PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Reaching the C-suite is not the finish line — it’s a new starting point. For many senior finance leaders, the skills that earned a Controller a promotion to CFO, or a CFO a seat at the table, are not the same skills required for the next leap: from CFO to board director, or from CFO to CEO. That transition demands a different posture entirely — moving from functional expertise to enterprise leadership, from managing numbers to shaping narrative, and from being accountable to the CEO to being accountable for the whole organization.
Leveling Up: Advancing Beyond the Executive Seat is designed for finance leaders who have already proven themselves in their current role and are ready to build the case — and the capability — for what comes next. The program examines the real, often unspoken differences between adjacent levels of leadership: what a board expects from a CFO versus a fellow director, what a CEO does differently than even the most strategic CFO, and how successful leaders have engineered their own transitions.
Through case studies of finance leaders who have made these exact moves, peer discussion, and structured self-assessment, participants will leave with a clear-eyed view of their own readiness gaps and a concrete plan to close them — whether that means earning a board seat, stepping into the CEO role, or simply becoming a more strategic, enterprise-minded CFO in the meantime.
Who should attend: CFOs, Controllers, and senior finance executives who are actively pursuing — or being considered for — a board seat, CEO succession, or broader enterprise leadership responsibility.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
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- Diagnose the gap between roles — clearly articulate what changes (mindset, scope, relationships, risk ownership) at each transition: Controller to CFO, CFO to board member, and CFO to CEO.
- Reframe their value beyond finance — shift from being seen as “the numbers person” to being recognized as an enterprise strategist, capital allocator, and business leader.
- Build board-level fluency — understand what boards actually look for in a director, how to contribute meaningfully in the boardroom, and how to position for a first board seat.
- Develop CEO-caliber judgment — practice the kind of cross-functional, ambiguous, high-stakes decision-making that CEOs face daily, beyond the more bounded scope of the CFO role.
- Strengthen executive presence and narrative — communicate vision and strategy (not just results) in ways that build trust with the board, investors, and the broader organization.
- Cultivate the right relationships and sponsors — identify who influences these transitions (board members, search committees, current CEOs) and how to build those relationships authentically over time.
- Create a personal advancement plan — leave with a concrete, honest self-assessment and a 12–24 month roadmap of experiences, visibility, and skill-building needed to move to the next seat.
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SPEAKERS
Speakers coming soon!
EVENT POLICIES AND RESOURCES
Please visit our Events Policies and Resources page for information about chapter leadership, support, CPE, attendance, cancelations and more.
SPONSOR PARTNERS
Thank you to our valued Sponsor Partners. This event is open to members, sponsors, and special guests.
