Falling behind. What every business fears; and what every leader and employee aims fervently to avoid. 

It’s a topic that comes up a lot recently, especially in conversations about how to climb to the top of the development ladder. Companies should be asking ‘What can we do better’, ‘How can we be faster’,‘Is there a chance to get ahead that we’ve been ignoring?’. These questions should especially be taken into account when every business’ favourite question comes up: is it in the budget? 

According to Chris Stansbury, CFO and President of Lumen Technologies, connecting technology investment to enterprise growth and value creation is “essential”. 

Chris says:  “If you wait too long, you risk falling behind. But what matters just as much is how you invest. CFOs have a unique responsibility to ensure technology investment is a core driver of growth, competitiveness, and long-term value creation. In the AI era, that link is even more critical because the economics are changing.”

Chris speaks with a wealth of experience behind him. Prior to his role at Lumen, he grappled with the finances of multinational companies across several different industries. Currently, he marries the company’s finance, operations and long-term strategy, straddling the decision for several key areas from procurement to treasury.

Rewinding the clock to a valuable moment in his career, he explains that early on, he stepped into a role he “wasn’t particularly excited about during a period of significant change”. He says: “It was a pivotal moment because it forced me to broaden my perspective beyond a single function and gain additional perspective on how a business operates end to end.”

He also notes that his current role is “about helping align capital, execution and performance around the priorities that matter most for growth.”

So how does one even begin to decide a key area for growth? Easy. Or is it? 

Leadership requires a finesse 

What business isn’t looking to transform? None wish to be left behind. But, as with every exciting venture, risk looms in the corner of every decision. It’s hard to start when the answers aren’t all in front of you. To this, Chris says: “What I learned is that having all the answers isn’t the key to leading transformation at scale.

“Success in these scenarios requires having enough range to ask the right questions. You have to understand each part of the business well enough to know when to lean in and drive, and when to listen and let experts around you lead.”

Experience requires some finesse. As Chris explains, there is a balance between jumping in and jumping off. “It’s a range of experience that builds both the agility and humility necessary to get it right,” he says. He elaborates that these traits become pivotal, as, ultimately, “transformation comes down to people”. 

“Change is executed by individuals and teams navigating uncertainty. If you don’t approach people with empathy and respect, you won’t get the outcomes you need. At Lumen, we talk a lot about culture being the engine of transformation. It’s the human element that determines whether change actually sticks.”

Transformation may be powered by people, but it gives back to the individual as well. Chris notes that when transforming like Lumen has, organisations focus “on not losing”. He feels energised by flipping that mindset to “playing to win.” He says: “It’s competitive, it’s consequential and it requires alignment across strategy, capital and people.” 

In a high-powered and high-pressure role such as the CFO of a large-scale enterprise, being energised by the role comes in handy. As far as Chris is concerned, responsibility is not just the essence of the CFO, as the role itself has become much more than stewardship. “It’s about helping translate ambition into action,” he says. “We have to make clear choices on where to invest, how to scale and how to measure progress, while ensuring the organisation has the capabilities to execute.

“Just as important, major transformation starts with people: building strong teams, developing leaders and creating an environment where individuals are willing to take on bigger challenges.”

At Lumen, according to Chris, this mindset translates to “advancing a growth model grounded in physical infrastructure, programmability and a connected ecosystem”. 

The rewarding aspect for Chris is seeing so many critical elements come together to drive real momentum, because that’s what confirms that what they are building is positioned to win.

Chris is honest about one piece of advice early in his career that he still carries today. Authenticity is held as a vitally important characteristic. He notes that his approach is to be clear and direct: “I’ll tell you what I can when I can. When I can’t share information, I’ll be honest about that too”. 

Responsibility to the business is just one aspect of stewardship. Actually leading change is a monumental effort which requires the trust of the people behind the transformation. Chris says: “That kind of transparency builds trust and respect, which are absolutely foundational, especially when you’re leading through change. 

“If people trust you, they’ll bring forward the tough issues, share the bad news, and broach the hard conversations. And this is exactly what you need to inform effective leadership.”

Will using AI position you to win? 

Using AI can be beneficial for many aspects of business in multiple sectors; from Dave Ricks, CEO of Eli Lilly using Claude to ask science questions in meetings (as professed on Stripe’s Cheeky Pint podcast), to gen AI becoming a central strategy for payments giant Visa.

CFOs can utilise it for plenty, as AI has become the backbone of multiple tools found in the CFO office, even the humble spreadsheet. “AI isn’t just a compute story – it’s a data movement story.” says Chris. 

He explains that infrastructure decisions directly influence cost, speed and return on investment: “So the conversation has to move beyond ‘What are we spending?’ to: ‘what capabilities are we building, what outcomes are we driving and does this position us for durable growth?’”

AI can pose as a double-edged sword, and leaders must use caution when assigning AI to roles. Chris continues: “At the same time, you can’t just layer AI onto inefficient processes. That’s a dead end. The companies pulling ahead are redesigning how they operate with AI at the center. 

“The companies that are both making the investments and rethinking go-to-market, product development, and the end-to-end operating model are the ones starting to pull ahead of the pack.”

Companies must focus when using AI, placing emphasis on where it can improve efficiency, increase visibility and support better decisions, according to Chris. 

“Begin with the practical use cases that connect directly to outcomes” he advises. “Ask the same questions you would ask of any strategic investment: What problem are we solving, how will we measure value and what capabilities do we need to scale it responsibly?”

AI is not entirely risk-free; but this is the same for any decision. Chris explains: “The risks for finance leaders include both adopting AI too slowly and evaluating it too narrowly. CFOs don’t need to have every answer on day one, but they do need to engage early enough to understand where AI can remove friction, improve economics and create advantage.”

The key, according to Chris, is “not to view AI only through a technology lens. Instead, think of AI as an opportunity to reimagine business models and operating approaches. AI is already changing expectations around speed, cost, productivity and decision-making.”

Financial discipline versus investing in long-term growth 

Two competing strategies can in fact live harmoniously side-by-side. Similar to the idea of knowing when to drive change and when to step back, there must be a recognition of when to invest versus when to conserve. 

Chris explains that he doesn’t see financial discipline and long-term investing as competing ideas. “In my experience, financial discipline is what makes long-term investment possible,” he says. “If you want the freedom to invest behind large structural shifts, you need a balance sheet, cost structure and capital framework that give you room to do that with confidence. That’s why discipline matters: it creates strategic freedom.”

He expands on Lumen’s approach to this, and how the global telecoms giant knows what chance to take, and crucially, when. “The key is being deliberate about where you place your bets.

At Lumen, we’re not trying to do everything. We’re allocating capital against clear strategic priorities: scaling the physical backbone, building a programmable network platform and expanding the ecosystem around it. This means focusing on investments tied to long-term demand, strong economics and differentiated capabilities.”

He concludes: “When discipline and investment are aligned, you’re not choosing between protection and growth; you’re building the conditions that allow both.”