Revisiting: What Makes a Great CFO? Expert CFO Recruiter, Dav Masaon, Tell Us

Episode notes

When is the right time to hire your first CFO? And what actually separates a great one from an expensive mistake? In this re-released standout episode of The Growth-Minded CFO , we revisit our conversation with Dav Masaon, Co-Founder of executive search firm Zanda, to unpack one of the most high-stakes decisions founders make: hiring a CFO who can truly scale with the business. This isn’t a checklist of qualifications. It’s a practical look at what happens when companies bring in finance leadership too early, too late - or with the wrong expectations. Dav brings a front-row view from placing CFOs across high-growth startups globally, sharing how the role is evolving fast in response to tighter capital, rising expectations, and the growing influence of AI and automation. A clear tension runs through the conversation: startups don’t just need financial oversight anymore. They need operators who can balance discipline with ambition - driving growth while building the foundations for long-term performance. We also dig into what founders consistently get wrong.