Criticaleye Community Update

Leadership Insight Archive

The Strategic CFO

This article contains excerpts taken from recent editions of Criticaleye’s ‘CFO Interviews’ series.

Featuring insights from:

Andrew Chew, Group CFO, GuocoLand Group
Iain Lewis, CFO, Ithaca Energy
Joe Dische, CFO, PropertyGuru Group
Neya Patel, Criticaleye Senior Account Executive and CFO Lead
Ed Jones, Chair, Wightlink Ferries and Board Mentor, Criticaleye

The High-performing Board

This article contains key themes and insights from Criticaleye's most recent virtual Chair and NED Forum.

Featuring insights from:

Matthew Blagg, CEO, Criticaleye
Andrew Darfoor, Chair, Capita Pensions Solutions & Board Mentor, Criticaleye
Shefaly Yogendra, SID, Temple Bar Investment Trust & Board Mentor, Criticaleye
Steve Mason, Founder, Director & CEO, Nova Blue Technologies
Nicola Hodson, Chair, IBM, UK & Ireland

Creating Competitive Advantage

Culture can’t be a siloed HR initiative. It needs to be integrated into the everyday cadence of an organisation, running from the Boardroom through to the people who work on the front line. When leaders get the values, behaviours and purpose right, it creates the foundation for high performance over the long term.

Global Economic Outlook 2026: A Test of Resilience

The projections for the next 12 months suggest that business leaders need to strap themselves in for a bumpy ride. Some continue to enjoy AI highs. Others are figuring ways to capitalise on the new pathways for international trade. An increasing number of observers are concerned about market bubbles, unemployment, low or negative growth projections and the quickening pace of geopolitical risk.

Enabling Leadership Teams to Move Faster

The pace of leadership is getting faster. The question for both senior executives and Board-level directors is how to create a culture which enables an organisation to adapt and flex in fluid market conditions, while also executing on strategic goals.

The Relationship Between the CPO and the Board

CPOs are currently grappling with how to build organisations that can execute at pace while keeping people, culture and rewards aligned with strategy. The balancing act is real: manage short-term performance and investor scrutiny while making the right, longer-term calls on leadership capability.

AI: Hype, Reality and Potential

For the past three years it feels like ‘AI’ has been on the lips of almost every business leader. The advancement of the technology in its various forms promises to revolutionise decision-making, productivity and business models. At the same time, mind-blowing sums of money are being invested into AI innovation, stoking fears of a dotcom-style bubble that could burst at any point.

Setting Out the Vision and Direction

CEOs and CFOs are grappling to find ways to build organisations that are lean, efficient and deliver to customers and clients with a sense of purpose. There’s a real balancing act underway between managing costs and short-term pressures, while also making the right strategic calls to invest in the future.

Driving Growth Through Turbulence

During the last couple of years, the operating market for growth businesses has shifted dramatically, with macroeconomic volatility, supply chain disruption and the acceleration of AI technologies all driving a paradigm shift. In many cases, leadership teams are coming under real pressure from multiple stakeholders to adapt and maintain a solid growth trajectory.