Good morning. CEOs depend on their CFOs more than ever. And fear them more than ever, too.
Under mounting pressure from nearly every direction, many chief executives now view their closest strategic partner as a potential threat to their job security.
That’s one of the key findings of the inaugural BCG CEO Insomnia Index, based on a survey of roughly 500 chief executives at companies with revenues ranging from $100 million to more than $5 billion. It offers a window into how CEOs assess their stress levels—and what’s keeping them up at night.
More than a quarter of CEOs surveyed said their chief financial officer poses the greatest threat to their job security, ahead of every other C-suite role, followed by the COO. But the risk isn’t necessarily all about competition; it’s also about misalignment.
If the CFO gets it wrong, the CEO pays the price, according to Jody Foldesy, global chief operating officer of corporate finance and strategy at Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Foldesy views the dynamic less as rivalry and more as interdependence. CEOs are relying more heavily on CFOs for decision support, making it critical that finance chiefs are deeply integrated into strategy and execution. “It is critical that the CFO be deeply integrated into the development of their agenda and provide the right facts, data, and advice,” he told me.
That shift reflects how the CFO role itself is evolving. “CFOs are less backward-looking bookkeepers and much more forward-looking—developing and analyzing scenarios, providing decision support and business advisory,” Foldesy said. While many still come from accounting backgrounds, more are rotating in from FP&A or business roles.
As AI spending becomes a larger line item, CEOs are also looking to CFOs to lead implementation and ensure returns. “For every company’s ledger, this is becoming an increasingly large portion of spend—and if you look into the future, it’s only going to grow,” he said.
But at the same time, the CFO’s regular interaction with the board, on financial performance, forecasts, and risk, can build credibility and influence, potentially positioning them as a successor. “While having a strong successor should be a part of every CEO’s legacy plan, it’s only human to feel exposed when a replacement is waiting in your own C-suite,” the report noted.
The pressure on CEOs is intensifying. The report points to an average stress score of 66.7 out of 100, above the threshold typically used to indicate high stress. Growth targets and cost management rank among the top concerns, and a third say they have more to prove to their board now than they did just two quarters ago.
Foldesy said managing that stress requires balance—both between short- and long-term priorities and in how CEOs approach the role in their own lives. “This is a role that can easily blot out the sun personally,” he said. “That’s why you find many CEOs experiencing the very high levels of stress the report communicates.”
Have a restful weekend.
Sheryl Estrada
[email protected]
Leaderboard
Fortune 500 Power Moves:
Andrew Bonfield, CFO of Caterpillar Inc. (No. 64), has decided to retire effective Oct. 1, following eight years with the company. Caterpillar veteran Kyle Epley was promoted to CFO effective May 1, at which time Bonfield will assume an advisory role. Epley brings nearly three decades of Caterpillar experience to the role. He currently serves as senior vice president of Global Finance Services. Throughout his career, Epley has held several senior finance leadership roles across the company, including divisional CFO and corporate controller.
Hilary Maxson was appointed CFO at Oracle (No. 87) effective April 6. Maxson was previously EVP and group CFO at Schneider Electric and spent 12 years at AES Corporation in senior roles across finance, strategy, and M&A. Doug Kehring will transition out of his role as Oracle’s principal financial officer. Maxson joins Oracle during a period of “rapid growth as customer demand for cloud infrastructure exceeds supply,” the company said. At Schneider Electric, she led its global finance organization, overseeing capital allocation, business model transformation, and long-term value creation.
Every Friday morning, the weekly Fortune 500 Power Moves column tracks Fortune 500 company C-suite shifts—see the most recent edition.
More notable moves this week:
Ben Colabrese was appointed CFO of Major League Baseball’s New York Mets, effective April 27. Colabrese most recently served as CFO of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. He previously spent six years as EVP of finance and CFO for the Toronto Blue Jays, during which he also held the role of SVP of finance for Rogers Media.
Sean McSherry was promoted to CFO of Indeed, a job site and hiring platform. McSherry joined Indeed in 2012 as director of financial planning and analysis, where he built the company’s FP&A function and went on to lead sales operations and strategy. He was promoted to SVP of finance in 2021. Before joining Indeed, McSherry began his career in investment banking and later held senior finance leadership roles at global organizations.
Michael Rogers was appointed CFO and treasurer of Universal Logistics Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: ULH), effective June 1. Rogers currently serves as CFO of Conlan Tire Co., Hercules Materials Holdings LLC and certain of their privately held affiliates. Before that, he spent approximately 30 years with Ford Motor Company in a variety of finance-related leadership roles, including finance director of Canada, Mexico, and South America operations.
Steven E. Pfanstiel will step down from his role of EVP, CFO and treasurer of Neuronetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: STIM), a medical technology company. Pfanstiel is pursuing an opportunity outside the company. He will remain through May 1. Neuronetics has launched a search to identify his successor.
Marcel Teunissen was appointed CFO of Expand Energy Corporation (Nasdaq: EXE), effective April 6. Teunissen most recently served as president of North America for Parkland Corporation. He previously served as Parkland’s CFO where he led the company’s financial strategy, capital markets, and investor engagement. Before Parkland, Teunissen spent more than 20 years with Shell plc in roles.
Big Deal
IPO markets are reopening, but on highly selective terms, favoring scale, sector strength, and geopolitical alignment, according to EY’s Global IPO Trends Q1 2026 report.
Demand is concentrated in AI, energy, and aerospace and defense, favoring very large, scaled companies. “As we look forward, the global IPO market is generally open, but it is selective — the bar for access to public listings around the globe has risen as uncertainty and volatility reshape investor risk appetite,” according to EY Global IPO Leader Karim Anani. “Capital is gravitating toward larger, scaled issuers with resilient fundamentals and a clear path to value creation.”
In this environment, early preparation can make the difference between being able to IPO or not, Anani advises.
Going deeper
Here are four Fortune weekend reads:
“‘I hate working 5 days’: Zoom CEO says traditional work schedules are becoming obsolete—and predicts a 3-day workweek by 2031” — Preston Fore
“The Walmart billionaires next door: Quiet backlash is brewing against the heirs who remade the retailer’s hometown” —Jessica Mathews
“As AI reshapes the office, the Fortune Best Companies to Work For are doubling down on the most human perks” —Orianna Rosa Royle
“Who owns ideas in the AI age?” —Francesca Cassidy
Overheard
“It’s hard to imagine the future because it’s going to be much different than the past, but it’ll still be good.”
—Alex Tabarrok, a professor of economics at George Mason University, told Fortune in an interview on the topic of AI in the workplace.
