S4, EP7: Eight Industries, One CFO: Linda Benson's Path to Kaplan

On this episode of From Go to CFO, Dave Goldbach sits down with Linda Benson, CFO of Kaplan, to trace a finance career that has run through bread, cars, construction, banking, gaming and now education. Linda talks candidly about the mentors who shaped her biggest decisions, the hardest conversation she's ever had (walking away from a role that wasn't right for her), and what it took to lead a finance team through COVID-19 while based in Las Vegas. She also shares blunt, practical advice for anyone, particularly women, who talks themselves out of putting their hand up. 

Nimesh Shah has said yes to five CFO roles he wasn't entirely sure he was ready for, and it's paid off every time. On this episode of From Go to CFO, he joins Kunal Gupta for a properly candid look back at a career spanning newspaper finance floors, an ASX IPO at Isentia, eight years at ReadyTech, and his current seat at Storypark, backed by Potentia. Along the way he's helped structure more than fifty acquisitions, learned the hard way what makes an earnout work, and formed a clear view on the one relationship every CFO needs to get right.Key takeaways:Backing yourself matters more than having all the answers. Nimesh's biggest career moves came before he felt fully qualified for them, and he's candid about learning on the job each time.The CEO relationship is the one that counts. More than any board or investor tie, it's the working relationship with the chief executive that shapes a CFO's success.Willing buyer, willing seller. After fifty-plus acquisitions, Nimesh's clearest lesson is that a deal only works when both sides genuinely want it, not when one is talked into it.Agentic AI is already changing finance work day to day, from board reporting to accounts payable, freeing up time for the parts of the job that actually need a human.

A podcast special: two [axr] podcasts, one conversation. Andrew Cannock (Your Future in Sales and Marketing) and Dave Goldbach (From Go to CFO) sit down together with Chris Tucker, Sales Director, and Piyush Mittal, Finance Director at SC Johnson, to unpack what a genuine partnership between sales and finance looks like inside an FMCG business.Chris and Piyush trace very different paths to the top of their functions. Chris rose through a linear sales career at PepsiCo before moving into SC Johnson's Australian sales leadership, including a global customer marketing stint in the US. Piyush has spent 23 years at SC Johnson, moving from commercial finance in India, to supply chain in Malaysia, to finance leadership in Australia. Both land on the same lesson: breadth across functions, markets and cultures builds better decision-makers.The conversation moves into SC Johnson itself, a 140-year-old, fifth-generation family business behind brands including Glade, Raid, Ziploc, Drano, Windex and Sun Bum, and what it means to make long-term calls, on sustainability, on investment, without the pressure of quarterly reporting. Chris and Piyush are candid about where sales and finance pull in different directions, and what keeps that tension productive rather than destructive: shared visibility of the full P&L, finance in the room from the start of a proposal rather than at sign-off, and a habit of weighing 'the cost of doing nothing' alongside any ROI case.They close with the advice they'd give their younger selves: get broad experience early and surround yourself with people you can learn from.If this conversation has you thinking about your own next move, in sales, finance or leadership, get in touch with the team at [axr] Recruitment & Search.

Nick Barnes set himself a goal early in his career: become a CFO by 40. In this episode of From Go to CFO, he talks to [axr]'s Dave Goldbach about the winding path that got him there, from audit at EY in the UK, through PepsiCo, Suntory and SunRice, and into Australia's startup and scale-up world with Koala, MILKRUN and Vow, before landing as CFO of Karma Drinks.It's a career built on deliberate moves, but Nick is just as candid about what didn't go to plan. He talks through a gruelling SAP rollout he felt completely unprepared for, the culture shock of moving from a highly structured multinational into unstructured startup life, and the goal he eventually hit, though not in the way he expected. The most revealing part of the conversation is what happened next: how ten minutes a day of journaling and meditation changed his relationship with ambition, self-criticism and what actually drives performance.Along the way, Nick and Dave cover the real differences between big business and startup finance, why breadth of experience matters more than a straight line up the ladder, and how to keep pushing for more without letting it define your sense of self-worth.This one's for anyone building a career in finance, and for anyone quietly wondering whether the goals they set years ago are still serving them.

In this episode of From Go to CFO, [axr]'s Kunal Gupta sits down with Nick Williams, CFO of Tellus Holdings, Australia's only geological repository for hazardous waste.Nick's career took him around the world before it brought him home. Eleven years at BHP moved him from a graduate role in Melbourne to Adelaide, Houston, the Netherlands and Chile, building the kind of broad, hands-on experience most finance careers take twice as long to gather. A mentor he clashed with in his first week in Holland went on to shape the next decade of his career, encouraging him to make the leap to Brazil, and eventually back to Sydney.He talks candidly about the private equity stint at Pacific National that changed how he saw the numbers, and the reality of his first year as a first-time CFO at Tellus, refinancing debt on a business with no contracts behind it yet.Nick shares what he'd tell himself five years ago: get your team right before anything else, learn to sell the business you work for, and keep saying yes to the next hard thing.This episode is for finance leaders navigating their own path to CFO, and anyone weighing up a leap into industry or a new country.

Michelle Reynolds backpacked solo through Europe while her friends signed up for two-year stints working in London. It's the kind of call that sums up her whole career: take the path most people skip, and see where it leads. That path has since taken her through insurance, construction, rail and a hydrogen startup to the CFO chair at CIP Construction. In this episode, she joins Dave Goldbach, Director of [axr]'s Accounting & Finance practice, to talk about:How she picked up technical finance skills without a big-four background or a formal mentoring system to rely onWhy she deliberately tries to make her own role redundant, and what she does with the time that frees upThe board-paper lesson from her time under private equity ownership that still shapes how she reports to leadership todayWhat it actually takes to run a startup's entire finance function alone, from payroll to capital raisesThere's no single route to the top of finance, just the one you're willing to take.

Season 4 of From Go to CFO is here. Dave Goldbach and Kunal Gupta are kicking things off with [axr]'s 2026 Finance and Accounting Salary Guide, including why it was built differently and how to get the most out of it.This episode covers:Why [axr] structured the guide around role scope and skills, not just job titles and salary bandsHow compensation varies significantly across large, mid-tier and small businesses, and why segment mattersWhy STI and LTI data becomes increasingly important from manager level upwardsHow roles have evolved, and why the title tells you less than it used toThe mid-tier accounting market and common pathways from practice into commercial financeWhere transformation is heading in 2026, from ERP and process improvement through to AI capability in financeDownload our [axr] 2026 Finance and Accounting Salary Guide here: [axr] Salary Guide; Sales, Marketing, Category, Finance, Accounting

Dave Goldbach and Kunal Gupta continue [axr]'s relaunch of From Go to CFO with a look at how the finance leadership market is shifting, and what it means for anyone building toward a CFO seat. They cover three areas: what's changing in the roles [axr] recruits for, the bigger market trends behind those changes, and what candidates should be doing about it.In this episode, listeners will:Get a clear read on why technical finance skills are now the baseline, not the differentiator, for senior roles.Understand how AI is reshaping day-to-day finance work, and where it's freeing up time for higher-value strategic input instead of replacing people.Hear why businesses are increasingly rewarding adaptability and range across a career, rather than long, unbroken tenure in a single role.Learn what kind of experience (transformation, M&A integration, ERP projects) is becoming genuinely valuable on a CV, and why.Come away with practical steps for building commercial and influencing skills, whatever finance role they're in today.

In this episode of From Go to CFO, we sit down with James Mitchell - an experienced CEO and CFO whose career spans professional services, financial services, hospitality, and property.James shares his journey from his early days at Deloitte, where he built the technical and professional foundations of his career, through international experience in London and senior finance leadership roles including at Westpac. He reflects on his progression into CFO roles, and ultimately his transition to CEO at Baycorp in 2018, a pivotal shift that required him to let go of functional finance responsibilities and step into broader organisational leadership. Today, as CFO at Redcape Hospitality Group, he brings a uniquely well-rounded perspective shaped by his experience leading organisations as both CFO and CEO. He speaks candidly about the mindset shift from leading the numbers to leading the entire organisation, and what it takes to set the tone as CEO, particularly when driving change and transformation. James also reflects on whether becoming a CFO was always part of his plan, and how his ambitions and definition of success evolved over time.A passionate mentor and experienced executive, James shares thoughtful insights into leadership growth, the importance of perspective, and the responsibility leaders have to invest in the next generation.This episode offers valuable perspective for aspiring CFOs, CEOs, and finance leaders navigating career progression and the transition from CFO to CEO.

In this episode of From Go to CFO, we sit down with Chris Allenby, CFO of Lewis Land, one of Australia’s largest privately owned property groups, to unpack a career defined by ambition, adaptability and leadership under pressure.Chris’s journey began early - joining KPMG as a cadet at just 18 and rising to partner by 32. Over a 12-year tenure as partner, he advised private and mid-cap companies, family businesses and high-net-worth individuals across a diverse range of industries, developing particular strength in property. But in March 2020, at the onset of COVID-19, Chris made a pivotal shift - from trusted advisor to in-house decision maker - stepping into the CFO role at Lewis Land.What followed was more than a career move; it was a mindset transformation. Chris shares the realities of transitioning from chartered accounting into a high-net-worth family group, where influence gives way to accountability and strategy must be paired with execution. He reflects on reshaping the finance function, strengthening culture through decisive hiring, and balancing creativity with discipline within what he describes as a true collective.This episode explores the nuances of leading in a private family business environment, the resilience required during periods of rapid change, and how Chris continually evaluates both his own capabilities and those of his team to stay ahead. It’s a candid conversation about leadership evolution, navigating uncertainty, and what it really takes to go from advisor to CFO.