Few leaders have influenced modern finance and company-building as profoundly as Laurence A. Tosi (also known as “L.T.”).
Over a 25-year career, he has held pivotal roles shaping growth and innovation at some of the world’s most transformative organizations. As former COO of Merrill Lynch, CFO of Blackstone and Airbnb, and now Managing Partner and Founder of WestCap, he’s been the financial architect behind some of the most important growth stories of the last two decades.
Sitting down with L.T. is the kind of conversation that prompts a deep reassessment of how leadership teams are built. In a recent discussion, L.T. shared his perspective on what defines a great CFO today and why the traditional playbook no longer applies. The role has evolved from financial steward to strategic operator, requiring a fundamentally different set of skills, instincts, and a new approach to recruiting the right talent.
Here’s how every fund, founder, or CEO should rethink hiring this role today.
In this blog:
-> The CFO Readiness Curve
Timing’s everything. Determine when your business should hire a full-time CFO.
-> Role of the CFO
Set the stage. Understand the CFO’s impact across the organization.
-> CFO Archetypes & Journey Maps
Know your players. Pinpoint the archetype and progression that fit your company, growth objectives,
and investor base.
-> CFOs in Growth-Stage Companies
Zoom in. Understand what operating in rapid-scale mode requires from your CFO and senior team.
The CFO Readiness Curve
When should companies actually hire a CFO? Companies often wait too long—or move too early. And while the CFO needs of private equity and public companies are more clearly defined, it can be nuanced for growth companies based on stage and situation. L.T. breaks down a practical way to help guide the decision.
The Key Takeaways
- Early missteps compound risk. Delaying a CFO hire when your business is compounding means penalizing your execution muscle. However, hiring too far ahead of your needs could result in eventual new hire dissatisfaction and unwanted CFO turnover.
- Revenue is just the tip of the iceberg. Underlying factors and business complexities provide more insightful indicators for when to hire a CFO. For example, single-product to multi-product led growth and new market expansion often drive new funding needs. Additionally, more senior team building requirements are generally strong predictors of compounding business complexity that requires investment in senior CFO leadership.
The Role of the CFO
Today's CFOs have transcended traditional finance roles, stepping into leadership positions that demand strategic thinking, operational depth, and cross-functional influence. L.T. lays out a clear matrix of modern CFO responsibilities and a helpful framework for what the role truly requires today.
The traditional CFO scope is evolving. Modern CFOs must also possess skills outside of finance:
Growth Focus
From accounting to value creation. Modern CFOs are taking on broader operational responsibilities, often overlapping with the COO role.
Harness Technology
Increasingly responsible for evaluating AI-driven tools and leading strategic technology investments.
ESG & Stakeholders
Integrates sustainability into operations and delivers clear, credible reporting to stakeholders.
People Focus
Builds diverse, cross-functional teams that include emerging roles such as data scientists and AI engineers.
CFO Archetypes & Illustrative Journey Maps
One of the most common—and costly—mistakes companies make is hiring the wrong kind of CFO. Not “wrong” in skills or experience, but mismatched to what the business truly needs for its stage, complexity, and growth trajectory. Here’s a simple framework to understand the main CFO archetypes and their journey maps.
Keep in mind these are general guidelines, not hard rules. Every company is unique, and real-world scenarios may blend elements from multiple archetypes.
The Key Takeaways
- No single archetype fits every stage or scenario. The right CFO for a pre-IPO scale-up is rarely the same for a turnaround or a profitability push. Recognizing the preferred archetype increases (but does not always guarantee) prospects for a successful hire.
- Alignment beats pedigree. A “big name” hire can still fall short if their experience doesn’t map to your company’s specific challenges. The most common misstep is not appropriately embracing the operating maturity of your organization and/or the associated infrastructure-building needed to professionalize and grow.
- Needs will evolve quickly. An archetype that’s perfect today may need to change tomorrow as your business matures. The average tenure for CFOs hovers around 4 to 5 years, so build talent density and succession planning into your talent acquisition and retention roadmap.
CFOs in Growth-Stage Companies
The CFO role in a growth-stage company often looks very different from that of an early startup or a mature enterprise. At this stage, finance leaders take on a far more impactful role as operators, builders, and strategic partners to the CEO. To illustrate this shift, L.T. outlines the core competencies that distinguish growth-stage CFOs from their peers.
Summary
Accessing and hiring the right CFO has never been more challenging. The role is evolving rapidly—demanding a mix of financial expertise, strategic vision, and operational agility—all while the pool of seasoned candidates is in high demand. This playbook, featuring insights from L.T., breaks down the critical decision points and strategic considerations businesses face when evaluating their CFO capabilities through a thoughtful hiring process.
From understanding when your business is ready for this pivotal hire to identifying the right archetype for your company’s stage—this guide offers a practical framework for leadership teams. Special focus is given to growth-stage CFOs, who must balance operational rigor with entrepreneurial agility to drive sustained success.
Not sure how to hire your next CFO? Here's what to do next
1. Clarify your needs before you start your search
Define what your business truly requires from a CFO at this moment, whether it’s scaling operations, managing volatility, or driving strategic growth. Understanding your unique needs will help you target the right candidate profile and avoid costly mismatches.
2. Know your playing field and obstacles
Growth rarely comes without change. Carefully consider the challenges of driving change from all vantage points from people, culture, strategy, and execution. Finding the right balance of leadership style and experience in relevant environments and situations is key to a successful CFO hire.
3. Leverage expert partners to navigate complexity and access candidates
Consult a CFO specialist. Hunt Club’s Financial Officer practice serves as a consultative partner to help solve your most complex leadership challenges. We combine deep market expertise with proprietary candidate data, purpose-built technology, an exclusive referral network to help you access and hire the right CFO.
Learn more about Hunt Club's Financial Officer Practice
Hunt Clubs Financial Officer Practice helps companies of all sizes, stages, industries, and ownership structures align business objectives, challenges, and culture to recruit CFOs who deliver real impact.
