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When Charlie Wagner joined Vertex Pharmaceuticals in April 2019, he joined the company six months before the approval of Trikafta. Trikafta is a cystic fibrosis drug that later became the standard treatment for 95% of CF patients worldwide. He could see what was going to happen. Although the science was strong and the pipeline was interesting, the company was not ready to scale. Over the next seven years, revenue grew from $3 billion to $13 billion, market capitalization from $40 billion to $110 billion, and 2,500 employees were transformed to 7,000. Wagner, who now holds the titles of both CFO…

Sandra Clarke has seen healthcare cost management from all angles, including pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, and finance departments. A former chief financial officer at Blue Shield of California, she points out that the company paid for its employees' medical expenses like any other employer. “We didn't have free health care,” she told a room packed with CFOs at the CFO Leadership Council's Spring 2026 Leadership Conference in Boston this week. “We paid like everyone else.” We live in an era where premiums are increasing by 10 percent annually for most employers and more than 20 percent for smaller employers. Only…

Editor's note: Libby Rodney is chief strategy officer at Harris Poll and one of the sharpest minds in understanding consumer and social trends in business today. She will be the keynote speaker at the Leadership Summit this November. Learn more and join > We live in a big confinement. Now every meeting begins with the same question. What is the ROI? What's the reward? Did that dinner actually lead to a deal, did that conversation convert, and how much is this worth on the balance sheet? We have become very good at measuring things. We are finding it increasingly difficult…

Introduction: Linking day-to-day business execution with year-end results A well-designed executive compensation program not only rewards performance, but also encourages the right behaviors that support the company's long-term goals. Central to this adjustment is the short-term incentive (STI) plan. While base pay provides income stability and long-term incentives support retention and future value creation, it's the annual bonus program that connects day-to-day performance with year-end results. When carefully crafted, an STI plan is a powerful tool for focusing leaders' attention, reinforcing strategic priorities, and translating operational performance into pay results. In the fourth installment of our Executive Compensation Essentials series,…

On May 5, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced proposed rule and form amendments that would allow public companies currently required to file quarterly reports on Form 10-Q to elect to file semiannual reports on the new Form 10-S. As proposed, it would require the same content and financial requirements as the 10-Q, but would take a longer period of six months. The timing of a final rule is unclear, but SEC rulemaking often takes several months after the comment period ends (in this case, July 6, 2026). If the final rule is adopted by the end of…

In an era where the average CFO tenure is shrinking, Dallas Clement has built a 35-year career with Cox Enterprises, holding a CFO title for more than 15 years. From his early days navigating the analog-to-digital media shift to steering a diversified $23 billion enterprise through the age of AI and transformation, Dallas shares how the future of the CFO role is no longer about crunching numbers but about leading with credibility, clarity and calm in times of uncertainty. Clement and host Jack McCullough unpack lessons on mentorship, building high-performing teams, partnering with CEOs and turning personal challenges—like dyslexia—into authentic…

Risk has long been part of board strategy discussions. What's changing today is how much sharper, faster, and more integrated conversations need to be. For directors, the question is not whether risk belongs in the strategy, but how effectively the board is turning risk insights into better decisions. In the 2026 edition of What Directors Think, 47 percent of directors said strategic planning is one of the most pressing topics at their next board meeting, 44 percent cited AI and other digital or technology risks and opportunities, and 32 percent cited financial conditions and macro changes. Equally noteworthy, 47% said…

PE-backed early-stage companies are built on ambition and pushed by pace. Revenues will increase and so will the number of employees. Acquisitions are becoming more realistic sooner than expected. While the system is still maturing, the demand for reporting is increasing. As an early-stage CFO, you're in the middle of that acceleration. We are building structures to scale while conducting operational firefighting operations in real time. Your responsibilities are immediate and far-reaching. You need to achieve a clean close this month while doubling your revenue, maintaining strict board oversight, and building capabilities that can support future deal processes. While the…

Health care costs are taking a toll on American businesses, and perhaps yours as well. That's not hyperbole, it's math. Since 2001, the average annual premium for family health insurance has increased from about $7,100 to nearly $27,000. Single coverage has more than tripled. Starbucks currently pays more in medical bills than it does in coffee beans. Automakers spend more on health care than on steel. The situation is getting worse. Healthcare spending growth in 2026 is expected to be between 8.5 percent and 9.5 percent, the highest in nearly 15 years, according to multiple employer surveys and carrier strategy…

Research reveals three reasons why boards are less effective – Corporate Directors Skip to content Overburdened directors, slow response to risks, and gaps in digital transformation are hindering board performance. Please consider these fixes. Higher expectations for the performance of corporate board members may require a major shift from the way boards have been run in the past. “Board bandwidth and the pace of change are testing board effectiveness,” according to a new study from PwC's Governance Insights Center and The Conference Board. While 41% of executives surveyed rated their companies' boards as excellent or good, the study…