From CFO to CEO

From CFO to CEO

When economic headwinds strengthen and market uncertainty intensifies, boards increasingly turn to their CFOs for leadership. This pattern is not coincidental. During economic downturns and periods of market turbulence, CFO-to-CEO transitions spike dramatically – and for good reasons. The combination of financial expertise, risk awareness and comprehensive business understanding that CFOs bring suddenly moves to the top of the CEO candidate lists.

When markets get rocky, CFO-to-CEO transitions spike dramatically.

Just look at large Austrian organizations. In the past two years alone, we've seen e.g. Walter Oblin step up at Österreichische Post, Stephan Büttner move into the top spot at Agrana, Klaus Mader at SBO, or Robert Ottel take the helm at Rosenbauer. That's not random – that's boards making deliberate choices in uncertain times.

What I find really interesting is - while this trend makes perfect sense, the actual transition from CFO to CEO remains one of the toughest executive moves to pull off successfully. Being a great CFO does not automatically make you a great CEO. Many brilliant CFOs struggle with it, not because they lack intelligence or capability, but because the shift requires something more fundamental – a complete rewiring of how you think about leadership.

While this trend makes perfect sense, the actual transition from CFO to CEO remains one of the toughest executive moves to pull off successfully.

I strongly believe that understanding both the opportunities and challenges is essential for aspiring leaders and the boards that select them.

The CFO Advantage: A Double-Edged Sword

CFOs enter the CEO race with considerable strengths. They sit next to the CEO. They see the whole business. They understand the value creation story. They've got the analytical mind and the financial discipline. During tough times, these strengths become even more valuable when boards prioritize financial stability.

Being a great CFO does not automatically make you a great CEO. The very things that make someone an exceptional CFO can even become their biggest obstacles as CEO.

However - the very things that make someone an exceptional CFO can become their biggest obstacles as CEO.

Think about it – as CFO, you're rewarded for being conservative, for finding problems before they explode, for saying "no" when everyone else is caught up in enthusiasm. You're the voice of reason, the adult in the room.

But CEOs? They need to sell dreams. They need to get people excited about possibilities, not probabilities. They need to make big bets with incomplete information and be comfortable doing it. That's not a minor adjustment - it's a complete identity shift.

Where the CFO must be the organization's brain, the CEO must become the organization’s heart.

Where the CFO must be the organization's brain, the CEO must become the organization’s heart.

The Fundamental Mindset Shift

The transition from CFO to CEO is not simply a promotion – it’s a transformation and requires nothing short of a paradigm shift.

This might be the hardest shift of all. CFOs are trained to manage the bottom line, and to spot risk and eliminate it. CEOs must drive the top line, need to spot opportunity and grab it, even when it comes with risk attached.

While the CFO asks, "Can we afford this?", the CEO asks, "Can we afford not to do this?".

While the CFO asks, "Can we afford this?", the CEO asks, "Can we afford not to do this?".

The CFO needs to focus on what could go wrong – but when they turn CEO, they need to focus on what could go right. I'm not talking about being reckless – I'm talking about developing a fundamentally different relationship with uncertainty.

This shift from cost orientation to growth orientation proves challenging for many newly appointed CFO-turned-CEOs. The comfort zone of spreadsheets and financial analysis must give way to a broader, more holistic view that encompasses market dynamics, competitive positioning, and customer needs. It's not that financial discipline becomes unimportant. Of course it doesn't. But you can't lead from that mindset anymore. What worked as CFO - being the voice of financial reason - won't suffice as CEO.

What Matters for Success

Get commercial

The most significant gap for CFO-turned-CEOs is typically commercial expertise. Understanding financial statements is one thing; understanding what drives customers to choose your product over competitors' is quite another.

Aspiring CFO-CEOs must immerse themselves in the commercial side of the business long before taking the helm.

Aspiring CFO-CEOs must immerse themselves in the commercial side of the business long before taking the helm. CFOs who successfully make this transition start thinking commercially long before they get the top job. They spend time with customers, get their hands dirty in product development, understand what drives revenue beyond just the numbers on a spreadsheet.

If you're a CFO thinking about the CEO role, ask yourself: When was the last time you talked to a customer? When did you last get genuinely excited about a growth opportunity rather than immediately calculating its risks? And if possible take on P&L responsibility to include commercial functions already during your CFO tenure.

… and develop operational depth

Being a CFO today looks nothing like it did even a decade ago. You're no longer just the person who keeps the books straight and tells everyone why their brilliant ideas are too expensive. Today's CFOs are knee-deep in technology decisions, sustainability strategies, investor relations, and increasingly, they're the ones connecting the dots across the entire organization.

This broader scope should theoretically make the jump to CEO easier, right? Well, yes and no. While modern CFOs certainly see more of the business than their predecessors, there's still a fundamental difference between being the co-pilot and actually flying the plane, and the leap to CEO still requires a fundamental shift in mindset, skillset, and leadership approach that many underestimate.

There's a fundamental difference between being the co-pilot and actually flying the plane.

While CFOs see all parts of the organization through a financial lens, many lack deep operational experience. Understanding how products are made, services delivered, or technology developed becomes crucial when leading the entire enterprise. This gap can be filled through deliberate exposure: plant visits, time in operations, customer service interactions, and genuine curiosity about how things work beyond the financial impact.

Learn to tell stories

CFOs communicate through numbers and analysis; CEOs inspire through vision and narrative. The ability to articulate a compelling future for the organization - one that motivates employees, excites investors, and resonates with customers - is non-negotiable for CEO success.

CFOs communicate through numbers and analysis; CEOs inspire through vision and narrative.

This doesn't mean abandoning analytical rigor. Rather, it means learning to lead with vision and purpose while using data to support and validate the direction. The CFO explains why the numbers don't work; the CEO explains why the strategy will succeed and brings others along on the journey.

Understand that you are now managing human energy

The technical aspects of the CFO role can obscure the deeply human nature of the CEO position. As CFO, you manage processes and numbers; as CEO, you manage energy, motivation, and human complexity.

As CFO, you can still be the smartest person in the room when it comes to finance. As CEO? You better hope you're not the smartest person in any room, because that means you've hired poorly. The shift from being the expert to being the enabler of experts is massive.

As CFO, you can still be the smartest person in the room when it comes to finance. But the shift from being the expert to being the enabler of experts is massive.

This is particularly hard for CFOs because, let's face it, finance people are often perfectionists. Letting go, trusting others to run with things, accepting that some decisions won't be made exactly as you would make them – that's tough. But it's essential. The CFOs who become great CEOs are the ones who genuinely enjoy being visible and accessible in the organization, building strong teams and watching others succeed.

Practical Steps for the Transition

1. Get out of your comfort zone now - build breadth before assuming the role

Seek experiences that broaden your perspective way ahead of the transition.

Seek experiences that broaden your perspective way ahead of the transition.

This might mean taking on a regional leadership role, serving on external boards, leading a business unit, or assuming responsibility for additional functions beyond finance. Each experience outside the finance silo builds the versatility and perspective needed for enterprise leadership.

2. Develop your successor early

Paradoxically, one of the best ways to prepare for the CEO role is to work yourself out of the CFO job. By developing a strong successor and empowering your finance team, you create space to expand your scope beyond finance. This demonstrates to the board that you can build talent and delegate effectively - critical CEO capabilities.

Moreover, having a trusted finance leader in place frees you up to expand beyond finance while you are still CFO, without constantly worrying about the financial function. You cannot credibly step into the CEO role if you are still indispensable as CFO.

3. Switch off "CFO Mode" and stop being the CFO

This sounds obvious, but it’s harder than you think. As a matter of fact, perhaps the most difficult challenge is letting go of the CFO identity. The hardest part of transitioning from CFO to CEO isn’t learning new skills – it’s unlearning old instincts.

Perhaps the most difficult challenge is letting go of the CFO identity. The hardest part of transitioning from CFO to CEO isn’t learning new skills – it’s unlearning old instincts.

The temptation to remain in the comfort zone of financial oversight is strong, particularly when the newly appointed CFO seeks your input. Resist this temptation. Your value as CEO isn’t in the finance function anymore. You need to trust someone else with what you used to own.

This means never positioning yourself in meetings as the former CFO. Never defaulting to financial critiques when strategic discussion is needed. Make a clear break - you must truly turn the key and embrace your new role completely.

Make a clear break - you must truly turn the key and embrace your new role completely.

4. Cultivate executive presence and stakeholder relationships

The CFO can afford to be detail-oriented, analytical, even a bit introverted at times. The CEO must project confidence, optimism, and strategic clarity.

If you are not a born outgoing and extrovert communicator, work on your executive presence - how you communicate, how you handle questions, how you present ideas, how you project calm during a crisis. Invest in relationships with board members, major customers, key investors, and industry leaders. These relationships become crucial when you step into the CEO role.

5. Learn to make decisions differently

As CFO, you typically have time to gather comprehensive data before making recommendations. As CEO, you must often make consequential decisions with incomplete information, under time pressure, and with full accountability for outcomes.

As CEO, you must often make consequential decisions with incomplete information, under time pressure, and with full accountability for outcomes.

Practice making decisions based on strategic judgment rather than perfect data. Develop comfort with ambiguity and learn to trust your business instincts.

6. Find your mentors

Identify mentors who have successfully navigated similar transitions.

Identify mentors who have successfully navigated similar transitions.

Their guidance can help you avoid common pitfalls, accelerate capability development, and provide crucial support during the transition period.

You need two types of mentors: CFOs who've successfully made the transition, and CEOs who've never been CFOs. The first group will help you navigate the specific challenges of your transition. The second will help you see blind spots you don't even know you have.

Guidance for Boards and the Current CEO

Recognizing CEO Potential

If you are on a board considering CFO candidates for CEO succession, look beyond the obvious. The best CFO could – but may not always – be the best CEO candidate. Consider whether the CFO has demonstrated growth orientation, not just financial stewardship. Have they shown genuine curiosity about parts of the business beyond finance? Do they light up when talking about customers and products, or only when discussing margins? Can they inspire, not just analyze?

Success requires careful assessment of not just current capabilities but learning agility, growth orientation, and the courage to transcend a successful functional identity to embrace enterprise leadership.

Enabling Development

If you are serious about developing your CFO for the CEO role, give them real experiences outside of finance – and please don’t wait until the last minute to start their development. The development path is critical. Don't wait until succession is imminent to broaden the CFO's experience. Create opportunities for commercial exposure, strategic leadership, and external visibility well in advance.

And be honest about what you're seeing. The kind feedback that avoids hard truths doesn't help anyone. If your CFO is too risk-averse, tell them. If they lack commercial instincts, tell them. If they can't inspire people, tell them. They need time to develop—or you need time to realize they might not be the right choice.

Managing the Succession Process and the Transition

Successful transitions require careful orchestration. This includes ensuring the incoming CEO can fully step away from financial responsibilities, has strong support from the board and executive team, and receives a clear mandate for the new role.

The appointment of a strong CFO successor is equally critical, allowing the new CEO to focus fully on enterprise leadership without being drawn back into financial management.

The Role of the Current CEO as a Mentor

Current CEOs can serve as invaluable mentors to aspiring CFO-CEOs. Share the unvarnished realities of the role. Delegate meaningful responsibilities that stretch the CFO beyond their comfort zone. Provide candid feedback on their readiness and areas for development. The most successful transitions often involve years of intentional preparation with active CEO mentorship.

A Word on Readiness for CFO-to-CEO candidates

Many CFOs believe they're ready for the CEO role because they understand the business comprehensively. This understanding is necessary but insufficient. For those of you contemplating this transition - remember your financial expertise is your foundation, not your ceiling. Build on it, but don’t be constrained by it.

Remember your financial expertise is your foundation, not your ceiling. Build on it, but don’t be constrained by it.

This requires honest self-assessment.

• Are you energized by growth opportunities or focused on risk mitigation?

• Do you naturally think about market positioning or financial positioning?

• Are you truly ready to shift from managing the bottom-line to driving the top line?

• Are you comfortable being the ultimate decision-maker, or do you prefer the "co-pilot" role?

• Can you let go of being the smartest person in the room about finance to become the most visionary person about the future?

• Are you truly ready to shift from being the organization’s brain to being its heart?

If you can – and many can – the transition from CFO to CEO transition is achievable and incredibly rewarding. You get to shape the organization’s future in ways you never could from the finance seat.

However, it's not automatic or guaranteed. In some aspects you will need to be willing to move beyond your comfort zone, curious enough to explore unfamiliar territory, brave enough to become a beginner again, and humble enough to recognize that what got you to be a brilliant CFO will not automatically carry you to CEO success. 

You will need to be willing to move beyond your comfort zone, curious enough to explore unfamiliar territory, brave enough to become a beginner again, and humble enough to recognize that what got you to be a brilliant CFO will not automatically carry you to CEO success.

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 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

• Marion Heil is the founder and managing director of Board+CEO Advisors. She is based in Vienna.

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As executive search consultants, we work with boards and sitting CEOs as well as CFOs to assess CEO readiness and design development plans that address specific capability gaps. The transition from CFO to CEO is not just about technical qualifications - it's about leadership evolution, and that evolution benefits from deliberate planning, honest assessment, and sometimes outside perspective.