Rahul Malhotra

Volatility is the new baseline. CFOs must decide whether their organizations will merely absorb shocks—or turn disruption into strategic advantage.

• Rethink "resilience" not as protection, but as offense.

• Decide what to control, hedge, or abandon, and prioritize people in decision-making.

The modern CFO sits at the crossroads of purpose and performance. As investors, employees, and customers demand more transparency, finance leaders must prove that sustainable growth, fiscal discipline, and workforce investment aren't at odds — they're interdependent drivers of enterprise value. Today's finance leader must go beyond operational excellence to manage capital and talent as strategic levers — aligning resources, teams, and investments to achieve mission and business outcomes.

• Manage money and teams as strategic levers — aligning financial resources and talent to achieve mission and business outcomes, and measuring return on capability, engagement, and innovation.

• Embed purpose and stakeholder priorities into financial decision-making to drive both operational and strategic impact without compromising rigor or returns.

Fireside Chat Leader: Rahul Malhotra, CFO, Integreon

Richard Topping, Assistant Secretary for Management & Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs