Where Are All the CFOs?

This article argues that chief financial officers are too often absent from the front lines of innovation and tend to approach investment decisions as detached financial gatekeepers rather than active collaborators in shaping innovation strategy. It suggests that overreliance on traditional financial tools, short-term return metrics, and familiar frameworks can cause finance leaders to undervalue breakthrough opportunities and contribute to missed innovations or poor investment choices. The piece calls for CFOs to become more engaged, intuitive, and experiential in how they evaluate innovation, particularly in emerging areas such as generative AI. It emphasizes that effective innovation investment requires more than numbers alone. Finance leaders must challenge assumptions, develop a deeper understanding of technological change, and build the judgment needed to assess unfamiliar opportunities in ways that support long-term growth and strategic value.