Finance
Making a business case for AI
Good morning. If you’re a CFO, you’ve been in a board meeting—or will be very soon—communicating your plan to invest in AI. For some insight into that process, I sat down with veteran tech CFO Mark Hawkins. His first piece of advice? “Clearly and unambiguously define the use case.”
“The less difficult it is to understand, the more credible the opportunity,” he explained. “When people can’t explain it, as a seasoned executive, it creates a yellow flag for me.”
Hawkins spent more than 40 years in corporate finance, most recently as president and CFO of Salesforce, which then appointed him president and CFO Emeritus, a position he held through November 2021. He’s also been CFO at Autodesk and Logitech, and he held various positions at Dell and Hewlett-Packard (HP).
Bringing it back to AI, it’s important for CFOs to share with board members “the math, the ROI, the metrics of success” to help build credibility but also be transparent about any risks, and work on building trust, Hawkins said. “It would be wise to really articulate the governance framework for technology,” he added.
It’s also important to make clear the opportunities and potential outcomes—and how those align with the company’s overarching goals and principles.
“When you’re presenting to a super-sophisticated group of technologically advanced people, and most of them could have deep engineering and science backgrounds, it’s a different level of dialogue,” Hawkins continued. Use cases often require additional details, for example.
By 2027, spending on AI software likely will grow to $297.9 billion, with a compound annual growth rate of 19.1%, according to Gartner. The firm’s research also found that boards are asking about AI more than three times as often as considerations tied to cloud computing.
During our conversation, I asked him his personal thoughts on AI, which he compared to electricity, also “a big paradigm.” Artificial intelligence, he said, is going down the path of augmenting people’s abilities and productivity, a journey that potentially includes significant value creation and a chance to create business models that don’t yet exist.
Hawkins also took a moment to reflect a bit on his own journey, including when, at age 21, he joined HP—at the time, a $3.1 billion company. In 2023, its annual revenue was $53.7 billion.
“It was the beginning of my journey into technology,” Hawkins said, “and I’ve been there ever since.”
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
Leaderboard
Matt Lesmeister was promoted to CFO at flyExclusive, Inc. (NYSE American: FLYX), a private charter jet company, effective June 25. He will succeed interim CFO Billy Barnard. Lesmeister joined the company on May 30 as EVP and chief of staff and has 14 years of public company experience across various finance roles. Most recently, he served as VP of transformation and strategy at Fox Factory Holding Corp., Before that, Lesmeister served in various roles of increasing responsibility at United Technologies Corporation.
Kevin Nihill was named CFO at Rhinebeck Bancorp and Rhinebeck Bank (Nasdaq: RBKB). Nihill replaced former CFO, Michael McDermott, who retired from the bank after 23 years. Nihill most recently served as EVP and CFO at St. Mary’s Bank. He also served as SVP and treasurer at Berkshire Bank.
Big Deal
Mercer recently published new research about the impact of AI on productivity. The findings, created in partnership with Oxford Analytica, suggest that AI may boost developed markets’ GDP growth up 0.5%, with emerging markets potentially seeing a 0.2% boost in GDP growth.
Another key finding is sectors will experience different AI-enabled productivity boosts: finance and insurance (14%), information and technology (13.4%), manufacturing (6.9%), health care and social assistance (6.3%), transportation and warehousing (5.7%), and hospitality and food service (3.1%, according to Mercer.
Going deeper
“Federal Reserve governor says AI is ‘not going to replace’ central bankers—at least not yet,” is a new Fortune report by Michael del Castillo. He writes: “Lisa Cook, a Federal Reserve governor, isn’t afraid of losing her job to robots anytime soon. Speaking at an Economic Club of New York event on Tuesday, Cook said that when you’re a central bank governor every word counts in a way that not only caught her off guard at first but that likely will catch AI off guard for quite some time.”
Overheard
“By taking a human-first approach and developing AI tools that solve problems everyday people experience, businesses can reach a global audience with broad demographics.”
—Matthieu Rouif, CEO and cofounder of Photoroom, an AI-powered photo-editing app, writes in a new Fortune opinion piece.
Finance
Plano-Based Finance of America Announces $2.5B Partnership with Funds Managed by Blue Owl to Expand FOA’s Home Equity Lending
Graham Fleming, CEO of Finance of America [Composite image; source: Finance of America/DI Studio]
Finance of America Companies, a leading provider of home equity-based financing solutions for a modern retirement, and funds managed by Blue Owl Capital, a leading alternative asset manager, announced an enhanced $2.5 billion strategic partnership to accelerate product innovation and distribution for the nation’s fast-growing retirement demographic.
With more than 10,000 Americans entering retirement age every day, the market for home equity access continues to expand. FOA said its collaboration with New York City-based Blue Owl positions it to capture significant share in this rapidly evolving sector.
“This is a pivotal moment not just for Finance of America, but for the senior finance market as a whole,” Graham Fleming, CEO of Finance of America, said in a statement. “By aligning with Blue Owl, we are creating a platform of scale and innovation to better serve one of the fastest-growing demographics in the United States.”
The enhanced partnership includes, per FOA:
- $2.5 billion commitment for new product innovation, providing scale and liquidity to support origination growth across multiple asset classes
- $50 million equity investment in Finance of America, enhancing long-term alignment between the companies and supporting FOA’s continued growth initiatives
- Joint innovation and product-development initiative focused on the continuous rollout of new, differentiated financial products tailored for people looking to maximize freedom, security, and opportunity throughout their retirement
This product expansion will complement FOA’s existing industry-leading reverse mortgage product suite while strengthening the company’s commitment to innovation and its role as a leader in delivering powerful financial solutions for retirees.
FOA said it continues to empower retirees with responsible, flexible access to capital to support aging in place, healthcare expenses, and lifestyle goals.
The partnership reinforces Finance of America’s mission to provide comprehensive, retirement-focused financial solutions, with the goal of expanding beyond reverse mortgages to become the nation’s leading, full-spectrum home equity lending platform, the company said.
“We believe Finance of America is uniquely positioned to redefine how financial products are delivered to retirees,” said David Aidi, senior managing director and co-head of Asset Based Finance at Blue Owl.
“This partnership provides the capital, the strategic alignment, and the innovation engine to build category-defining products at scale,” added Ray Chan, senior managing director and co-head of Asset Based Finance at Blue Owl.
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Finance
Bérangère Michel announced as BBC Group Chief Financial Officer
The BBC has announced that Bérangère Michel has been appointed to the role of Group Chief Financial Officer.
Bérangère brings extensive experience from her 16-year career at the John Lewis Partnership, where she held senior roles including Chief Financial Officer, Customer Service Executive Director, Operations Director and Finance & Strategy Director.
Prior to joining the John Lewis Partnership, Bérangère spent 11 years at the Royal Mail Group in a number of finance, change and strategy roles, including as Finance Director of the property division.
In an expanded role as BBC Group Chief Financial Officer, Bérangère will be responsible for the overall BBC Group financial strategy, with a remit across BBC Public Service, BBC Studios and the BBC’s commercial subsidiaries. She will play a leadership role and will sit on both the Executive Committee and, for the first time, the Board.
This position will strengthen the BBC’s financial leadership, support its transformation, and make the best use of the licence fee and commercial opportunities. Bérangère will report to the Director-General and will take up the role in early January.
Director-General Tim Davie says: “Bérangère brings a wealth of experience from her time at the John Lewis Partnership and will play a critical role in shaping our new financial strategy. I’m pleased to welcome her to the BBC, and to both the Executive Committee and Board.
“Bérangère’s appointment to this expanded role comes at an important time for the BBC, as we look ahead to Charter renewal and continue to accelerate our transformation to deliver outstanding value for our audiences.”
BBC Chair Samir Shah says: “The role of Group Chief Financial Officer will be hugely important as we build a BBC for the future, and I look forward to welcoming Bérangère to the Board.”
Bérangère Michel says: “I am delighted to be joining the BBC, an institution whose purpose and mission I have always admired. It’s a privilege to be part of shaping its exciting future at such a crucial moment and I cannot wait to get started.”
BBC Press Office
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Finance
ATI Promotes Longtime Leader to CFO and SVP of Finance
Rob Foster, incoming CFO of ATI Inc., effective Jan. 1, 2026 [Photo: ATI}
ATI Inc., a Dallas-based manufacturer of high-performance materials for the aerospace and defense industries, announced that James Robert “Rob” Foster will be promoted to senior vice president of finance and chief financial officer, effective January 1, 2026.
Foster succeeds Don Newman, who will serve as strategic advisor to the CEO beginning January 1. As previously announced, Newman will retire on March 1, 2026, and serve in an advisory capacity in that time to allow for a smooth transition.
“Rob is a proven P&L leader with enterprise-wide experience in the areas that matter most to ATI’s continued growth,” Kim Fields, president and CEO, said in a statement. “He brings deep expertise not only in finance but also as an operational leader. Rob played a pivotal role in the successful Specialty Rolled Products transformation, consistently helping ATI to deliver strong returns and shareholder value. I look forward to partnering with him as we enter our next phase of profitable growth.”
Foster, a longtime ATI leader, brings both operational expertise and financial discipline to the CFO role, the company said. He most recently served as president of ATI’s specialty alloys & components business, where he improved efficiency, grew capacity, and advanced the company’s role as a global leader in exotic alloys. Foster previously served as vice president of Finance, Supply Chain, and Capital Projects, overseeing ATI’s global finance organization, capital deployment processes, and enterprise supply chain performance. Earlier in his career, he led Finance for both ATI operating segments and the Forged Products business.
“I’m honored to become ATI’s next CFO,” said Foster. “ATI is well-positioned with a strong balance sheet, focused strategy, and significant opportunities ahead. I look forward to working with our team to drive disciplined investment, operational excellence, and long-term value creation for our shareholders.”
Newman added, “Rob is an exceptional leader who understands ATI’s strategy, operations, and financial drivers. He has delivered transformative results across the organization. I look forward to supporting a seamless transition as we pursue this next step in our succession planning.”
Before joining ATI in 2012, Foster held senior finance roles at API Technologies Corp. and Spectrum Control Inc., where he led ERP implementations, acquisition integrations, and internal control enhancements. He began his career as an auditor at Ernst & Young (EY).
ATI produces high-performance materials and solutions for the global aerospace and defense markets, and critical applications in electronics, medical, and specialty energy.
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