For Michiel Boere, former global CFO at Uber Eats, the secret behind being an effective financial chief is as far away as you can get from the old CFO stereotypes.
Boere, the employer of Record of Record and HRIS Solutions, the CFO of Payroll Provider Remote, sees his role as the “connection” of the entire management team. His goal as CFO is to remove growth and innovation that reduces friction, not to create it. Instead of strict control over them, know when to make costs more flexible.
To do all that, CFOs need to look “practically, operationally aware and positive.” People aren't limited to the figures on the business as a whole.
Our writer Katie Kuhner Hebert asked Amsterdam-based Beaule about his formative, pressured years at Uber and how he thinks AI will reshape corporate finance.
What did you learn on your professional journey to CFO? Also, what advice would you share to help you advance your current and future CFOs and their leadership roles?
I have built my career by actively looking for diverse experiences not just across finance but across business. I work in marketing, run a production facility and lead customer service. That's what I shaped the lead today. Not as a technology finance manager, but as a business-oriented CFO who can tie your strategy to execution.
Operating effectively across large scales and industry requires more than just financial insight. A broad and practical understanding of how a business actually works is needed. This includes knowing when to take calculated risks and when flexibility promotes value over stiffness cost control.
One of the most valuable lessons I learned with Uber was how to stay calm and focused in a calm, high-pressure environment. That skill – the ability to cut out noise, prioritize what matters most, and act decisively – translates across all roles and in every company. If you are aiming to be CFO, my advice is simple. Don't chase the activity.
How do you think AI is reshaping the role of CFOs? And how do you think it will continue to evolve?
AI is attracting a lot of attention throughout the industry. However, within finance, real-world adoption is still very limited. Most CFOs today are in the very early stages of the experiment. Some people use AI tools for rapid research and drafting. Still, when it comes to core financial processes, such as accounting, reporting, and control, it's not consistent or reliable enough to fully trust the numbers.
“To operate effectively across a large scale and industry, it takes more than just financial insight. It requires a broad and practical understanding of how a business actually works.”
However, I don't think the role of AI is to replace financial judgments and complex analyses. The real value lies in productivity and enhancement. Think of AI as a highly efficient assistant. It helps you quickly analyze large datasets, summarise dense reports, automate routine tasks, and reduce the time spent on manual tasks. Free your team and focus on higher-order strategy.
Looking ahead, I imagine that AI will evolve as a co-pilot of a financial team, rather than as an alternative. The role of CFOs moves largely towards organizing human-machine collaboration, setting guardrails, ensuring data integrity, and helping organizations get faster and more detailed information.
As a global company's CFO, how do you deal with economic uncertainty?
Much of my perspective on navigating uncertainty was shaped during Uber. For seven years I have helped me move from a fast-scaling startup to a public company. I worked on companies that still suffered losses and fitted into the product market. Therefore, I had to use incomplete information to make decisions more comfortable and balance growth and financial discipline.
Remote takes a similarly practical approach. It's comfortable to trade short-term profitability for long-term value, but only if the upside is clear and the drawbacks are managed. It means being thoughtful about where we invest, constantly adjusting to our strategic priorities and being disciplined for our spending.
Economic uncertainty does not change our ambitions, but it sharpens our focus. We maintain grounding by controlling what we can, planning multiple scenarios, and maintaining flexibility to adapt quickly. The goal is not just to protect your business, but to position it as a stronger appearance on the other side.
