Ep. 14 | Why Tomorrow's CFO Must Think Beyond Finance

Rydoo's Aidana Zhakupbekova on why finance leaders can no longer lead with numbers alone, and how AI, operations and diverse leadership are reshaping the future of the CFO.

The role of the CFO is evolving faster than ever. As AI automates routine work and businesses demand greater agility, finance leaders are expected to understand operations, drive strategy and make decisions that extend far beyond the balance sheet.

In this episode of the Finance Chief Podcast, host Ella Wilkinson meets Aidana Zhakupbekova, Chief Operational & Financial Officer (COFO) at Rydoo, to discuss the changing face of finance leadership, why operational knowledge is becoming essential for CFOs, how AI should augment rather than replace human judgement, and why creating equal opportunities is key to building stronger finance teams.

Having built her career from a junior finance role at IBM at just 19 years old to executive leadership across startups and scaleups, Aidana shares the lessons that have shaped her approach to leadership, business growth and the future of finance.

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In this episode Ella and Aidana explore:

• Why the traditional CFO role is evolving into a broader business leadership position
• How combining finance and operations creates better strategic decisions
• Why AI should eliminate repetitive work, not critical thinking
• The importance of giving finance teams more time for value creation
• How leaders can build confidence while overcoming imposter syndrome
• Why diversity starts with creating equal opportunities

Understand the whole business

Aidana believes finance can no longer operate in isolation. Today's leaders need a deep understanding of operations to make smarter investment decisions, allocate resources effectively and drive sustainable growth.

Rather than reacting to financial results alone, modern finance leaders must understand the commercial reality behind every number.

Why the CFO role is changing

As businesses become increasingly data-driven, Aidana argues the traditional CFO role is already disappearing.

Reporting and analysis alone are no longer enough. Finance leaders are expected to partner across the organisation, influence strategic direction and increasingly take ownership of operational functions alongside financial performance.

For software businesses in particular, combining finance and operations creates a single source of truth that improves collaboration and decision-making.

AI should remove the boring work—not human judgement

While AI is transforming finance, Aidana believes its greatest value lies in automating repetitive administrative tasks rather than replacing expertise.

By reducing manual processes, finance professionals can spend more time partnering with the business, analysing performance and supporting strategic decisions.

However, she stresses that finance teams must never blindly trust AI outputs. Strong financial professionals still need the critical thinking skills to challenge results, understand the business context and ensure decisions are grounded in sound judgement.

Leadership built on confidence and self-awareness

Throughout her career, Aidana has learned that confidence comes from capability—not simply projecting certainty.

She encourages professionals to pursue ambitious opportunities while remaining honest about the skills they still need to develop. When setbacks happen, the best leaders balance resilience with self-reflection, using every experience as an opportunity to improve.

Creating opportunities for the next generation

As an advocate for greater equality in leadership, Aidana focuses less on quotas and more on creating equal opportunities.

She believes many talented women hesitate to ask for promotions, development or leadership opportunities, often because of imposter syndrome.

By mentoring individuals directly and encouraging them to back themselves, she hopes to help build a more diverse generation of finance leaders—one where success is determined by talent, not background.

The future of finance

Looking ahead, Aidana sees finance teams becoming increasingly strategic as AI continues to automate operational tasks.

Tomorrow's finance professionals will spend less time producing reports and more time driving business performance, advising leadership teams and creating long-term value.

For the next generation of CFOs, success will depend on combining financial expertise with operational understanding, technological fluency and strong leadership skills.

Explore more from the Finance Chief Podcast

Catch up on Episode 13, featuring Tom Steer, Chief Financial Officer at Sokin, discussing Agentic Treasury, AI-powered finance, treasury transformation and why intelligent automation is reshaping global business payments.