At CFO (Boardroom Media) we track over 1,000,000 startups and over 5,000,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United States based CFO’ operating in the Advice space. If you think a CFO’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on [email protected].
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.

Michael Chae
CFO of Blackstone Group
Michael S. Chae is a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone and Head of International Private Equity. He has also served as Head of Private Equity for Asia/Pacific since December 2010. Michael Chae also oversees private equity investments in the media and telecom sectors, and helps oversee the investment process for the Tactical Opportunities fund. Since joining Blackstone in 1997, Michael Chae has led or been involved in Blackstone’s investments in Nielsen, Michaels Stores, The Weather Channel Companies, Hilton Hotels, Centennial Communications, Crowley Digital (Salmon PCS), Extended Stay America, iPCS, PaeTec Communications and Universo Online, and in acquisitions by American Axle & Manufacturing, and in the reorganization of Transtar. Before joining Blackstone, Michael Chae worked as an Associate at the Carlyle Group, L.P. and prior to that with Dillon, Read & Co. Michael Chae graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College, and received an M.Phil. in International Relations from Cambridge University and a J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was Managing Editor of the law review. He currently serves on the boards of Hilton Worldwide and Pactera, and previously has served on numerous boards of private and publicly traded portfolio companies. Michael Chae is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Lawrenceville School and Chairman of its Investment Committee, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Asia Society.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.

Michael Petryczenko
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Strategic Partners of Blackstone Group
Michael A. Petryczenko is a Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Strategic Partners, Blackstone’s secondary private fund of funds business, which was acquired from Credit Suisse in August 2013. Michael Petryczenko is involved with overseeing the financial reporting, tax structuring and treasury operations related to Strategic Partners’ secondary private equity funds. Before joining Strategic Partners, Michael Petryczenko was the Tax Manager for the Peabody Fund, an opportunistic real estate fund jointly managed by J.P. Morgan and The O’Connor Group. Prior to joining the Peabody Fund, Michael Petryczenko was a Tax Manager at Ernst and Young, LLP in the Real Estate Group. His clients included DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners and SL Green Realty Corp. Michael Petryczenko received a BS in Accounting from St. Francis College, New York and an MS in Taxation from Pace University, New York. He subsequently earned the C.P.A. designation.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.

Michael D. Newman
Chief Financial Officer of Blackstone Group
Michael D. Newman has been appointed chief financial officer of Blackstone Crystal Holdings Capital Partners (Cayman) IV Ltd., the holding company for Blackstone’s investment in Celanese AG. Michael Newman joins Blackstone Crystal Holdings from RadioShack Corporation where he was senior vice president and chief financial officer. Michael Newman’s career spans over 25 years in various financial roles. Following graduation from Amherst College in Massachusetts with a degree in economics, he joined General Electric Company’s financial management program and moved through a succession of increasingly senior positions in GE’s plastics, silicones and appliance businesses in the United States and Europe. Michael Newman joined Hussman International as vice president and chief financial officer following its spin-off from Whitman as a public company in 1996 and was subsequently involved in the sale of Hussman to Ingersoll Rand. He worked briefly at Intimate Brands as CFO before joining Fort Worth-based RadioShack in 2001. Michael Newman will assume responsibility for financial oversight and direction of related matters concerning Blackstone’s interest in Celanese.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.

Kenneth Kim
Chief Financial Strategist of EQIS
Ken began his career in finance more than 20 years ago as a research assistant at the PACAP Research Center in Rhode Island. He has worked as a senior financial economist at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as a consultant for the CFA Institute, as a special consultant for the Securities Litigation Consulting Group and as an academic consultant for the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. He is also a highly accomplished finance scholar and professor of financial strategy, investments, portfolio theory, derivative securities, business economics, and financial risk management. He has held academic appointments at 16 different universities around the world and has served on the board of directors of multiple academic organizations. One study even ranked him as one of the top 1,000 finance scholars of the past half-century. His research has been widely-published in peer-reviewed journals, and he has been cited or quoted in the likes of the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, BusinessWeek, Barron’s, The New York Times and many more. Ken is also a Forbes contributing columnist. He is a frequent speaker at conferences, corporate trainings and executive development programs. He holds a PhD from the University of Rhode Island, an MBA from the University of Detroit and a BA from the University of Michigan. Ken also maintains his Series 65 securities license.
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About EQIS: EQIS provides a comprehensive asset management platform that delivers sophisticated investment solutions for financial advisers.

Brian Blad
Chief Financial Officer of Warwick Investment Group
Brian Blad is the Chief Accounting Officer of Warwick Energy Group. Before joining Warwick, Blad was the Controller for American Energy Partners. Brian was instrumental in developing and managing the accounting departments for each of AEP’s platform companies. As a Certified Public Accountant, Blad holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a Master of Business Administration degree from Oklahoma State University.
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About Warwick Investment Group: Warwick Investment Group is an investment firm that manages alternative assets. The firm has >$2 billion in managed assets.

Evan Russo
Chief Financial Officer of Lazard
Evan L. Russo, age 42, will become Chief Financial Officer of Lazard Ltd and Lazard Group, effective October 1, 2017. He is currently Managing Director and Co-Head of Lazard’s Capital Markets and Capital Structure Advisory practice. Mr. Russo has served as a Managing Director of Lazard since 2009, and joined Lazard as a Director in 2007. Prior to joining Lazard, he worked for Goldman, Sachs & Co. in the Investment Banking Division, and prior to that, for Barclays Capital. He began his career as a corporate attorney with the law firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy.
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About Lazard: Lazard is a financial advisory and asset management firm focused on income strategies, alternative investments, and private equity funds.
Jeff Elliott
Chief Financial Officer of FarmLink
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About FarmLink: FarmLink is an AgTech company that enables the next transformation in agriculture and land conservation.
Michael Burdick
Founder, Chief Strategy Officer & Interim CFO of Paro
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About Paro: Paro is a startup that offers a curated professional services marketplace for finance professionals.

Rishiprabh Jha
Chief Financial Officer of Integreon
Rishiprabh (Rishi) Jha joined Integreon in 2015. He has more than 12 years of experience in the information technology and business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, having worked with global firms such as Genpact, Sapient Corporation, PwC and Vertex Customer Services India Pvt Ltd. Prior to joining Integreon, Rishi was the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for a leading global analytics and research firm. As CFO of this private equity-funded organization, he was responsible for investor and banking relations, as well building their internal processes. As the CFO for Vertex, he handled their India business and global finance shared services, and was integral to the setup and acquisition of the company’s BPO business in India. Rishi holds a Chartered Accountant degree from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He is an alumni of the Shri Ram College of Commerce, having obtained his Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Delhi.
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About Integreon: Integreon Managed Solutions provides integrated knowledge process outsourcing services, offering legal and contract management services.

Timothy Costello
CFO of True Partners Consulting
Timothy L. Costello is Chief Financial Officer of True Partners Consulting LLC. Before True Partners, he was Chief Operating Officer of Sphere Communications Inc., a leading provider of VOIP telephone systems. He joined Sphere Communications as its Chief Financial Officer in 1996. Prior to Sphere, Mr. Costello was a Senior Manager at Arthur Andersen LLP in the audit and business advisory practice. Mr. Costello received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accountancy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is a Certified Public Accountant.
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About True Partners Consulting: True Partners Consulting, a global tax and business advisory firm, allowing public and private enterprises navigate complex tax regulations.

Todd Welu
Chief Financial Officer of Crowe LLP
Prior to joining Crowe, Todd was the CFO of a billion-dollar asset management firm, the CFO/COO of an international executive search firm, and a senior manager at a Big Four public accounting firm, providing public accounting and consulting services.
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About Crowe LLP: Crowe LLP is a public accounting, consulting, and technology firm.

Jeff Kanaly
Vice Chairman & Chief Financial Officer of Kanaly Trust
Jeff is Vice Chairman of Kanaly Trust and serves on the organization’s board of directors. He has been with the company for over thirty-five years and concentrates on corporate strategic planning. An important focus for Jeff is ensuring that the high quality of service Kanaly Trust was founded on continues to be the central focus of the organization. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Jeff holds a BBA in Finance. He is a Certified Financial Planner™ practitioner and a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor (CTFA). He is a member of the Financial Planning Association (FPA), the Houston Chapter of the FPA, the Houston Estate and Financial Forum (HEFF), and the Association of Trust Organizations (ATO).
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About Kanaly Trust: Kanaly Trust is a comprehensive wealth management firm managing and advising over $2 billion of assets.

Jon Frojen
Chief Financial Officer of Advisor Group
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About Advisor Group: Advisor Group is among the largest independent broker-dealer networks in the United States.

Valerie Harper
Chief Financial Officer of Spencer Stuart
Val Harper is the chief financial officer for Spencer Stuart and a member of the management team. Based in Chicago, she is responsible for the firm’s global financial and controllership functions.
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About Spencer Stuart: Spencer Stuart is a consulting firm that specializes in CEO succession planning, leadership consulting, and executive search.
Elaine Paik
Chief Financial Officer of Juul Labs
Elaine Paik is the Chief Financial Officer at JUUL Labs.
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About Juul Labs: Juul Labs helps to transition adult smokers away from combustible cigarettes.

Daniel Smith
EVP and Chief Financial Officer of Principia
Dan is responsible for Principia’s finances, client services and administrative functions. Prior to Principia, Dan was SVP of Finance and Administration at Viewpoint, a publicly-traded digital graphics software firm. He also has six years of public auditing and consulting experience at Arthur Andersen and has served as Treasurer, CFO and COO at a variety of companies in the business-to-business and consumer sectors. Dan has an M.B.A. from New York University and is a qualified C.P.A.
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About Principia: Principia Partners provide a broad range of financial institutions, independent investment managers and advisors solutions.