A Rival to the CEO
One-quarter of CEOs in a recent survey say the greatest threat to their job security is their own CFO. What boards should watch for in this key relationship.
Under pressure to meet the board’s growth targets, the new CEO felt a major acquisition was needed. But the CFO, who had remained with the company after the previous CEO’s ouster, thought it was both too risky and too pricey. He felt the firm could generate bigger, faster returns by investing in AI. The CFO didn’t say any of that openly, of course. Instead, he used the familiarity and credibility he had built up over the years to privately make the case to individual directors.
If that sounds like a far-fetched scenario, it isn’t—at least not to CEOs. The combination of high CEO turnover, boards’ focus on growth and financial stewardship, and the evolution of the CFO as strategic adviser have infused an element of rivalry into the C-suite relationship that normally requires the most cooperation. In a recent survey of CEOs at firms with between $100 million and $5 billion in revenue, one-quarter cited their own CFOs as the greatest threat to their job security. Patrick Walsh, a senior client partner in the Board and CEO services practice at Korn Ferry says it’s a shockingly high figure—higher than for any other C-suite position, even COO. It suggests that the economic uncertainty and volatility of the last few years is eroding trust between CEOs and CFOs, he says. “CFOs are supposed to protect a CEO’s blind spot,” he observes. “There can’t be any noise in that relationship.”
Some of the threat CEOs are perceiving may simply be attributable to survival instinct. CEO turnover hit a record high in 2025 and has continued at a similar pace so far this year. And while COOs still tend to be boards’ preferred successors, CFOs are in fact gaining ground. A record number of CFOs were promoted to CEO last year, accounting for more than 10% of all appointments, versus 7% in 2024. “Financial matters are at the top of the agenda for most boards, and they are giving more weight than ever before to what the CFO thinks,” says Kim Van Der Zon, a vice chair in the Board and CEO Services practice at Korn Ferry.
That’s another reason CEOs feel threatened by their CFOs. According to the survey, the three biggest concerns for CEOs are, in order, hitting growth targets, managing costs, and meeting the expectations of the board, all of which require the CEO and CFO to move in lockstep. Any misalignment between corporate strategy and financial strategy could create division not just in the C-suite, but also at the board level if directors are divided into “camps,” says Jeff Constable, co-leader of the Global Financial Officers practice at Korn Ferry.
CEOs and CFOs usually resolve their disagreements at the management level... except when they don’t. There have been instances of CFOs undermining CEOs in audit-committee meetings or cozying up to an activist investor. “CEOs and CFOs each have their own channels and power bases within the board,” notes Stuart Crandell, a senior client partner in the Board and CEO Services practice at Korn Ferry. He says it is incumbent on boards to step in if misalignment between the CEO and CFO puts value creation and shareholder returns at risk or threatens to create dissension in the C-suite or among directors. “From a risk-management perspective, boards must ensure that the CEO and CFO are getting what they want and need from each other,” says Crandell. “If not, something needs to be done.”
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