From CFO to COO: What the veteran finance chief prepares for pivots into operations



good morning. there is Continuous trends Financial Chief becomes CEO, assumes dual COO, or Combination CFO and COO positions. This shift is driven primarily by the ever-expanding authority of the finance chief and the growing needs of the corporation.

Beyond his 25-year career in strategic financial leadership, John Lettig has witnessed a transformation of the role of CFOs in a profound way. Rettig’s Journey, now president and COO of finance software company Bill, reflects a drastic change that redefines what it means to be a financial leader.

Rettig, who joined Bill as CFO in 2014, began his role as COO earlier this month, further accelerating the company’s growth. He was I was successful as CFO Rohini Jain joined PayPal’s Bill and most recently served as CFO and SVP of a large corporate and merchant platform.

I sat down with Rettig and got his perspective on his move from finance chief to COO.

“The impact and impact of CFOs has spread dramatically compared to 25 years ago,” explained Rettig. Over the past decade he calls the “CFO 2.0” era, the job has shifted from reporting simple numbers to acting as a strategic advisor and true business partner for CEOs. “I’ve lived this transition myself. My peers at tech and growth companies have seen the same thing,” he said. Due to the prevalence of AI, he believes we are now in “CFO 3.0” in a new era. He said the finance director must have a comprehensive understanding of the technology deployed by the company.

Rettig emphasized that the discipline and understanding necessary to communicate accurately, particularly in the context of high-value gains of public companies, is a valuable asset as they move into the role of COO.

“You need to have visibility at runtime, understand the outcome, know where to dig deeper, and get a bottom-up understanding of how things work,” he said. He noted that this process could naturally lead to operational leadership responsibilities, such as partnering with leaders across the business in the age of AI.

There is no current situation

AI is running at “exponential speed” compared to just a year ago, Rettig said. “I think the exciting part about that is that it’s no longer the status quo. AI is coming for everything,” he added, brings both a tremendous opportunity and a destructive threat.

In Rettig’s case, success requires a constant attitude of reinvention. Working with new technologies, experimenting boldly, and not afraid to overhaul your business model in front of someone else. “This is very strong for the role of the CFO or COO, and for the entire executive team,” he said.

Regarding Bill’s AI strategy, Rettig highlights two key areas: Customer products that automate complex financial processes and transformative internal improvements. “It’s not just about making the work more efficient,” he explained. “It’s about using technology to completely eliminate work.”

As president and COO, Rettig continues to focus on both short-term execution and long-term vision. During his tenure in a building serving small and medium-sized businesses, the company has grown from 140 to 2,500 employees. His top priorities now include accelerating time to market, preparing the organization for future scale through investments in automation and operational efficiency, and ensuring that all resources are directed towards the most valuable use.

A large part of his role is to develop a corporate culture. “I’ve been working with buildings for over 11 years, and this is a really long time at a Silicon Valley Tech company,” said Lettig. The most important reason he came to the building was people. “And I’m still here for the same reason,” he said.

Cheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

Leaderboard

Justin Purf Promoted to CFO of a global investment company Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) Effects on January 1, 2026. Pruf recently served as deputy chief investment officer at Carlisle Global Credit. He was with Carlisle for over 18 years. Justin will replace John Reddette. John Reddette will continue as CFO until the end of the year.

Kristen-related grandfatherEVP and CFO MSC Industrial Supply Co. (NYSE:MSM) has decided to resign from her position, which will take effect on August 8th, and has become the CFO of a publicly available company. Greg Clark, Vice President of Finance and Corporate Controller at MSC, assumes the position of the interim CFO after Actis-Grande’s departure. Clark has acquired various financial positions at the company since 2003. MSC conducts searches to identify permanent CFOs.

A big deal

In the first half of 2025, the global IPO market saw a list of 539, raising $61.4 billion in capital. Global IPO Report. The company noted that despite effective policy uncertainty and market volatility, IPO activities continue and emphasize the resilience and adaptability of well-prepared companies to navigate today’s evolving capital markets. The US led the way with 109 IPOs, marking its strongest first half performance since peaking in 2021.

According to EY, the global IPO market will show resilience in the first half of 2025, with the outlook for the second half remains cautiously optimistic despite ongoing challenges.

Go deep

I’ve heard it

“At various points in my life, I have worked with people who felt better than me, and you get sick a few times and try to put yourself in a position where you work with people who feel like you are the kind of person who develops your capabilities.

– Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently said Rex Fridman podcast. This approach led to the rise of Sundar Pichai at Google, and began as a product manager in 2004 at Google. luck It has been reported. Within ten years of working with co-founders Larry Page and Sergei Brin, he was appointed CEO in 2015.

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