CFO Exchange: Real Conversations with Venture-Backed Finance Leaders

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CFO Exchange: Real Conversations with Venture-Backed Finance Leaders Open Future Forum | Executive Session

CFO Exchange is an invitation-only executive session for chief financial officers and senior finance leaders at venture-backed companies. Open Future Forum hosts it on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM at Industrious in Palo Alto, California.

The CFO role at venture-backed companies has moved from gatekeeper to strategist. Boards want faster reporting and sharper capital efficiency. Investors are taking longer to commit. AI is rewriting parts of the finance stack. And the next round is harder to time than it was two years ago.

This executive session brings together CFOs and finance leaders from venture-backed companies for a candid conversation about how the work is actually changing. The format is built for peer exchange. Topics come from the room.

Moderator: Christina Bui, Protiviti Panelists: TBD

In partnership with:

• Christina Bui, Protiviti
• Louis Lehot, Foley & Lardner LLP
• Ellie Yashiro, Silicon Valley Bank

Host: Murray Newlands, Partner, Tilden Capital Family Office and IASV Seed Ventures

What We'll Cover

• Runway Planning When Valuations Keep Moving. How CFOs are stress-testing scenarios and timing the next raise without overcommitting on burn.
• Board Reporting That Actually Drives Decisions. Moving past the template deck to the metrics that change board behavior.
• Hiring Controllers and FP&A in a Tight Market. What is working for sourcing, comp, and retention at venture-backed companies.
• AI in the Finance Stack. Practical use cases finance teams are testing right now in forecasting, close, and analysis.
• Capital Efficiency as a Competitive Edge. Cash discipline, gross margin focus, and the metrics investors want to see for the next round.

Who Should Attend Designed for CFOs, VPs of Finance, and Heads of Finance at venture-backed companies. The session emphasizes peer-to-peer dialogue and operator-level honesty about what is working and what is not.

Why Attend

• Hear directly from CFOs operating in venture-backed environments.
• Take away practical approaches you can apply this quarter.
• Build relationships with a small group of senior finance peers.

Topics covered include: CFO event Silicon Valley CFO Exchange Palo Alto venture-backed CFO community runway planning and burn management board reporting metrics for venture-backed companies hiring FP&A and controllers in a tight market AI in the finance stack capital efficiency for the next funding round CFO peer group Bay Area Open Future Forum CFO Executive Forum

Open Future Forum is a Silicon Valley executive community connecting founders, operators, investors, and enterprise leaders around AI, technology, and the future of executive leadership. Over 400 events since 2021, bringing together senior executives, founders, and investors.

If you want to be considered for CFO Exchange, request to join above or find Murray Newlands on LinkedIn. If you want to sponsor a future Open Future Forum session, the same applies.