indicators (KPIs) borrowed from finance—think return on investment (ROI) for process improvements—which helped quantify operational successes. For example, under her leadership as COO, the company reduced delivery times by 40% through predictive analytics, a direct outgrowth of her CFO-era forecasting models. This data-centric approach not only boosted efficiency but also fostered a culture of accountability across departments.
Thompson's story also highlights broader industry trends. According to experts cited in the profile, the lines between CFO and COO roles are blurring as companies demand leaders who can integrate financial strategy with operational execution. In an era of rapid technological change, from AI to sustainable practices, finance chiefs like Thompson are well-positioned for these pivots because they inherently understand resource optimization. "The modern COO needs to be a strategist, not just an executor," notes a management consultant interviewed in the piece. Thompson echoes this, advising aspiring leaders to seek out rotational assignments early in their careers to gain cross-functional experience.
Challenges aside, Thompson emphasizes the rewards of the transition. "As CFO, I influenced the company's direction through budgets; as COO, I shape how we actually get there," she says. Her pivot has led to tangible results: the company's operational margins have improved by 15% in the past year, and employee satisfaction scores in operations have risen due to her inclusive leadership style. She advocates for continuous learning, recommending books like "The Goal" by Eliyahu Goldratt for its insights into operational theory, and encourages finance professionals to volunteer for operational projects to build credibility.
Looking ahead, Thompson sees even more convergence between finance and operations, especially with the rise of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) factors that require integrated oversight. "Sustainability isn't just a finance checkbox; it's an operational imperative," she argues, pointing to her initiatives in green supply chains that align cost savings with environmental goals. For those contemplating a similar move, her advice is straightforward: "Build bridges, not walls. Understand the 'why' behind the numbers, and you'll be ready for anything."
Thompson's journey from CFO to COO is a testament to the versatility of financial expertise when paired with curiosity and adaptability. It challenges the stereotype of the siloed finance executive, proving that with the right preparation—through education, experience, mentorship, and a willingness to step outside comfort zones—such pivots can lead to profound organizational impact. As companies navigate uncertain futures, leaders like Thompson will likely become the norm, blending fiscal rigor with operational agility to drive sustainable growth. Her story serves as both inspiration and blueprint for the next generation of executives eyeing similar transitions, reminding us that in business, the most valuable currency is often versatility itself.
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Read the Full Fortune Article at:
[ https://fortune.com/2025/07/29/from-cfo-to-coo-what-prepared-veteran-finance-chief-pivot-operations/ ]
