CFOs are becoming CEOs
CFOs who become CEOs don’t think like a CFO. They realize what got you here won’t get you there.
Forget everything you’ve read about job-hopping.
All that move-to-get-promoted advice is BS.
The real power play is the 20-year mission. The long, patient, methodical takeover of an entire enterprise.
And Michael Fiddelke at Target is proof. My recent post about him becoming CEO went viral and it signaled a lot of CFOs and senior finance leaders are interested in becoming CEOs, but most are scratching their heads at the idea of if it’s possible.
Consider today’s letter not just an inspirational story but a playbook for your career.
Fiddelke started in 2003 as a finance intern. For 20 years, he never left the building. He just kept conquering new territory.
Finance? Mastered it.
Strategy? Mastered it.
Operations? Mastered it.
Merchandising? Mastered it.
He didn’t climb a ladder; he built an unassailable fortress of competence across the business.
In 2019, he took the CFO job.
In 2025, he takes the CEO job.
This 20-year path from a spreadsheet to the corner office is the new blueprint.
Fiddelke’s story proves two things.
The finance function is, without question, the single most effective training ground for enterprise-wide leadership.
Long-term loyalty is not a weakness. It is a weapon. Deep institutional knowledge is how you win the game.
This isn’t just a win for finance. This is a takeover.
The bean counter stereotype is buried.
The new model is the strategic co-pilot, steeped in data, technology, and corporate war. The CFO is now, for many boards, the CEO’s natural and only successor.
This is the No BS playbook for going from Chief Financial Officer to Chief Everything Officer.
You must know the why behind this power shift, understand the hard data that proves it, and get exposed to the critical performance paradox that can damage your career if you ignore it.
So enjoy your coffee and let’s dive in.
The Remaking Of The CFO Role
To understand why you’re next in line, you have to understand that your job description was fundamentally rewritten while you weren’t looking.
The role has exploded.
It’s no longer a support function. It’s a core driver of enterprise value.
The Old CFO Model
The traditional CFO was defined by 2 boring, inwardly focused jobs.
The Steward: Protect the assets. Minimize risk. Get the books right.
The Operator: Run a tight ship. Make FP&A, treasury, and tax work on time.
In this old model, you were Dr. No.
You were the executive who poured cold water on unrealistic plans.
Your primary job was to be the financial brake pedal for the entire company.
That model is now table stakes. If that’s all you do, you’re a dinosaur waiting for the meteor.
The New CFO Model
CEOs and boards still expect you to be a flawless steward. But that’s just the price of admission.
The new mandate demands you be 2 other things:
The Strategist: You’re not just supporting the strategy; you are shaping it. You are aligning financial power with business goals. You are the partner in growth.
The Catalyst: You are the chief change agent. You are expected to instill a financial mindset throughout the entire organization to make other departments perform better.
This is the shift from gatekeeper to strategic growth partner.
You’re no longer the guy who says No.
You’re the guy who asks, ‘Why not’ and ‘How fast can we fund it?’
This transformation is so complete that 67% of CEOs believe their company’s success rests squarely on their CFO’s shoulders.
Every CFO Must Know The 4 Drivers Of The CFO Takeover
This didn’t happen by accident.
It was driven by a confluence of powerful forces that put you at the central hub of data, strategy, and operations.
1. The AI & data revolution
You own the truth. You are now the AI-driven technologist and data-centric storyteller. As digital transformation refactors the business, finance is ground zero. Your job has moved from historical reporting (what happened) to predictive forecasting (what will happen) by harnessing AI and ML.
But AI oversight is the real power.
As AI systems generate more of the company’s financial insights, you’re not just a decision-maker. You are the decision auditor.
You are the only executive responsible for ensuring the governance frameworks are in place to validate AI outputs, check for bias, and maintain accountability.
You are the one who tells the CEO if the magic AI box is lying.
That is terrifying but powerful.
2. M&A and Capital
You’ve always been involved in M&A. But you’ve gone from due diligence support to strategic architect.
More importantly, you own the single most powerful lever in any company:
Capital allocation. And capital allocation is a strategy. Period.
You are the one making the brutal calls on where to boldly explore new revenue streams and which projects to starve of oxygen. You decide who lives and who dies. You balance the long-term R&D bets against the market’s psychotic demand for short-term gains.
3. You already run the company
Your span of control has physically widened. You’ve been absorbing the responsibilities of other C-suite leaders. Modern CFOs now frequently oversee not just finance, but also IT, Human Resources, and procurement.
The average number of discrete roles reporting to the CFO has grown from four to six in just the last two years. Think about what this means.
The CEO’s role is increasingly external-facing.
Managing investors, regulators, and the public story.
You, the modern CFO, have become the internal-facing de facto Chief Operating Officer and Chief Strategy Officer, all in one. You manage the core enterprise (IT, HR) and architect its financial future (M&A, capital).
The final leap to CEO is no longer a leap. It’s a small, logical step.
4. Crisis loves CFOs
The relentless volatility of the past decade was the final driver.
The 2020 pandemic. Supply chain collapse. Raging inflation. Geopolitical chaos. New ESG rules. During every single one of these company-ending crises, who did the board, investors, and the CEO turn to first?
Not marketing. Not sales. They called you.
Your obsessive focus on liquidity, risk, and contingency planning was the only thing that mattered. This has built an immense well of trust.
In an uncertain world, boards are prioritizing resilience and fiscal discipline over the growth-at-all-costs bullshit of the 2010s.
You, the CFO, have become the safe pair of hands.
The data is stunning: A Russell Reynolds analysis found that boards now view CFO competency as the second-most important factor for investment decisions.
CEO competency? It ranked seventh.
When the board and investors trust your judgment more than the CEO’s, you are the most logical choice to lead.
Becoming CEO: Read this Part Twice
Becoming CEO is the single most critical challenge you will face. The data reveals that the Continuity Track comes with a distinct, predictable, and dangerous performance trade-off.