About
I’m Karen Gordon, and I’m a professional interim CFO.
With over 25 years of experience leading finance functions across Fortune 100 companies, startups, nonprofits, and everything in between, I’ve held executive roles at Ally Financial, venture-backed startups, and leading nonprofits – and now I’d like to come in and help your organization navigate this period of change.
What is an interim CFO, and why do you want one?
An interim CFO is someone organizations bring in to create a bridge between an exiting CFO and an incoming CFO. They act as the CFO, ensuring day-to-day operations continue, while also working with the CEO and finance department to update systems, solve problems, improve workplace culture, and create a smooth succession process.
Unlike a consultant, who simply observes and provides recommendations, an interim CFO is embedded in the organization, and is just as involved in implementation as analysis. To put it another way, when I’m your interim CFO, if the company picnic is tomorrow, I’m going to be there – and, every decision I make is from the frame of an objective outsider who’s going to be here for a limited period of time.
And why do you want me, specifically?
Because you won’t find anybody else in the industry with the mix of experience, skills, and comprehensive problem-solving I bring to this work.
Why work with Me?
- I believe finance should be a supporter of the whole organization, not just the bean counters.
- I believe finance shouldn’t always be trying find a reason to say no – they should look for ways to say yes that improve the bottom line.
- I believe that great financial executives are expert storytellers. They use data to tell the truth — clearly, completely, and in a way that inspires action.
I’m industry-agnostic, and have worked just as well with massive finance departments as with budding nonprofits. I’m an exceptional pattern-spotter, I love solving puzzles, and I’m equally comfortable with both the numbers side and the human side of the CFO equation.
Whether I’m managing $150B in assets and securing multi-million dollar deals or working as a thought partner to the CEO and doing the kind of deep listening and analysis it takes to develop a team, it’s all the same to me.
Ultimately, all my work is about bringing clarity to chaos and putting strategy into action – and I’d like to do that for your organization.
Bring me on, and I’ll create the kind of comprehensive change that improves the functioning of not just your finance department, but also your organization as a whole, while also rolling up my sleeves and supporting with hands-on implementation.
In working with me, you’ll get:
- A thought partner. I work closely with the CEO and senior management to think through decisions, provide insights, and plan next steps. I’m sweetly sarcastic, very down-to-earth, and allergic to jargon. I’ll give it to you straight – and I’ll be kind, and deeply invested in your success the whole time.
- Someone to manage the day-to-day finances during this transitional period. The books still need to get done and the bills still need to be paid, even in the midst of transition, and I make sure that happens.
- The kind of objective insights and analysis that can only come from an outsider. I have no agenda coming into your organization other than doing my very best to improve its functioning, and since I’m coming in cold, I can see things without the frames or biases that creep in when you work somewhere long-term.
- A built-in bad guy. While I obviously won’t come into your organization looking to make enemies, transitional periods can be challenging for some team members to navigate. Since I’ll be leaving, I can make decisions and suggestions without worrying about the long-term relational impact that might occur if I was going to be there for the long run. If people have to be mad at someone, it can be me – not the CEO or the incoming CFO.
- A smooth, expedited onboarding for your next full-time CFO. With me on board, your CFO will walk into a smoothly-functioning financial department with a clear plan for next steps and the handover of their dreams. This will get them up to speed so much faster, so they can start doing their best work right away. I can even help you find your next CFO, and support you with the hiring process, so you can make sure you’re getting the best one for your organization!
And all that? That’s just not something you can get from anyone else.
A CFO leaving shouldn’t be a time of crisis. It should be a massive opportunity to elevate every area of your organization.
Here’s how we can make that happen.
Need to get approval to hire me? Click here for a letter explaining the business case for hiring me to your CEO or Board.
Insight. Clarity. Strategy. It Starts Here. Book a discovery call today.