Good morning. As AI reshapes how companies operate, CFOs are increasingly becoming the executives responsible for ensuring AI actually delivers value across the enterprise.
I recently spoke with Mandy Fields, who has spent seven years as CFO of e.l.f. Beauty, steering the cosmetics company through a solid run of growth. Now she has a new mandate: overseeing the company’s AI strategy.
Ekta Chopra was promoted from chief digital officer to the newly created role of chief technology and AI officer, in April, and is now part of Fields’ organization. It’s a structural shift that reflects a broader evolution in the CFO role, in which finance chiefs are no longer just stewards of the balance sheet but architects of enterprise-wide technology strategy.
“Now I have more of an enterprise perspective on how we’re going to leverage AI as a company,” Fields told me.
That perspective has crystallized into three priorities, she said. The first is governance. Fields is clear that she doesn’t want a free-for-all. “We don’t want this to be the Wild West, where there are just agents floating around everywhere,” she quipped, adding, “We want to be able to monitor what is being used in the company.” A cross-functional committee which spans finance, accounting, legal, and marketing—is the vehicle for establishing guardrails.
