Episode 27: The modern CFO - Christian Straub

Guest:  Christian Straub - Head of Customer Advisory Finance - SAP Hosts: Alexander Greb - Consulting Director - cbs corporate business solutionsJohannes Langguth - Head of Business Transformation and Architecture - SAP SEWhat does it take to be a modern CFO when AI, data, and complexity are reshaping the enterprise?In this episode of Transformation Every Day, Alexander Greb and Johannes Langguth speak with Christian Straub about how the CFO role is fundamentally evolving — from managing numbers to driving measurable business impact. Success today is no longer about closing the books faster, but about generating real outcomes across the value chain.Christian explains why AI is not a “finance topic,” but a business topic that will impact every function — with finance right at the center. The discussion breaks AI’s value for CFOs into three key dimensions: efficiency, better decision-making, and risk mitigation — and why only efficiency is easy to quantify, while the other two often define competitive advantage.The episode also explores why CFOs must embrace technology as a transformation lever, how the finance function is shifting toward true business partnering, and why data governance has become one of the most critical responsibilities for finance leaders. Without clean data, clear ownership, and integrated processes, AI simply amplifies existing problems instead of solving them.You’ll hear practical perspectives on:Why organizational silos block effective, AI-supported decision-makingHow incremental AI use cases can deliver fast, visible returnsWhy stakeholder alignment across business, IT, and leadership is essentialHow finance is becoming increasingly AI-driven and data-centricWhether you’re a CFO, finance leader, transformation professional, or consultant, this conversation offers a realistic and experience-based look at what it takes to lead finance into the future — balancing innovation with control, speed with trust, and ambition with execution.Follow Alexander: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandergreb/Follow Johannes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johanneslangguth/Thanks to Steven Spears for lending his voice for our podcast intro.Theme music by Luis Álvarez a.k.a. Fourth Dogma