40 Essential CFOs in ANZ to Follow on LinkedIn
- Jonno White
- Jun 9
- 30 min read
Last updated: June 2026
The 40 CFOs, finance leaders, and CFO practitioners in this list deserve a place in your LinkedIn feed right now. They are the people actively shaping how the CFO profession thinks about strategy, AI adoption, team culture, transformation, and the expanding mandate of the finance function in Australia and New Zealand. Rather than recycling the same handful of names that dominate every global list, this directory surfaces the leaders who genuinely deserve to be just as well known, and in many cases are already quietly building some of the most credible and practical finance content on the platform.
The CFO role in Australia and New Zealand is under more pressure than at any point in the past two decades. Research published by Deloitte Australia in December 2025 confirmed that Australian CFOs were entering 2026 with renewed optimism, with business uncertainty dropping to pre-pandemic levels, yet the same study noted that the inability to execute strategies remained the top perceived risk facing the profession. PwC Australia's 2026 research found that only 24% of Australian CEOs believe their leadership teams are equipped to seize the opportunities that arise from disruption. That gap between confidence and execution sits at the heart of why following the right finance voices on LinkedIn matters.
As of June 2026, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand counts more than 140,000 members, and the conversations those members are having on LinkedIn about the future of the profession are increasingly shaping both public policy and organisational practice. Every person on this list is contributing to that conversation with substance, and every one of them is worth following.
Bring Jonno White, author of Step Up or Step Out (10,000+ copies sold) and Certified Working Genius Facilitator, to work with your CFO or finance leadership team on the human dynamics that determine whether great financial strategy actually gets executed. Email jonno@consultclarity.org.
Why CFOs Worth Following on LinkedIn Are Reshaping the Profession
The case for building a deliberate list of finance voices to follow on LinkedIn is more than professional development habit. According to the 2025 Edelman-LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report, 71% of B2B decision-makers say thought leadership content is more effective than traditional product marketing at communicating value. For finance professionals, following CFOs who share genuine insight means access to how real leaders are navigating real problems, not polished press releases about results they have already locked in.
The finance leaders posting with the most candour and consistency on LinkedIn tend to be the ones whose teams, boards, and CEOs describe them as genuine strategic partners. The discipline of expressing a clear perspective in public, standing behind it, and engaging with the responses is the same discipline that makes a CFO effective in a boardroom. CFO Magazine Australia has found that one in five ASX100 companies now have female CFOs, more than double the figure from 2017, though that proportion has remained largely static in recent years.
Organisations wanting to build communication capability within their finance teams can engage Jonno White, host of The Leadership Conversations Podcast (230+ episodes, 150+ countries), who facilitates Working Genius sessions, DISC workshops, and executive leadership programmes. Email jonno@consultclarity.org.
How This List Was Compiled
Every person on this list was selected on documented professional credentials, active LinkedIn engagement in 2025 or 2026, and a recognisable contribution to CFO practice, financial leadership, or finance education in Australia or New Zealand. The list includes in-seat corporate CFOs, CFO coaches and educators, fractional finance leaders, award winners, and finance transformation practitioners. It deliberately moves past the household names that appear on every global CFO ranking and surfaces voices that finance professionals in the region may not yet be following but genuinely should be.
For a broader view of the finance and accounting profession in ANZ, see the directory of finance and accounting leaders in Australia and New Zealand.
CFO Coaches and Practitioner-Educators
The most consistently active LinkedIn voices in the ANZ finance space are practitioners who have held CFO roles themselves and now help others navigate the same career transition. Their content is built to be consumed and applied, which makes their feeds unusually useful for finance professionals at every stage. This category has emerged as one of the most influential on LinkedIn for anyone working in or around the CFO role.
1. Alena Bennett
A Chartered Accountant with experience across Australia, New Zealand and the United States, Alena Bennett is the author of CFO of the Future and Meaning Matters, the founder of the CFOs Connect Community and the Leading Women in Finance Network, and a keynote speaker and leadership coach whose practice is specifically focused on helping CFOs transition from financial expert to purposeful strategic leader. She has spent more than two decades working with finance teams and holds qualifications from AGSM and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Her LinkedIn content draws directly from her coaching conversations with CFOs, giving it a practical specificity that is unusual in the space. A recent post framed the question of how to tell in advance whether your CFO will perform under crisis pressure, cutting to what boards genuinely need from their finance leaders. Her podcast The Real Math of Business extends her reach into conversations about business performance and leadership purpose.
2. Tariq Munir
An AI and digital transformation advisor, author, LinkedIn Instructor, and global keynote speaker based in Australia, Tariq Munir is the author of Reimagine Finance, published by Wiley. With more than 20 years of experience working with organisations including PepsiCo and AkzoNobel, and as a contributing columnist to CFO Magazine Australia and New Zealand, Munir is one of the clearest voices in the region on how CFOs can lead AI and digital transformation as a human-centred strategy rather than a technology project.
His LinkedIn content addresses the alignment and adoption challenges that sit behind most failed transformations, arguing that the technology is rarely the limiting factor. His recent writing for CFO Magazine on the finance team of 2030 framed the decisions CFOs are making in 2026 as the determining factor in whether the finance function remains relevant a decade from now.
3. Jonathan Maharaj
The founder and director of Aurora Financials Limited in New Zealand, Jonathan Maharaj FCPA brings more than 20 years of audit, compliance, and CFO advisory experience spanning public practice, the NZX, and Kiwibank. A Fellow of CPA Australia, a CPA Australia New Zealand Division Councillor, a member of the ACFE Advisory Council, and the inaugural winner of the CPA Australia Murray Wyatt Award for innovation, he is also an international speaker whose insights have been featured in Forbes, The New York Times, and the Associated Press.
His LinkedIn content reflects his dual role as practitioner and advocate for financial literacy and innovation, with particular focus on the compliance and digital transformation challenges facing small and mid-sized organisations in New Zealand. His perspective from working across the NZX and with community organisations gives him a breadth that most CFO voices lack.
4. Jon Brett
A contributing columnist to CFO Magazine Australia and New Zealand, Jon Brett has built a distinctive voice in the ANZ finance community through his writing on CFO leadership archetypes and the patterns that shape finance appointments. His series on the Seven CFO Archetypes challenged the assumption that boards treat CFO appointments as unique, arguing instead that boards select from recognisable patterns even when they believe they are making bespoke choices. That insight is directly relevant to both CFOs managing their own careers and to boards navigating appointments.
Brett's LinkedIn content reflects the perspective of a practitioner-commentator who sees how finance leadership appointments actually unfold in Australian organisations. His writing addresses topics that senior finance professionals think about constantly but rarely see discussed in public. Find Jon Brett on LinkedIn by searching Jon Brett CFO archetypes Australia.
2026 Australian CFO Award Winners
The inaugural Australian CFO Awards, presented by the Group of 100 and Johnson Partners in 2026, recognised finance leaders whose contributions to the profession set the benchmark for excellence. The ceremony was described as a reminder that the best CFOs are not just stewards of capital but architects of trust, and that judgement, like trust, is a form of capital that appreciates over time.
5. Richard Richards
Chief Financial Officer of Seven Group Holdings (SGH Ltd) since 2013, Richard Richards was named ASX CFO of the Year at the 2026 Australian CFO Awards. A Chartered Accountant and admitted solicitor in NSW, he holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Laws from Bond University, a Master of Laws from the University of Sydney, and a Master of Applied Finance from Macquarie University. His career includes senior finance roles at Qantas spanning more than a decade, followed by CFO positions at LFG (the Lowy Family's private investment vehicle) and Downer EDI before joining SGH.
At the awards, Richards accepted the recognition on behalf of his team, crediting their tenacity, intellectual curiosity, and integrity as the source of SGH's consistent outperformance. The breadth of SGH's portfolio, spanning industrial services through WesTrac, Boral and Coates, energy through Beach Energy, and media through Seven West Media, makes his perspective on capital allocation across a genuine conglomerate directly relevant to a wide audience.
6. Michael Ackland
Chief Financial Officer of Telstra since 2022, Michael Ackland won the 2026 Australian CFO Award for Investor Engagement Excellence. He leads the Strategy and Finance function at Australia's largest telecommunications company, with responsibility for strategy, internal audit, finance, procurement, treasury, taxation, and investor relations. Before joining Telstra in 2016, he was CEO of GE Healthcare Australia and New Zealand, and he has held roles across GE's financial services, corporate, and healthcare divisions.
His LinkedIn presence is among the most active of any in-seat corporate CFO in Australia, with posts on AI, investor relations, and the strategic evolution of the finance function reflecting a practitioner willing to share perspectives publicly. A recent podcast appearance covered how Telstra is using AI to improve customer service, demonstrating engagement beyond traditional investor communications.
7. Jane Kuang
The 2026 Australian CFO Awards Rising Star and a Vice President at BHP, Jane Kuang was recognised for leading a $2.9 billion transaction with BlackRock involving a stake in BHP's West Australian electricity network. Her advice to younger female finance leaders is to back themselves before they feel ready, because growth comes through stretch rather than comfort. She has shared that perspective in CFO Magazine Australia, drawing on her trajectory through Rio Tinto and then BHP.
Her LinkedIn content reflects a finance leader who communicates with a candour that is unusual for someone at her career stage in a large mining organisation. Her CFO Magazine interview has resonated strongly with the emerging finance leader community in Australia.
8. James Crough
Chief Financial Officer of Orica since June 2024, James Crough won the 2026 Australian CFO Award for Sustainability Leadership. He joined Orica in 2019 as Vice President of Finance for Australia Pacific and Asia, served as Interim Group Executive and President for that region, and then as Group Executive and President for North America before being appointed CFO. Before Orica, he was CFO and interim president of Incitec Pivot Fertilisers.
His sustainability focus reflects Orica's position as a global explosives and blasting systems company navigating the energy transition and critical minerals demand simultaneously. His LinkedIn content reflects a CFO deeply engaged with the decarbonisation and ESG disclosure questions reshaping capital markets for resources companies. His comments on being part of an Australian success story 151 years in the making convey genuine commitment to the organisation and the profession.
9. Prashant Murthy
Chief Financial and Commercial Officer at AirTrunk, the Australian pioneer of hyperscale data centres now owned by Blackstone following a landmark A$24 billion transaction, Prashant Murthy won the 2026 Australian CFO Award for Deal of the Year. He joined AirTrunk in 2018 from Macquarie Capital and has since led the finance, commercial and strategy functions as AirTrunk expanded to nearly 1.38 gigawatts of capacity across six countries in the Asia Pacific and Japan region. He was named one of The Tech Capital's 50 most influential digital infrastructure CFOs globally in 2022.
Under his leadership, AirTrunk raised over A$6 billion in ESG financing across its APJ platform, making it one of the largest issuers of sustainable financing in the data centre industry. His LinkedIn and conference content reflects the perspective of a CFO who has navigated the full arc from early-stage growth company to major Blackstone portfolio asset.
10. Yvonne Le Bas
Group CFO of Resolution Life Australasia, transitioning to Acenda Group as Group CFO following the Nippon Life acquisition, Yvonne Le Bas won the 2026 Australian CFO Award for Private Equity CFO. A Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, a Fellow of England and Wales Chartered Accountants, and an alumna of the Harvard Business School CFO Leadership Program, she has more than 25 years of experience across financial services, property, and oil sectors in Australia and internationally. Before Resolution Life she held CFO roles at BT Financial Group and senior positions at Westpac Banking Group.
Her LinkedIn profile reflects a finance leader whose passion extends to developing the next generation of finance talent, with particular focus on women in leadership. She is Chair of Ireland Funds Australia and holds a board position at Loreto Kirribilli School, reflecting a breadth of community and governance commitment that enriches her professional voice.
11. Phil Clewett
Deputy Chief Financial Officer at Downer Group and winner of the 2026 Australian CFO Award for Deputy CFO of the Year, Phil Clewett operates within one of Australia's largest integrated services companies. Downer provides services across transport, utilities, and facilities to governments and industries across Australia, New Zealand, and the Asia Pacific. His recognition as the standout deputy CFO in Australia in 2026 positions him as a voice worth tracking as he moves toward a CFO role of his own.
His award recognition makes his LinkedIn content directly relevant for anyone monitoring the next generation of ASX finance leadership. The deputy CFO cohort in Australian listed companies is one of the most talent-dense layers in the profession, and Clewett's standing among his peers is a strong signal of the quality of his thinking. Find Phil Clewett on LinkedIn by searching Phil Clewett Downer Group.
12. David Lamont
The 2026 Australian CFO Awards Lifetime Achievement recipient, David Lamont served as BHP's Group CFO from 2020 to 2024 and as CFO of ASX-listed global biotech company CSL Limited from 2015 to 2020. He now serves as Non-Executive Director of Telstra (Chair of the Audit Committee) and APA Group, and as President of the Financial Executives Institute of Australia. His career spans CFO roles at OZ Minerals, PaperlinX, Incitec Pivot, and Minerals and Metals Group.
His LinkedIn activity reflects the perspective of a seasoned CFO now operating at board level, bringing a governance and risk oversight lens to the questions facing the profession. The Lifetime Achievement recognition specifically noted his three decades of contribution to shaping Australian corporate finance leadership standards.
13. Craig Roberts
Head of Finance at Australia Post and winner of the 2026 Australian CFO Award for Finance Team of the Year, Craig Roberts leads one of the country's most complex government business enterprise finance functions. Australia Post serves every community in the country, operates across parcels, banking, and traditional mail, and navigates commercial pressures while holding a community service obligation that no purely private business carries. The Finance Team of the Year recognition acknowledged the team's performance in managing that complexity while driving genuine value creation.
His LinkedIn presence reflects the perspective of a finance leader in a public-facing national institution where the finance function's decisions are directly visible to millions of Australians. His context within a GBE gives him a distinctive lens on the intersection of commercial and public service financial management. Find Craig Roberts on LinkedIn by searching Craig Roberts Australia Post Finance.
In-Seat Corporate CFOs Sharing What They Know
These are practitioners currently holding active CFO mandates who have chosen to contribute to the public finance conversation on LinkedIn. The combination of real-world accountability and public voice is relatively rare, which makes each of these voices particularly worth following.
14. Yogita Nath
Chief Financial Officer for South Korea, Australia and New Zealand at Sanofi since 2019, Yogita Nath has more than 25 years of finance leadership experience across pharmaceuticals, FMCG, and oil and gas, including Finance Director roles at Alexion and Janssen Cilag. She is a Fellow Certified Practising Accountant and serves on the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee of Science and Technology Australia.
She is executive sponsor of Sanofi's Accessibility Working Group and led the development of the organisation's first Accessibility Inclusion Plan, making Sanofi the first in its industry to formalise this commitment in Australia. Her diversity and accessibility work has been featured in CFO Magazine Australia, where she was highlighted as one of the CFOs leading the diversity agenda. Find Yogita Nath on LinkedIn by searching Yogita Nath Sanofi Australia.
15. Samuel Samhan
Chief Financial Officer at BluGlass Limited (ASX: BLG), a deep-tech semiconductor company operating across Australia and the United States, Samuel Samhan has spent more than 20 years in financial leadership and commercial operations. A BEc (Accounting) and MBA graduate and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, he was a featured speaker at the Finance Leaders Forum 2026.
His advocacy for moving finance teams from transactional reporting to strategic business partnership is a consistent theme in his conference contributions and LinkedIn content. His work at BluGlass, a listed company in the laser diode and semiconductor space, gives him a distinctive perspective on capital allocation and investor relations in a deep-tech context.
16. Sarah Graf
Chief Financial Officer at HBF Health since May 2024, Sarah Graf leads finance, property, procurement, and investment for one of Western Australia's largest not-for-profit health funds. A Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, she brings 20 years of experience across banking and general insurance in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Argentina, including ten years at Commonwealth Bank culminating in the CFO role at Bankwest.
She was a featured speaker at the Finance Leaders Forum 2026, where her perspectives on value creation in health insurance and the governance implications of the current regulatory environment contributed to a programme focused on resilience and the expanding CFO mandate. Her background across multiple jurisdictions and sectors gives her a comparative lens that is rare among Australian CFOs.
17. Sam Nagra
Chief Financial Officer at Sonic Healthcare, one of Australia's most significant global pathology and radiology businesses operating across multiple countries, Sam Nagra leads finance for an organisation where regulatory rigour, capital allocation for laboratory infrastructure, and strategic investment decisions sit simultaneously on the finance function's agenda. He was a featured speaker at the Finance Leaders Forum 2026.
His perspectives on navigating AI adoption, cost discipline, and strategic investment in a highly regulated healthcare environment were among the Forum's most cited insights. His LinkedIn content reflects the considered communication style of a CFO operating at scale in a technically demanding environment. Find Sam Nagra on LinkedIn by searching Sam Nagra Sonic Healthcare.
18. Ricardo Pereira
Chief Financial Officer at IKEA Australia and New Zealand, Ricardo Pereira leads finance across one of the world's most recognisable retail brands in a market known for competitive intensity and complex consumer dynamics. He was a featured speaker at the Finance Leaders Forum 2026. His international context within IKEA's global finance community gives him a perspective on shared standards, values-based financial governance, and sustainable retail finance that is genuinely distinctive in the Australian market.
His LinkedIn content reflects themes of sustainability, business partnering, and the strategic use of financial data to drive decisions in a purpose-led business. IKEA's commitment to affordable and sustainable living provides a distinctive context for CFO thought leadership that goes beyond conventional retail finance commentary. Find Ricardo Pereira on LinkedIn by searching Ricardo Pereira IKEA Australia.
19. Sarah Hunter
A retail finance veteran who moved to the CFO role at Super Retail Group from Officeworks, Sarah Hunter brings direct experience navigating digital transformation, supply chain complexity, and consumer sentiment shifts across major Australian retail brands including Supercheap Auto, Rebel, BCF, and Macpac. Her appointment was noted by CFO Magazine Australia as reflecting the premium placed on consumer and operational finance experience in Australian boards.
Her transition between major Australian retailers reflects both the depth of her operational finance capability and the confidence that boards are placing in finance leaders who can hold both the strategic and operational brief. Find Sarah Hunter on LinkedIn by searching Sarah Hunter Super Retail Group CFO.
20. Tim Fawaz
Currently serving as Interim CEO of Craveable Brands after joining as its Chief Financial and Operating Officer in 2022, Tim Fawaz has a career spanning CFO and COO roles at City Chic Collective, EziBuy (a New Zealand-based online retailer), Big W, and Moelis Australia Hotel Management. A Fellow of CPA Australia, a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and an MBA graduate of the University of Technology Sydney, his track record across retail, FMCG, hospitality, and New Zealand operations gives him one of the broadest applied finance portfolios in the ANZ market.
His current position as Interim CEO of Craveable Brands reflects the increasing frequency with which finance leaders are taking on the top role, a career trajectory that makes his LinkedIn perspective directly relevant to any CFO thinking about the path beyond the CFO chair. Find Tim Fawaz on LinkedIn by searching Tim Fawaz Craveable Brands.
21. James Chuong
CFO of Atlassian since March 2026, James Chuong spent 13 years at LinkedIn, serving as its CFO for the last five years before his appointment. Atlassian is an Australian-founded software company and one of the country's most globally significant technology businesses. His familiarity with the platform where CFO thought leadership is built gives his voice a distinctive authenticity.
His understanding of both the B2B software finance model and the dynamics of professional networks positions him as one of the most relevant voices in the region for finance professionals in technology companies. Find James Chuong on LinkedIn by searching James Chuong Atlassian.
22. Jaco Jonker
Chief Financial and Operations Officer at Hipages, Australia and New Zealand's largest online tradie marketplace, Jaco Jonker has navigated the organisation through significant growth milestones including the strategic acquisition of New Zealand's Builderscrack in 2021. He has shared his experience transitioning from corporate to startup environments on The Australian CFO Show podcast, where his insights on building finance functions in fast-growth digital businesses have resonated with a wide audience of finance professionals.
His LinkedIn content reflects the perspective of a CFO in a dual-sided marketplace business where the finance function must simultaneously support consumer growth, tradie engagement, and investor accountability. Find Jaco Jonker on LinkedIn by searching Jaco Jonker Hipages.
Finance Transformation and Strategy Leaders
Some of the most valuable CFO LinkedIn content comes from practitioners working at the intersection of finance, strategy, and transformation. These leaders are navigating the questions that most organisations are still working to answer: how to embed AI responsibly, how to move from reporting to partnering, and how to build finance functions that can operate at the speed of strategy.
For organisations whose CFO or finance leadership teams are navigating transformation, Jonno White's executive team offsite facilitation brings the Working Genius framework and proven leadership tools to the challenge. Email jonno@consultclarity.org.
23. Ash Waite
A finance transformation specialist based in Australia with experience leading large-scale finance function transformations across the Asia-Pacific region, Ash Waite has built a LinkedIn following on content that is distinctively personal and practically grounded. A recent post drew lessons from restoring an old cray boat and applied them directly to the principles of finance transformation, a combination that lands differently from the more formal tone of most finance commentary.
His posts address the gap between what CFOs know about transformation and what they can execute, the role of culture in finance function change, and the dynamics of managing resistant stakeholders. His profile's description of having seen finance transformation through both the eyes of a CFO and a transformation specialist gives his perspective a dual-lens quality that is directly valuable for practitioners on either side of that boundary.
24. Danielle Wood
Chair of the Productivity Commission since November 2023, Danielle Wood brings the economic and policy framework that every Australian CFO operates within into direct public conversation. A co-founder and first Chair of the Women in Economics Network, a former CEO of the Grattan Institute, and a graduate of the University of Adelaide and the University of Melbourne with Honours in Economics and Masters degrees in both Economics and Competition Law, she was a keynote speaker at the Finance Leaders Forum 2026.
Her analysis of productivity, disruption, and the Australian economic landscape shapes the strategic planning conversations finance leaders are having with their boards and CEOs. Her LinkedIn content provides the macro-economic context that CFOs need for capital allocation, scenario planning, and regulatory navigation decisions. Find Danielle Wood on LinkedIn by searching Danielle Wood Productivity Commission.
25. Richard Spalding
A Finance Technology leader at Commonwealth Bank who has held both the CFO for Technology and CIO for Finance roles, Richard Spalding has built a LinkedIn presence around the intersection of finance, technology, and AI that is unusually substantive for someone in a large corporate setting. His posts address FinOps, Technology Business Management, AI adoption, and the challenge of connecting technology investment to measurable business impact.
A recommendation on his profile specifically highlights his unique ability to bridge finance and technology and to successfully deliver a finance technology strategy at an enterprise level. His content regularly engages with the finance and technology community, making him one of the most active corporate finance voices covering the technology dimension of the CFO mandate. Find Richard Spalding on LinkedIn by searching Richard Spalding Commonwealth Bank finance technology.
26. Kirsten Fish
Second Commissioner for Law Design and Practice at the Australian Taxation Office, Kirsten Fish holds overall responsibility for the ATO's law practice across tax and superannuation. She joined the ATO in 2014 and served as Chief Tax Counsel from 2015 before her formal appointment to the Second Commissioner role in October 2021. A tax partner at Clayton Utz prior to joining the ATO, she holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting), a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours), and a Master of Law (Tax).
Her role makes her one of the most consequential figures in the operating environment for every Australian CFO. Her participation at the Finance Leaders Forum 2026 brought a regulatory and law design perspective covering Payday Super compliance and the ATO's interpretation of key tax obligations for 2026 and beyond. Find Kirsten Fish on LinkedIn by searching Kirsten Fish ATO Second Commissioner.
27. Stephanie Carroll
Former Chief Financial Officer of Adore Beauty, Stephanie Carroll brings the perspective of a CFO who led finance in an ASX-listed pure-play e-commerce company through the volatile post-pandemic consumer environment. She was a speaker at the Finance Leaders Forum 2026, contributing her experience of finance leadership in a digitally native consumer business where data, attribution, and customer lifetime value sit alongside traditional financial reporting as core finance responsibilities.
Her experience at Adore Beauty gives her a perspective on investor relations, growth capital, and the financial modelling of digital consumer businesses that is directly relevant for finance professionals in technology and consumer companies. Find Stephanie Carroll on LinkedIn by searching Stephanie Carroll Adore Beauty CFO.
28. Jennifer Scott
A finance transformation leader featured in CFO Magazine Australia for her perspectives on how CFOs can lead effective organisational change, Jennifer Scott has built a public voice around the human dimensions of finance function transformation. Her content addresses the communication skills, stakeholder management, and change leadership capabilities that determine whether a CFO's transformation agenda gets traction at board and executive level.
Her LinkedIn activity covers finance transformation, team capability development, and the leadership communication that separates CFOs who are genuinely strategic from those who are still primarily perceived as technical experts. Find Jennifer Scott on LinkedIn by searching Jennifer Scott CFO transformation Australia.
New Zealand Finance Leaders
New Zealand's CFO community is shaped by the country's distinct mix of listed companies, government enterprises, not-for-profit organisations, and internationally exposed businesses. The voices in this category have been nationally recognised, are contributing to New Zealand's most important finance conversations, or are building active public profiles that deserve a wider ANZ audience.
For Jonno White's work with New Zealand organisations, including finance leadership team offsites and Working Genius facilitation, many organisations find that international travel costs are far lower than expected. Email jonno@consultclarity.org.
29. Stephen Morgan
The 2025 New Zealand CFO of the Year, Stephen Morgan serves as GM of Finance and Commercial at Champion Flour Milling. The award, presented at the New Zealand CFO Summit in September 2025, recognised his navigation of extraordinary volatility including global supply shocks, a major ERP implementation, and a silo collapse, while consistently delivering on financial targets and transforming the finance function into a high-performing, business-partnering team.
The judging panel commended him as a courageous and visionary CFO whose leadership exemplifies excellence in finance. The mid-market New Zealand food manufacturing context makes his perspective particularly valuable for finance leaders in similar-scale organisations that rarely appear in headline CFO conversations. Find Stephen Morgan on LinkedIn by searching Stephen Morgan Champion Flour Milling.
30. Jennifer Tupou
The 2025 winner of the New Zealand Finance Leader in a Growth Entity award, Jennifer Tupou is Chief Financial Officer and Director of Corporate Services at The Fono Trust in Auckland. The judging panel commended her for redefining what it means to be a finance leader in the not-for-profit sector, specifically noting her transformation of finance from a compliance function into a strategic enabler, her modernisation of systems, her strengthening of governance, and her embedding of financial literacy across the whole organisation.
Her work at The Fono Trust, which serves vulnerable Pacific communities, carries a dimension of purpose and community accountability that extends well beyond conventional CFO metrics. Her 2025 recognition positioned her as a voice worth following for any finance leader working in the not-for-profit or community services sector. Find Jennifer Tupou on LinkedIn by searching Jennifer Tupou Fono Trust.
31. Nick Judd
Chief Financial Officer at One NZ (formerly Vodafone New Zealand), Nick Judd leads the Finance, Strategy and Transformation functions at one of New Zealand's most significant telecommunications businesses. He was a featured speaker at the New Zealand CFO Summit 2026, where his perspectives on navigating AI disruption, geopolitical complexity, and regulatory change in a capital-intensive network business contributed to a programme focused on the pressures reshaping the CFO mandate.
His LinkedIn content reflects the perspective of a CFO in a complex, regulated, and internationally connected business where finance actively shapes strategic direction. Find Nick Judd on LinkedIn by searching Nick Judd One NZ.
32. Scott Mancer
The 2025 winner of the New Zealand Emerging Finance Leader award, Scott Mancer serves as Manager of Finance at Palmerston North City Council. The judging panel specifically noted his ability to translate complex financial matters into accessible insights for community leaders, elected members, and the public, a capability increasingly valued as public sector finance functions navigate transparency obligations and community engagement expectations.
He was also recognised for his secondment to emergency response work in Westport following Cyclone Gabrielle, demonstrating the breadth of contribution that the best finance leaders make beyond their core mandate. Find Scott Mancer on LinkedIn by searching Scott Mancer Palmerston North City Council.
33. Greg Kemp
A CFO Centre practitioner based in Auckland, Greg Kemp is one of the most active fractional CFO voices in New Zealand. His LinkedIn content reflects a practitioner working across multiple businesses simultaneously, giving him an unusually broad view of the patterns that repeat across organisations of different sizes and sectors. A recent post argued that demand for CFOs is growing while supply is not keeping up, and that the gap reflects a role that has changed faster than many CFOs have adapted.
His candid perspective on the CFO talent gap generated significant engagement from the New Zealand finance community. His work through The CFO Centre connects him to a large network of SME and growth business leaders recognising the value of CFO-grade thinking without the cost of a full-time appointment.
Fractional and Independent Finance Leaders
The rise of the fractional CFO model in Australia and New Zealand has produced a cohort of experienced finance leaders building significant public voices on LinkedIn. Freed from the communication constraints of a single employer, these practitioners tend to be among the most candid and consistent voices in the space.
34. Elechia Jones
A CFO Centre practitioner based in northern New South Wales and Victoria, Elechia Jones has built an active LinkedIn presence around financial planning fundamentals for business owners and SME leaders. Her content is notably accessible, addressing the financial management questions most relevant to growing businesses: cash flow forecasting, budget-to-actual tracking, and the financial habits that distinguish businesses that scale from those that stall.
Her recent posts on superannuation reforms and their cash flow implications for small business owners demonstrated timely engagement with the regulatory changes that matter most to her audience. She brings a community-oriented approach to practice, reflected in her involvement with local charitable events alongside her professional work.
35. Matthew Thompson
The founder of The Virtual CFO Group Australia, Matthew Thompson has built a LinkedIn presence focused on the practical application of CFO thinking to growing businesses navigating the inflection point between startup spreadsheets and a mature finance function. His posts address AI-enabled forecasting, financial systems implementation, and the strategic questions that founders and CEOs face as they scale.
A recent post on how AI forecast tools now update in real time and push insights before decisions are made reflected an applied perspective on technology adoption that is more grounded than most AI commentary in the finance space. His content addresses a large and underserved audience of Australian SME founders and finance managers.
Finance Policy, Regulation, and Institutional Leaders
The ANZ finance profession is shaped not only by practitioners in organisations but by the regulatory, standards, and institutional leaders who set the framework within which every CFO operates. Following these voices means access to where the rules are heading before they arrive.
36. Sarah Court
Appointed as ASIC Chair on 1 June 2026, Sarah Court is one of the most consequential figures in Australian financial regulation. As Deputy Chair of ASIC for several years before her elevation, she led an uplift in the organisation's enforcement approach to protect consumers, investors, and the integrity of Australia's financial system. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, participates in the International Organisation of Securities Commissions, and holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Adelaide.
Her role as Chair places her at the centre of every major regulatory development affecting Australian CFOs in the years ahead, including sustainability disclosure obligations, digital asset regulation, and the evolution of corporate governance standards. Her LinkedIn presence carries the weight and communication discipline of someone who understands that market confidence is built through the visible engagement of its stewards. Find Sarah Court on LinkedIn by searching Sarah Court ASIC.
37. Karen McWilliams
Business Reform Leader at Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, Karen McWilliams is responsible for shaping and influencing business reform issues directly relevant to Chartered Accountants: insolvency, corporate governance, anti-money laundering, corporations law, climate change, and sustainability reporting. She was a speaker at the William Buck 2026 CFO Summit, where her analysis of the evolving regulatory and reform landscape contributed a perspective directly useful for CFOs planning their compliance and governance investments.
Her position at CA ANZ gives her a unique vantage point on where professional standards and regulatory obligations are heading. Her perspectives on sustainability reporting standards are among the most practically framed available from a professional body source. Find Karen McWilliams on LinkedIn by searching Karen McWilliams Chartered Accountants ANZ.
38. Besa Deda
Chief Economist at William Buck and former Chief Economist across the Westpac Group following her appointment in 2008 as the first female Chief Economist of an Australian bank, Besa Deda is one of the most credentialled and trusted economic voices in Australia. She is Chair of Australian Business Economists, where she has championed diversity and expanded the organisation's reach in informing economic and policy debate.
Her regular commentary on interest rate environments, GDP trends, and business confidence conditions is consistently cited by CFOs as among the most practically useful economic analysis available in the Australian market. Her position at William Buck ensures her analysis is calibrated to the decisions that most Australian CFOs are actually facing. Find Besa Deda on LinkedIn by searching Besa Deda William Buck economist.
ANZ Finance Leaders Adding Distinctive Value
The final voices in this list bring perspectives from specific industry contexts that are underrepresented in most CFO commentary: technology hardware, independent retail, and long-tenured operational finance leadership in complex organisations.
39. David Chapman
Chief Financial Officer for Greater Asia Pacific at Lenovo, overseeing the PC, Datacentre/Server, and Motorola business units, David Chapman brings more than 20 years of experience in the telecommunications and IT sectors across Asia Pacific and EMEA. He was a featured speaker at the Finance Leaders Forum 2026. His passion for driving technology that empowers people is reflected in his LinkedIn content, which addresses the strategic challenges of finance leadership in a multi-business-unit technology company navigating product cycle volatility and AI integration simultaneously.
His perspective on finance leadership across a global technology organisation with a major Asia Pacific footprint gives him a lens on cross-regional capital allocation, regulatory complexity, and strategic planning that is directly relevant for Australian CFOs with international mandates. Find David Chapman on LinkedIn by searching David Chapman Lenovo Greater Asia Pacific.
40. Scott Lintern
Chief Financial Officer at Drakes Supermarkets since January 2014, Scott Lintern has built one of the most stable long-tenured CFO careers in Australian retail, with more than 30 years of experience spanning Accolade Wines, Banksia Wines, and PwC. He was a speaker at the William Buck 2026 CFO Summit, where his perspectives on using data to drive decision-making in a privately held grocery retailer competing directly with the major supermarket chains drew engagement from practitioners working in similarly private, operationally intensive environments.
The independent grocery retail context, with its distinctive pressures around margins, supply chain, and digital disruption, is largely absent from mainstream CFO conversations. Lintern's decade-plus tenure navigating that environment gives him credibility on questions of operational finance leadership that many corporate CFOs have never had to confront. Find Scott Lintern on LinkedIn by searching Scott Lintern Drakes Supermarkets.
Notable Voices We Almost Included
Several ANZ finance voices came close to this list but were ultimately not included at time of compilation. Matthew McLaughlin (various ANZ finance technology roles, active on LinkedIn but role verification was inconclusive at time of publication), Jennifer Haviland (Orica President Corporate Services, strong credentials but limited LinkedIn content confirmed), and several Finance Leaders Forum speakers whose LinkedIn activity could not be confirmed within the timeframe of this research. This list will be updated as the ANZ CFO LinkedIn community continues to grow.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Following CFO LinkedIn Content
The most common mistake finance professionals make when building their LinkedIn feed is defaulting to the highest-follower accounts rather than the most substantive ones. The CFOs with the largest followings on LinkedIn are almost exclusively based in the United States or Europe, and their content reflects market conditions, regulatory environments, and capital structures that are only partially applicable in Australia and New Zealand. Building a list of ANZ-specific voices alongside a handful of global perspectives is a better strategy than following global voices exclusively.
A second common mistake is treating LinkedIn content as a substitute for technical education. The most valuable finance leadership content on LinkedIn is about perspective, mindset, and strategic framing, not about how to prepare consolidated accounts or navigate a specific tax provision. Confusing the two leads to frustration when the content does not meet technical expectations it was never intended to fulfil.
A third mistake is following without engaging. The finance leaders on this list who are most actively building community are doing so through conversation, not broadcast. Leaving a genuine comment on a post is how relationships and learning happen on the platform. The people on this list are not posting into a void. They are building dialogue, and the finance professionals who engage with that dialogue are the ones who benefit most.
Finance professionals who want to build their own thought leadership on LinkedIn face a distinctive challenge: the same technical rigour that makes them excellent in their roles can make their content feel overly cautious or qualified on a platform that rewards directness. The CFOs on this list who have built the strongest voices have found a way to be precise and direct simultaneously, sharing a clear point of view while being honest about uncertainty. That combination is worth studying and attempting to replicate.
Implementation Guide: How to Get Value from This List
The simplest starting point is to follow all 40 voices in a single sitting and then observe which ones you find yourself reading consistently over the following four weeks. Not all of them will be relevant to your specific context, and that is fine. The goal is to build a feed that you return to because it is genuinely useful, not to collect connections.
Once you have identified the five or six voices that are most relevant to your work, turn on LinkedIn notifications for their posts. Most CFOs and finance leaders post between one and four times per week when they are active, which means notifications will not overwhelm your inbox but will ensure you see the content promptly, while the discussion is still active.
Engagement is the mechanism through which LinkedIn becomes professionally useful rather than merely informative. When a post raises a question or challenge that is relevant to your organisation, share the perspective with your team and link to the post. When a point of view resonates, leave a comment that adds something rather than simply agreeing. The finance professionals who extract the most value from following these voices are those who treat the content as a starting point for their own thinking, not a conclusion.
For finance leadership teams who want to build a shared literacy around the strategic questions their function is navigating, Jonno White's Working Genius facilitation and team workshops help finance leadership teams build the shared language and trust that make open learning culture possible. Organisations consistently find that international travel is far more affordable than expected. Email jonno@consultclarity.org.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a CFO worth following on LinkedIn?
A CFO worth following on LinkedIn does three things consistently: shares a genuine point of view rather than generic professional updates, posts with enough regularity that their content appears in your feed without you having to seek it out, and engages with replies in a way that demonstrates they are part of a conversation rather than broadcasting. The best CFO voices on LinkedIn are the ones whose content makes you think differently about a problem you are already working on, not the ones who confirm what you already believe.
Why is the ANZ CFO LinkedIn community smaller than the US and UK equivalent?
The ANZ professional LinkedIn community is smaller in absolute terms, and cultural norms around public professional expression have historically been more reserved in Australia and New Zealand than in North America. That is changing, partly because the platform's reach has grown and partly because a generation of finance leaders has watched the value that strong LinkedIn voices create for their careers and their organisations. The 40 voices on this list represent a community that is growing fast and producing content of genuine quality.
How often should I check LinkedIn to get value from following these voices?
Once per day is sufficient for most finance professionals. LinkedIn's feed curates content algorithmically, so you do not need to scroll exhaustively to see the best content from people you follow. Fifteen to twenty minutes in the morning with notifications turned on for your highest-value follows is a practical approach that does not require a major change to your working day.
Should I follow these voices with my personal account or a company account?
Personal accounts generate significantly more reach and receive more engagement than company accounts on LinkedIn. For finance professionals wanting to build their own professional presence alongside consuming content, a personal account is the right choice. For organisations wanting to share this list with their finance teams, distributing the link to this article is more effective than attempting to manage this through a company page.
How can this list help me if I am an aspiring CFO rather than a current one?
Aspiring CFOs who follow the voices on this list gain access to the genuine thinking of finance leaders who are navigating the challenges they will eventually face themselves. More practically, the LinkedIn platform allows direct engagement with people on this list through comments and messages, and several of the coaches and educators in the early sections actively welcome that engagement. The fractional and independent finance leaders are also often the most accessible, given that building a professional community is central to their business model.
Final Thoughts
The 40 finance leaders in this list are shaping the ANZ CFO profession through the quality and consistency of their thinking on LinkedIn, not through institutional prestige alone. Following them costs nothing and takes less than an hour to set up. The return, measured in the perspectives, frameworks, and challenges to your assumptions that you encounter over the following months, is disproportionate to the investment.
The finance function in Australia and New Zealand is in the middle of its most significant transformation in a generation. The CFOs who are building public voices on LinkedIn are doing so because they believe that the profession is better when practitioners share what they are learning, challenge each other's assumptions, and hold each other to higher standards of strategic contribution. That is a community worth joining.
Organisations that want to develop the leadership capability of their finance teams can engage Jonno White, Certified Working Genius Facilitator and author of Step Up or Step Out (10,000+ copies sold), for keynotes, workshops, and executive team facilitation sessions focused on the human dynamics that determine whether great financial strategy gets executed. Jonno has worked with finance and accounting leadership teams across schools, corporates, and nonprofits around the world. To start a conversation about your team's specific needs, email jonno@consultclarity.org. Many organisations find that flying Jonno in for an intensive session costs significantly less than they expect.
About the Author
Jonno White is a Certified Working Genius Facilitator, author of Step Up or Step Out, and leadership consultant who has worked with schools, corporates, and nonprofits around the world. His book Step Up or Step Out has sold over 10,000 copies globally, and his podcast The Leadership Conversations has featured 230+ episodes reaching listeners in 150+ countries. Jonno founded The 7 Questions Movement with 6,000+ participating leaders and achieved a 93.75% satisfaction rating for his Working Genius masterclass at the ASBA 2025 National Conference. Based in Brisbane, Australia, Jonno works globally and regularly travels for speaking and facilitation engagements. Organisations consistently find that international travel is far more affordable than expected. To book Jonno for your next keynote, workshop, or facilitation session, email jonno@consultclarity.org.
Sources
Deloitte Australia. CFO Sentiment Report, December 2025. Deloitte AU press room.
PwC Australia. Five Trends Shaping the CFO Agenda in 2026. PwC Australia, 2026.
Edelman and LinkedIn. 2025 B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report. Edelman, 2025.
Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. Member statistics, 2025-2026 reporting.
CFO Magazine Australia. Australian CFO Awards 2026 coverage, March 2026.
Brightstar. 2025 New Zealand CFO Awards Winners. Brightstar, September 2025.
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