#85 How Does a Big 4 Auditor Become a High-Growth CFO? with Jimmy Vassilas, CFO at SantéVet

How Did Jimmy Vassilas Go from Big 4 Auditor to CFO of SantéVet? Jimmy Vassilas’ journey from audit to CFO is anything but linear. In this episode of The GrowCFO Show, he shares how strategic horizontal moves, international assignments, and a deep focus on tech shaped his career. From qualifying as a Canadian Chartered Accountant at Deloitte to rising through Autodesk into CFO roles at Receipt Bank, Zappi, and now SantéVet — Jimmy’s story shows that agility, openness to change, and strong FP&A skills are essential ingredients for modern CFO leadership. Jimmy Vassilas started his career in Montreal, Canada. He qualified as a Canadian Chartered Accountant with Deloitte majoring in high tech and telecoms. High tech has remained the focus of his career ever since. Jimmy’s CFO roles include Receipt Bank; Zappi; and most recently SantéVet. Jimmy joined Autodesk and then moved to Europe temporarily to cover maternity leave. The person on maternity leave never returned to work and Jimmy never returned to Canada. In the episode, we reflect on how unexpected things like this often have the biggest impact on your career path. His journey takes him from external audit to internal audit. Subsequent job changes take him into FP&A and several senior management roles. Jimmy achieved many of these by moving horizontally rather than vertically within Autodesk, eventually becoming Autodesk’s finance director. Links Jimmy Vassilas on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn GrowCFO CFO Competency Framework Find out more about becoming a CFO Timestamps 01:21 Jimmy’s early career in audit 05:35 Internal audit to FP&A and 17 years in Autodesk 07:35 Are horizontal moves worth taking? 08:49 The 9 competencies of a CFO 09:29 The number one complaint CEOs have about CFOs 11:26 Is 17 years too long in a single organisation? 14:00 So why leave after 17 years? 16:07 Becoming CFO in an organisation funded by venture capital. 19:04 SantéVet and a move to France 20:46 The challenges of being CFO in a high growth tech company 21:49 The importance of shared values within the business 23:11 The importance of being a business partner 25:00 What’s the best advice you would give somebody at the start of their journey? 29:00 The importance of networking and maintaining connections