Women in Finance: 20 Female CFOs to Watch

Big data and artificial intelligence are transforming entire industries, with plenty more changes in store. The Office of Finance is well-equipped to lead businesses through their digital transformation. Finance experts are already experienced with processing data, predicting the future, and analyzing risks. Add a dash of technological savvy and exceptional leadership skills, and you have a CFO ready to play an active role in the organization’s future.

The women leaders in this article are stellar role models for modern CFOs. Collectively, they have helped produce billions of dollars in revenue growth for Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 organizations.

Here are just a few of the female CFOs we found, who are transforming the finance game.

	Karen Boone, Co-President, Chief Financial & Administrative Officer, Restoration Hardware After 15 years as a partner at Deloitte & Touche LLP, Karen joined Restoration Hardware as their CFO. In just four years, she moved up to Co-President, leading all financial and administrative functions. Follow Karen: LinkedIn
	Cheryl Dalrymple, CFO, Confluent Cheryl has carved out a niche for herself in the finance world: She has served as CFO for a string of tech successful startups, from Oblix in the 90s to Digital Chocolate, Polyvore and Confluent in the 2000s. Read This: Startup CFO’s Mantra: People First, Finance Second Follow Cheryl: LinkedIn
	Sarah Friar, CFO, Square Sarah was born into a farming family in Northern Ireland and became the first in her family to attend college. Now she is the second-in-command for a $19 billion dollar corporation, as well as a board member for Wal-Mart, Slack, and New Relic. Read This: Meet Sarah Friar, Square CFO and Jack Dorsey’s Right-Hand Woman Follow Sarah: Twitter | Linkedin
	Amy Hood, Executive Vice President & CFO, Microsoft Amy earned an MBA from Harvard Business School while working as an associate at Goldman Sachs. She started at Microsoft in 2002 as the Director of Investor Relations. In 2012 she was promoted to CFO and EVP, leading the finance department for a Fortune 50 organization. Watch This: Modern Finance with Amy Hood & Christian Rast Follow Amy: LinkedIn
	Kim Jabal, CFO, Weebly During Kim’s eight-year tenure at Google, the company’s revenue increased from $1b to $36b. In addition to leading finance at Weebly, Kim serves on the board at FedEx and the non-profit mental health organization Bring Change 2 Mind. Read This: Women in Business Q&A: Kim Jabal, CFO, Weebly Follow Kim: LinkedIn
	Christine Komola, Executive Vice President & CFO, Staples, Inc. In her 21-year career at Staples, Christine has helped shepherd the organization through substantial changes. Staples went from public to private, and shifted focus from B2C to a B2B delivery model under her tenure. Read this: Christine Komola: Making It Look Easy at Staples Follow Christine: LinkedIn
	Kelly Kramer, Executive Vice President & CFO, Cisco In the three years Kelly has served as CFO at Cisco, the company has seen tremendous growth, with stocks, revenue and cash flow all reaching record highs. Read This: Cisco CFO Kramer: Working Our Way through this Giant Cash Pile Follow Kelly: LinkedIn
	Jenny Kray, CFO, Calabrio, Inc. Jenny has 15 years of experience in global financial operations, specializing in strategic growth for technology companies. She has a proven track record of helping tech companies expand and scale up their services. Read This: Meet a Minnesota Tech CFO: Jenny Kray, Calabrio Follow Jenny: LinkedIn
	Colette Kress, EVP/CFO, NVIDIA In her five years at NVIDIA, Colette has helped the company expand from their core business of gaming PCs to making chips for education, healthcare, finance, and AI deep learning applications. The company has grown from $9.3b to $47b during her tenure as CFO. Read This: Women in Tech: Colette Kress Follow Colette: LinkedIn
	Sue Lattmann, CFO, Bed Bath & Beyond Sue started her career at Bed Bath & Beyond as a manager in 1996. She steadily moved up through the organization and was named CFO in 2014. Sue is currently helping guide the organization through the unique challenges of brick-and-mortar business in the late 2000s. Follow Sue: LinkedIn
	Kathryn Mikells, CFO, Diageo Kathryn has an impressive track record of success as a CFO. She served as CFO for United Airlines, Nalco, ADT, and Xerox before joining Diageo in 2015. Follow Kathryn: LinkedIn
	Jamie Miller, SVP & CFO, GE Jamie has served at GE for the past 10 years, supervising multi-billion-dollar divisions within the business before being promoted to CFO. She also serves on the board of Girls Who Code, an organization dedicated to encourage women in STEM fields. Read This: Find a Tough Mentor, You’ll Thank Them One Day Follow Jamie: Twitter | LinkedIn
	Elaine Paul, CFO, Hulu Elaine joined Hulu after nearly 20 years at the Walt Disney Company. Under her tenure, Hulu has evolved from a syndicated streaming service to a respected content creator, presenting original content like Stephen King’s 11.22.63 and the Handmaid’s Tale. Read This: Hulu’s Elaine Paul on Advanced TV, the Changing Media Ecosystem and More Follow Elaine: Twitter | LinkedIn
	Kathleen Philips, CFO, Zillow Kathleen has overseen truly impressive strategic growth during her 8 years as CFO at Zillow. The company had 14 major acquisitions during her tenure, and she helped guide the company through its IPO in 2011 as the company’s general counsel. Follow Kathleen: Twitter | LinkedIn
	Ana Sirbu, CFO, BlueVine In just two years at BlueVine, Ana has helped the company secure over $200 million in debt financing and equity. This year, she was included on the Silicon Valley Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 List of Honorees. Follow Ana: LinkedIn
	Meena Srinivasan, CFO, Essential Meena has nearly 30 years of experience as a finance professional, starting as an audit manager for Price Waterhouse Coopers in 1989. She is currently working with alumni from Google, Apple and Samsung at the Essential company. Follow Meena: LinkedIn
	Dhivya Suryadevara, CFO, General Motors Dhivya is General Motors’ first female CFO in the company’s 110-year history. She was featured on Fortune magazine’s 40 under 40 list in 2013, when she was managing $85 billion in pensions as the CEO and Chief Investment Officer of GM Asset Management. Read This: GM’s New 39-Year-Old CFO Dhivya Suryadevara Is Making History Follow Dhivya: LinkedIn
	Tracey Travis, EVP & CFO, The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. Tracey began her career as an engineer at General Motors, shifting to finance and management roles as she progressed. She worked for Pepsico and Ralph Lauren before joining Estee Lauder in 2012. Tracey also serves as a mentor within the organization, helping nurture the next generation of talent. Read This: Notes from Tracey Travis Follow Tracey: LinkedIn
	Kathy Waller, Executive Vice President & CFO, Coca-Cola Kathy joined Coca-Cola in 1987 as a Senior Accountant. Today, she leads the company’s global finance organization. In addition to her work at Coca-Cola, she serves on the board for Monster Energy Company, Delta Airlines, Inc., and Spelman College. Read This: Coca-Cola CFO Kathy Waller Talks about the Future of women in Business Follow Kathy: LinkedIn
	Robin Washington, CFO, Gilead Sciences, Inc. Robin has served for ten years in her current role at Gilead Sciences. She also serves on the Board of Directors at Honeywell, and was named Woman of the Year in 2017 by the Financial Women of San Francisco. Watch This: Culture Shift Pictures & Stories: Robin Washington Follow Robin: LinkedIn

The rise of AI and big data in business has led to an expansion of the CFO role. The women on our list — and many more like them — have proven just how effective a modern CFO can be, leading their companies to success and paving the way for the next generation of women currently rising through the ranks.

Get ready for the next evolution of finance: Follow these AI and Finance experts or explore our Artificial Intelligence in Finance resource.