LevelUp Podcast

Artur Jacques is the Founder and CEO of Margineo, a margin analytics company that helps finance teams identify the drivers behind changes in profitability. Before founding Margineo, he worked in FP&A at Tesla, where he led global manufacturing and supply chain forecasting. Artur is also a technologist and self-taught programmer who applies first-principles thinking to complex financial challenges. His work focuses on helping finance leaders move beyond surface-level reporting and gain clearer insight into their numbers. In this episode… More data can make finance feel smarter without making the business any easier to understand. What if the real advantage comes from stripping away complexity until only the numbers that matter are left? For Artur Jacques, the key lies in doing the hard work required to reach simplicity. He compares it to a great recipe: you do not need more ingredients, just the right ones, and finance teams can often get most of the way there by using the data they already have correctly instead of adding more dimensions, dashboards, or automation. The result is a finance function that focuses less on collecting information and more on understanding the few drivers that actually explain what is happening in the business. In this episode of the Level Up, Nick Araco is joined by Artur Jacques, Founder and CEO of Margineo, to discuss simplifying finance to uncover what truly drives performance. They explore choosing the right data, applying first-principles thinking, and fixing processes before automating them. Artur also talks about why curiosity and business understanding matter more than simply knowing the numbers.

Matt Lane is the Founder of Smart Lane AI and CFO of Yolo Federal Credit Union, which serves more than 23,000 members and manages over $400 million in assets. During his 17 years at Yolo FCU, Matt has helped lead major initiatives, including a core system conversion, digital wallet adoption, and relocating an underperforming branch that tripled its production within a year. Passionate about making emerging technology practical for smaller organizations, he launched Smart Lane AI to help small businesses and entrepreneurs use AI to save time, improve decision-making, streamline operations, and support growth. In this episode… AI is giving finance teams the chance to move beyond reporting and become faster, more strategic partners to the business. But how can CFOs embrace that opportunity without losing the judgment, collaboration, and controls that make finance trustworthy? Matt Lane approaches AI with equal parts curiosity and discipline, using it to modernize finance without giving up control of the numbers. He is using AI to modernize processes like month-end close, budgeting, and forecasting while expanding accounting's role in analytics, but he stresses that leaders still need to validate outputs and understand the numbers behind them. Done well, that combination can free up capacity for higher-value work, strengthen decision-making, and help finance teams create more value across the organization. In this episode of the Level Up, Nick Araco is joined by Matt Lane, Founder of Smart Lane AI, to discuss how AI is reshaping the CFO role. Matt explores modernizing finance, expanding accounting into analytics, and balancing AI with human judgment. Matt also shares advice on developing curious, collaborative finance teams.

Daniel Jasinski is the Founder and CFO of the Payment Economics Institute, which develops frameworks, education, and advisory services for managing business payments as a financial portfolio. He created the Payment Economics discipline to help organizations measure and improve payment yield, working capital, and the economic return of payment decisions. Daniel brings more than a decade of experience across B2B payments, including rebates, supply chain finance, working capital, and AP automation. Through the Institute's journal, book, certification, and advisory work, he helps finance leaders turn payments into measurable financial performance. In this episode… Enterprise payments are easy to dismiss as plumbing: necessary, repetitive, and mostly invisible when everything works. But what if the way a company pays suppliers is actually a recurring source of yield hiding in plain sight? For Daniel Jasinski, the key lies in treating payments as capital in motion and managing them like a portfolio of assets. He points to the economics embedded in timing, payment methods, rebates, dynamic discounting, and supplier relationships, arguing that optimized outbound flows can generate at least 100 basis points in payment yield. That shift turns AP from a back-office process into a strategic function that can improve working capital, sharpen technology decisions, and elevate the people managing those relationships. In this episode of the Level Up, Nick Araco is joined by Daniel Jasinski, Founder and CFO of the Payment Economics Institute, to discuss unlocking untapped value in enterprise payments. They explore payment yield, managing payments as a portfolio, and using technology without losing human judgment. Dan also shares advice on evaluating payment technology and avoiding costly implementation missteps.

Nick Araco is the Founder and CEO of the CFO Alliance, a community where finance leaders connect, collaborate, and solve real-world challenges. He is also the Founder of AchieveNEXT, a leadership development firm that helps leaders and teams strengthen relationships, improve performance, and achieve meaningful business results. With more than 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, executive, and trusted advisor, Nick has brought together forward-thinking finance and C-suite leaders from across industries. An experienced speaker, business leader, and host of the Level Up podcast, he inspires finance executives to redefine success by thinking bigger, acting bolder, and leading with purpose. In this episode… Finance leaders are expected to make faster decisions, adopt new technology, guide strategy, and help their organizations navigate uncertainty. Yet automation is only as reliable as the data behind it, and financial expertise alone does not guarantee effective leadership. What does it take to build a modern finance function that creates meaningful business impact? Effective finance leadership requires trusted data, cross-functional relationships, strategic thinking, and clearly defined responsibilities. Leaders must gather information from across the organization, turn complex insights into a compelling story, and audit foundational data before automating processes. Growing businesses can also benefit from fractional advisory models that provide access to senior financial expertise without the cost of a full-time CFO. Clear accountability, strategic vision, and thoughtful risk-taking are equally important. Whether leading a finance team or running a small business, strong leaders must recognize when to solve a problem and when simply to listen. In this special compilation episode of the Level Up podcast, Nick Araco, Jr. brings together Sumeet Agrawal, Sam Levy, Albert Ramos Jr., Valerie Martin, and Phoebe Bishop. They share insights on collaboration, data quality, automation, fractional finance leadership, accountability, innovation, and people-centered decision-making to help finance leaders strengthen their organizations and create greater impact.

Sandra Bustos is the Founder and CEO of Meshly, a finance trust layer company that connects and validates data across core business systems to reduce revenue leakage and audit risk. Under her leadership, Meshly won its category on the FATE 2025 Pitch Stage and achieved SOC 2 Type II certification early in the company's development. Prior to founding Meshly, Sandra spent nearly a decade leading customer success and post-sales teams at companies including Talkdesk, Autodesk, and Dusty Robotics. Her experience working across revenue, operations, and customer success helped shape Meshly's focus on solving the data gaps that create downstream problems for finance teams. In this episode… Finance teams are being asked to move faster with AI, even when the data beneath those systems is fragmented, inconsistent, or hard to trust. How do you gain speed without sacrificing the confidence every financial decision depends on? Nearly a decade in customer success and post-sales operations shaped Sandra Bustos' belief that companies need systems of trust around their existing systems of record. She describes the approach like an octopus wrapping around CRM, contract, and financial systems to catch discrepancies without replacing the tools themselves, creating a more reliable foundation for AI and agentic workflows. That foundation can give finance the capacity and credibility to move beyond reactive cleanup and become a more strategic voice in the business. In this episode of the Level Up, Nick Araco is joined by Sandra Bustos, Founder and CEO of Meshly, to discuss building systems of trust in finance. They explore why clean data must come before AI automation, how finance can move from reactive cleanup to strategic influence, and why guardrails and auditability matter as agentic workflows grow. Sandra also shares advice on using storytelling and coaching to strengthen finance leadership.

Ahmed Hassan, CMA, is the Chief Financial Officer of Vodacom DRC, a leading telecommunications company providing digital connectivity and digital services in the Democratic Republic of Congo. With more than 24 years of experience, he has built his career across finance leadership roles in multiple Vodafone markets, rising from an early call center role to the CFO position. Ahmed also serves on the Global Board of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), contributing to the advancement of the management accounting and finance profession worldwide. In this episode… The finance function doesn't stand still because business itself never does. As technology, customer behavior, and global conditions continue to shift, how can finance leaders stay relevant without losing sight of what truly drives performance? For Ahmed Hassan, the key lies in staying "fit" for change through constant learning and a 360-degree view of the business. He argues that finance professionals must understand the forces shaping their work, from technology and supply chains to customer behavior, while using AI to accelerate analysis without sacrificing human validation and judgment. That mindset helps finance move beyond reporting into a business-partnering role that can adapt, influence decisions, and create value as conditions evolve. In this episode of the Level Up, Nick Araco is joined by Ahmed Hassan, Chief Financial Officer of Vodacom DRC, to discuss navigating the changing demands of finance leadership. They explore continuous learning, the CFO's 360-degree view of the business, and how AI is reshaping finance work. Ahmed also shares advice on staying "fit" for change and creating value through relationships.

Leslie Griffith is the Chief Financial Officer at Chickasaw Nation Industries, Inc. (CNI), a federally chartered corporation that serves federal and commercial customers while supporting the Chickasaw Nation's economic development. She joined CNI in 2007 as Director of Financial Reporting and later advanced to its top finance role. Before CNI, Leslie spent more than a decade as Controller of the Oklahoma City Community Foundation after beginning her career at Deloitte & Touche. She is a CPA and an Oklahoma State University graduate with a degree in accounting and management science. In this episode… A long tenure can become more than a career milestone; it can be a proving ground for trust, judgment, and meaningful leadership. What does it take to keep growing after spending nearly two decades within the same organization? For Leslie Griffith, the key lies in staying curious, building genuine relationships, and seeing the business beyond the numbers. Her journey taught her that technical expertise may open doors, but lasting influence comes from earning trust, understanding different perspectives, and knowing when to stand firm or admit you may be wrong. That combination helps leaders make stronger decisions, develop talented teams, and prepare their organizations for what comes next. In this episode of the Level Up, Nick Araco is joined by Leslie Griffith, Chief Financial Officer at Chickasaw Nation Industries, to discuss leadership built through longevity, trust, and continuous growth. They explore rising from within, balancing risk with bold decisions, and preparing CFOs to think like business owners. Leslie also shares advice on building relationships and developing future leaders.

Chad Blackburn is Principal at Margin Shift, an AI planning and workflow intelligence firm for accounting, legal, and private equity organizations. He works at the intersection of growth, emerging technology, capital markets, and AI-driven business transformation. Chad's experience spans Cherry Bekaert, Pathway Health Partners, MDSave, and ACS/Xerox, and he holds an MBA from Western Governors University. He is also an active speaker and educator on AI adoption, helping professionals use AI to work smarter and simplify daily tasks. In this episode… Disruption has a way of making even experienced leaders feel like they are starting from scratch. What if the best way forward is not to chase every new tool, but returning to the clearest signal of all: how your business creates value? According to Chad Blackburn, a builder and investor with deep experience in high-growth companies and emerging technologies, the answer starts with anchoring every decision to the organization's North Star. He explains that AI transformation should not be handed off as a purely technical project; leaders need to examine their workflows, identify where value is created, and decide which steps belong with people, tools, automation, or something else entirely. That shift helps teams move from fear and noise to practical action, using AI to remove friction and unlock more meaningful work. In this episode of the Level Up, Nick Araco is joined by Chad Blackburn, Principal at Margin Shift, to discuss practical strategies for thriving amidst disruption. They explore how leaders can cut through AI noise, map workflows around value creation, build trust during change, and shift from static reporting to real-time insight. Chad also shares advice on using AI through hands-on experimentation.

Phoebe Bishop is CFO at ROBRADY design, an innovative firm specializing in product design, engineering, and prototyping. She also serves as Managing Partner at Sarasota Growth Ventures, a venture capital firm supporting early-stage startups. With over two decades of experience, she is known for her hands-on, execution-focused approach and her ability to navigate complex growth and operational challenges. Phoebe brings a creative and adaptable mindset shaped by her background in art history and fine arts, and was recognized as a 2023 CFO of the Year Honoree by the Tampa Bay Business Journal. In this episode… In a world racing toward automation, it's tempting to believe technology will do the heavy lifting for us. But when the data is instant, and the answers are easy, what actually sets great leaders apart? For Phoebe Bishop, the key lies in judgment and ambiguity. Drawing from her experience navigating fast-moving, imperfect environments, she explains that leadership today isn't about waiting for perfect data — it's about making confident decisions in the gray areas and moving forward anyway. That mindset shifts finance leaders from observers to active operators, shaping outcomes rather than just reporting on them. In this episode of the Level Up, Nick Araco is joined by Phoebe Bishop, CFO at ROBRADY design, to discuss thriving as a finance leader in an AI-driven world. They explore making decisions without perfect data, the evolving role of CFOs into strategic operators, and why human relationships matter more than ever. Phoebe also shares advice on staying creative and avoiding analysis paralysis.

Valerie Martin is a Silicon Valley finance operator and strategic business partner who has guided high-growth technology companies through complex scaling, transformation, and change. She is a hands-on leader at the intersection of growth, revenue, and decision-making, partnering closely with CEOs, boards, and investors to turn strategy into results and drive sustainable impact. Known for her curiosity, storytelling acumen, and talent for building modern finance functions, Valerie brings operational rigor, critical thinking, and a passion for culture transformation to every team she leads. In this episode… Data has never been more abundant, yet many organizations still struggle to turn it into clear decisions. When every dashboard is full, and every report is accurate, leaders can still find themselves asking, 'What should we do next?' For Valerie Martin, the answer lies in curiosity and interpretation. Drawing from her experience as a finance leader who operates at the crossroads of strategy and operations, she believes numbers are only the starting point. Finance leaders must transform raw data into a narrative that reveals what matters, what decisions are needed, and where the business should go next. When finance teams master that storytelling layer, they move beyond reporting and become catalysts for faster, smarter action across the company. In this episode of the Level Up, Nick Araco is joined by Valerie Martin to discuss how finance leaders can turn data into decisions that drive real business impact. They explore the role curiosity plays in strategic finance, why storytelling is becoming a critical skill for CFOs, and how modern finance teams interpret data across functions. Valerie also shares advice on building courageous, adaptable teams that thrive in a fast-changing, AI-driven world.