Good morning. There’s a unbroken development of finance chiefs changing into chief working officers (COOs), taking over twin COO roles, and even combining the CFO and COO positions. This shift is basically pushed by the ever-expanding remit of the finance chief and the growing wants of firms.
Over a 25-year profession in strategic finance management, John Rettig has witnessed the CFO position remodel in profound methods. Now serving as president and COO of the finance software program firm Invoice, Rettig’s journey displays the sweeping adjustments which have redefined what it means to be a finance chief.
Rettig, who joined Invoice as CFO in 2014, started his COO position earlier this month to additional speed up firm development. He was succeeded as CFO by Rohini Jain, who joined Invoice from PayPal, the place she most not too long ago served as CFO and SVP of Giant Enterprise and Service provider Platforms.
I sat down with Rettig to get his perspective on his transfer from finance chief to COO.
“The impression and affect of the CFO have broadened dramatically in comparison with 25 years in the past,” Rettig defined. Over the past decade, what he describes because the period of “CFO 2.0,” the job has shifted from merely reporting numbers to performing as a strategic advisor and true enterprise companion to the CEO. “I’ve lived this transition myself, and my friends throughout tech and development firms have seen the identical factor,” he stated. With the prevalence of AI, he believes we are actually getting into a brand new period—“CFO 3.0.” Finance chiefs will need to have a complete understanding of expertise deployed by the corporate, he stated.
Rettig emphasised that the self-discipline and understanding required to speak exactly—particularly within the high-stakes context of a public firm—are beneficial belongings when transitioning to a COO position.
“You actually need to have visibility on execution, perceive outcomes, know the place to dig deep, and achieve a bottom-up understanding of how issues work,” he stated. This course of can lead naturally to operational management obligations, together with partnering with leaders throughout the enterprise within the age of AI, he famous.
No ‘established order’
AI is shifting at “exponential pace,” even in comparison with only a 12 months in the past, Rettig stated. “I feel the thrilling half about that’s there’s now not a established order. AI is coming for every little thing.” This brings each great alternatives and disruptive threats, he added.
For Rettig, success now requires an perspective of fixed reinvention—leaning into rising expertise, experimenting boldly, and by no means being afraid to overtake what you are promoting mannequin earlier than another person does. “That is actually highly effective for the position of the CFO or COO, and all the government workforce,” he stated.
Concerning Invoice’s AI technique, Rettig highlights two key areas: customer-facing merchandise that automate advanced monetary processes and transformative inner enhancements. “It’s not nearly making work extra environment friendly,” he defined, “it’s about utilizing expertise to get rid of work totally.”
As president and COO, Rettig continues to concentrate on each short-term execution and long-term imaginative and prescient. Throughout his tenure at Invoice, which serves small and mid-sized companies, the corporate has grown from 140 to 2,500 workers. His high priorities now embody accelerating time-to-market, getting ready the group for future scale via investments in automation and operational effectivity, and ensuring each useful resource is directed to its highest-value use.
A giant a part of his position may also be fostering firm tradition. “I’ve been with Invoice for over 11 years now, which is a very very long time in a Silicon Valley tech firm,” Rettig stated. An important cause he got here to Invoice was the folks. “And I’m nonetheless right here for that very same cause,” he stated.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
Leaderboard
Justin Plouffe was promoted to CFO of world funding agency Carlyle (Nasdaq: CG), efficient Jan. 1, 2026. Plouffe most not too long ago served as deputy chief funding officer for Carlyle International Credit score. He has been with Carlyle for greater than 18 years. Justin will succeed John Redett, who will proceed serving as CFO via the tip of the 12 months.
Kristen Actis-Grande, EVP and CFO of MSC Industrial Provide Co. (NYSE: MSM), has determined to step down from her place, efficient Aug. 8, to change into CFO of a publicly traded firm. Greg Clark, MSC’s VP of finance and company controller, will assume the place of interim CFO following Actis-Grande’s departure. Clark has held varied finance positions with the Firm since 2003. MSC will likely be conducting a search to determine a everlasting CFO.
Huge Deal
Within the first half of 2025, the worldwide IPO market noticed 539 listings, elevating $61.4 billion in capital—a 17% year-over-year enhance in proceeds, in keeping with EY’s international IPO report. The agency famous that sustained IPO exercise, regardless of vital coverage uncertainty and market volatility, underscores the resilience and flexibility of well-prepared firms navigating at the moment’s evolving capital markets. The U.S. led the way in which with 109 IPOs, marking its strongest first-half efficiency because the 2021 peak.
The worldwide IPO market demonstrated resilience in the course of the first half of 2025, and the outlook for the second half stays cautiously optimistic regardless of ongoing challenges, in keeping with EY.
Going deeper
“We discover the commonest work actions for which individuals search AI help contain gathering data and writing, whereas the commonest actions AI itself performs are offering data and help, writing, instructing, and advising,” in keeping with the report.
The examine highlights that AI is reworking jobs centered on data, language, and buyer interplay, however has minimal impression on roles rooted in bodily work or direct human care and repair.
The highest three jobs most impacted by AI are interpreters and translators, customer support representatives, and gross sales representatives. In line with the report, the highest three jobs AI can not change are nursing assistants, therapeutic massage therapists, and gear operators.
Overheard
“At varied factors in my life, I’ve labored with individuals who I felt had been higher than me. You need that feeling a couple of instances, making an attempt to get your self ready the place you’re working with individuals who you’re feeling are type of like stretching your talents, is what helps you develop.”
—Google CEO Sundar Pichai not too long ago instructed Lex Fridman’s podcast. This strategy has guided Sundar Pichai’s rise at Google, the place he started as a product supervisor in 2004, Fortune reported. Inside 10 years of working with cofounders Larry Web page and Sergey Brin, he was appointed CEO in 2015.
