Pinterest, Boots and CXO: Top 5 Stories of the Week

Pinterest Appoints Amazon Executive as New CFO

Pinterest Inc. has announced that James Dibbo has been appointed CFO, effective 26 October 2026.

James will report to CEO Bill Ready and will lead the firm’s global finance organisation, including finance, accounting, investor relations, treasury, tax, business and corporate development, internal audit and workplace.

James joins Pinterest from Amazon, where he served as Vice President and CFO for Global Entertainment, Advertising and Corporate Development. In that role, he led finance for businesses including Amazon Ads, Prime Video, Amazon MGM Studios, Music, Audible and Twitch.

Additionally, he partnered with teams on corporate development across Amazon’s portfolio.

James spent 10 years at Amazon, serving in several other roles including CFO of Worldwide Consumer and CFO of North America Consumer, where he helped scale global operations, strengthen profitability and build the systems and teams required for sustained growth.

ADP Releases AI-Enabled Payroll Platform to European Markets

As AI, evolving regulations and global business expansion increase the complexity of managing work across borders, ADP has announced the release of its own AI-enabled management platform Lyric HCM, offering firms in the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands a way of simplifying HR, payroll and workforce management processes.

The release of Lyric HCM reflects ADP’s strategy to further develop its own AI capabilities and extend its global human capital management solution across key European markets.

ADP Lyric HCM is designed to help companies orchestrate HR, payroll and workforce management through a unified, AI-enabled experience backed by ADP’s deep workforce data, built-in compliance guidance and global scale.

With a centralised service model drawing on ADP’s decades of expertise in delivering workforce and payroll solutions, ADP Lyric HCM helps organisations make more informed decisions, adapt more quickly to changing business and regulatory requirements and support employees across all areas of the business.

Boots Sold to Weston Family in US$8.9bn Acquisition Deal

Wittington Investments has announced it has agreed to buy Boots from US private equity firm Sycamore Partners and the Pessina family.

Boots began as a herbal remedies shop in Nottingham, but has since grown into a UK high street giant and has expanded its business to sell a range of health and beauty products, food and travel accessories.

The company has performed well despite challenges brought on by rivals, new shopping trends and the global pandemic.

Discussing how the acquisition will likely impact how consumers use the outlet, Catherine Shuttleworth, CEO of Savvy Marketing, says over time, customers can expect “an improved shopping experience as the new owners invest in the business”.

The last two decades have seen several changes in Boots’s ownership.

Sycamore Partners had only owned the retailer for 18 months, and Catherine says the changing of owners had been “an unhelpful distraction”.

Form3’s Benyam Hagos on Investment Opportunities in the UK

Investment opportunities are sorely scoped out by CFOs and angel investors alike. 

Could the secret to success be focussing on the UK?

Finance Chief sits down with Benyam Hagos, CFO of Form3, as he discusses recent trends in investing and how capital is funding more than just businesses – it’s about innovation. 

Spending almost 20 years working in finance, Benyam started his career in audit, before focussing on fintech and payments. He is also the Chairman of Trust Payments in the UK.

CXO Summit: Why Cross-Functional Leadership Matters

The CXO Summit got underway in London on 7th October, opening with a keynote address from Stacy Green, Chief People and Sustainability Officer of BizClik.

Speaking to an audience of senior executives, Stacy explored the distinct realities of executive leadership, cross-functional communication and the practical challenges of driving meaningful organisational change.

The opening keynote brought together leaders from across finance, strategy, marketing and HR, all in one room.

Yet despite sharing the same overarching goals, Stacy noted that these functions frequently speak very different languages.

"When finance says it, it means no. When marketing says it, it means yes, we can do this with a much bigger budget, and when the people function says it, it means please close the door behind you," she says.

"A technology investment changes how people work. A financial decision affects what teams can deliver, a marketing promise becomes an operational commitment and a growth target needs people with the skills, capacity and competence."