Finance and Investing is pleased to announce The Top 25 CFOs of Austin for 2023. Austin may be known as the nation’s live city capital, but its economy is actually driven by a diverse talent pool and an equally wide scope of business sectors. The flourishing city is home to many companies spanning healthcare, finance, technology, consulting, engineering, and more. This year’s awardees helm the financial departments at companies that fuel Austin, including Rev.com, Silicon Labs, Fourth, FloSports, and Favor.
Among our awardees is John Hollister, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Silicon Labs, who leads the company’s growth in the broad-based semiconductor and Internet of Things (IoT) markets. Awardee Angela Lee, Chief Financial Officer of Favor Delivery, played a pivotal role in Favor becoming the first on-demand delivery company to achieve profitability at scale in 2017. Also awarded is Brett Clinton Tromp, Chief Financial Officer, Medici, one of the most prominent CFOs in South Africa. He recently made the move to the U.S. in a bid to lead the Austin-based company to success.
Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of The Top 25 CFOs of Austin for 2023.
1. John Hollister
Chief Financial Officer, Silicon Labs
John Hollister is the Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Silicon Labs. He helps to lead the company’s growth in the broad-based semiconductor and Internet of Things (IoT) markets. Hollister joined Silicon Labs in 2004 and held a variety of key financial management positions until 2007 when he became Managing Director of Silicon Labs’ Asia Operations. He was based in Singapore and responsible for global supply chain management during a period of rapid growth overseas. In 2012 he returned to Austin as Vice President of Business Development, where he was instrumental in executing the company's IoT acquisition strategy, and was subsequently named CFO in 2013.
Prior to joining Silicon Labs, Hollister served as Vice President of Finance at Cicada Semiconductor and held various finance positions at Cirrus Logic, Veritas DGC, 3-D Geophysical, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Hollister currently serves as a Board Director for MacroFab. From 2013 to 2021, he served on the Board of the Central Texas Chapter of the American Red Cross and remains a Community Volunteer Advisor. Hollister has a master’s degree in professional accounting and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from The University of Texas at Austin.
2. Mark Winter
Chief Financial Officer and EVP, DHI Mortgage
Mark Winter is the CFO and EVP of DHI Mortgage, a subsidiary of D.R. Horton. In his role, he also focuses on his goals for diversity and inclusion, which include ensuring that DHI’s employee base is a reflection of its communities and helping everyone become more aware and respectful of people from all walks of life. He has been with the company for over 21 years.
Previously, Winter was the CFO at The Ontra Companies. He graduated from The University of Texas Austin with an undergraduate degree in business administration.
3. Angela Lee
Chief Financial Officer, Favor Delivery
Angela Lee is the Chief Financial Officer of Favor Delivery. Lee leads the company's finances and plays a pivotal role in shaping their strategic growth. Since joining Favor in 2015 as Senior Director of Financial Planning and Analysis, Lee has built out their finance team, reporting platforms, and forecasting models while driving strategic financial planning. This resulted in Favor becoming the first on-demand delivery company to achieve profitability at scale in July 2017.
Previously, Lee was at uShip.com as the Director of FP&A. Before this, she was a Senior Associate in Assurance. She graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Master of Professional Accounting and a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
4. Gary Ito
Chief Financial Officer, Planview
Gary Ito is the Chief Financial Officer of Planview. He joined the company in 2021. Ito leads the financial planning, accounting, revenue operations, and corporate development teams. He has more than 30 years of experience leading finance and related functions at leading software and technology companies.
Most recently, he was CFO at DealerSocket, helping lead the company to its successful sale to Solera. Prior to DealerSocket, he served as CFO of OutMatch, a predictive analytics HCM software company, and at Allegro, a global leader in energy trading and risk management software solutions. Earlier in his career, he was CFO of Quadrem, a global B2B e-commerce company, growing the company through its successful strategic sale to Ariba. Ito remained at Ariba as the customer success and professional services division’s CFO and head of operations. Ito began his career at Nortel, where he held a variety of finance and general management positions in both North America and Asia. Ito earned an MBA from Queen’s University and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Toronto.
5. Robert Alvarez
Chief Financial Officer, BigCommerce
Robert Alvarez is the Chief Financial Officer of BigCommerce. Since joining BigCommerce in 2011, Alvarez has been instrumental in transforming the company from a small business solution to a comprehensive, industry-leading e-commerce platform for businesses of all sizes across 150 countries. Overseeing all facets of financial and operational strategy, Alvarez has guided BigCommerce through its IPO, first follow-on offering, and private growth financing rounds with tier 1 institutional investors, including General Catalyst, Revolution Growth, SoftBank, GGV Capital, and Goldman Sachs.
Prior to BigCommerce, he led four high-growth, venture-backed startups through their exits, three of which were successfully acquired by large strategic public companies (Intel, Dell, and RR Donnelley), with the fourth going public and reaching a market cap of more than $4 billion post IPO. Alvarez has been recognized by Austin Business Journal for three years as CFO of the Year, most recently in 2021 in the public company category. Alvarez serves as a Board Member for AffiniPay, and the Austin Technology Council, as an Advisory Board Member for Tiff’s Treats.
6. Paul Willson
Chief Financial Officer, SourceDay
Paul Willson is the Chief Financial Officer of SourceDay. In this role, he’s tasked with setting the company up to scale as it grows, providing necessary metrics to inform the company’s decision-making, and focusing on operations. He joined SourceDay in 2023.
Willson has worked in true cloud software for over 20 years, with experience in finance and startups, budgeting, analytics, management reporting, and financial planning. Previously, he was the CFO of Rev.com and Compeat Restaurant Management Software. Before that, he was the SVP of Financial Planning and Analysis and Treasurer at Bazaarvoice. Earlier in his career, he worked with Deloitte and Touche as a Senior Accountant. Willson earned an undergraduate degree in business administration from the Texas McCombs School of Business.
7. Frank Jalufka
Chief Financial Officer, Edmentum
Frank Jalufka is the Chief Financial Officer of Edmentum. In this role, Jalufka is responsible for leading Edmentum’s finance, accounting, and legal teams. He has an extensive finance and operations management background, bringing over 30 years of experience to his role.
Prior to joining Edmentum, Jalufka served as Chief Financial Officer at Education Management Corporation (EDMC). He oversaw and managed all financial aspects of the business focused on post-secondary education across North America. Before this, he was the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer at The Dolan Company and Vice President of Enterprise Finance at Freedom Communications. Jalufka has a BBA from Texas A&M University, Mays Business School.
8. Ben Wade
Chief Financial Officer, Mitratech
Ben Wade is the Chief Financial Officer of Mitratech. Wade leads the finance and legal teams and is responsible for connecting Mitratech’s market vision with financial value creation. He has over 25 years of experience in finance and accounting.
Prior to joining Mitratech, he was the CFO of Commerce Services at Pitney Bowes. Wade has also held senior finance positions at Newgistics, ProspX, and Trilogy. Wade began his career as an Audit Manager at PwC. Wade has a bachelor’s degree in business administration in accounting from Texas Christian University.
9. Thomas Hofmeister
Chief Financial Officer, CCS Medical
Thomas Hofmeister is the Chief Financial Officer of CCS Medical. Hofmeister brings unique financial and operational insights that help CCS thrive financially, driving the company’s future strategies. Having spent his entire career in healthcare, Hofmeister utilizes over 30 years of corporate finance and operational experience to develop sound financial and operational strategies and evaluate complex financial business transactions.
Before coming to CCS Medical, Hofmeister was Vice President of Finance and Chief Accounting Officer for Austin-based Hanger Inc., one of the world's largest orthotic and prosthetic services and products providers. He was on the management team for 10 years. Prior to that, he served in financial management positions at several healthcare-related companies, including Magellan Health, Inc. and Integrated Health Services. Hofmeister began his career in public accounting after earning a bachelor's degree in accounting from Mount Saint Mary's College in Maryland.
10. Barrett Garrison
EVP and Chief Financial Officer, Digital Turbine
Barrett Garrison is the EVP and Chief Financial Officer of Digital Turbine. He is strategically focused on resourcing the company’s growth plan to ensure top and bottom-line performance.
Prior to Digital Turbine, he served as the CFO of Competitor Group, Inc., a media and event company in the active lifestyle industry. Before this, he was the CFO of Netspend. He previously served in senior corporate finance roles at Dell Financial Services, Seiko Instruments International, and Austaco, Inc. Barrett has an MBA from St. Edward’s University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from The University of New Mexico, Robert O. Anderson School of Management.
11. Guido Frantzen
Chief Financial Officer, GreyOrange
Guido Frantzen is the Chief Financial Officer of GreyOrange. He is responsible for leading the GreyOrange financial team, ensuring all departmental functions such as accounting, tax, investor relations, and legal are elevated and supporting overall revenue growth goals for the rapidly expanding company. Guido has more than 20 years of experience as a growth-focused financial leader for SaaS, energy, automotive, and manufacturing companies.
Before joining GreyOrange, Frantzen served as CFO at Kasasa, Zola Electric, and eMeter Corporation. In addition to his CFO experiences, Frantzen worked in different financial roles at Siemens, gaining experience in accounting and controlling, financial planning and analysis, treasury, credit, risk, and controls, as well as mergers and acquisitions. Frantzen graduated from the University of Erlangen-Nuernberg with a master’s degree in business administration and management and an MBA from The University of Georgia.
12. John Whitmarsh
Chief Financial Officer, Fourth
John Whitmarsh is the Chief Financial Officer of Fourth, a leader in data-driven workforce and inventory technology for the retail, restaurant, and hospitality sectors.
Prior to joining Fourth, Whitmarsh served as the CFO of Vyze, which was recently acquired by MasterCard. Previously, he was the CFO for Zenoss Inc., a unified IT monitoring and management solutions provider for physical, virtual, and cloud-based IT infrastructures. He also held CFO roles at Century Payments (Worldpay), Misys Transactions Services (Allscripts), Digital Motorworks (ADP), and MessageOne (Dell). He was named 2009 Best CFO for private companies by the Austin Business Journal. Whitmarsh graduated from The University of Texas Austin with an undergraduate degree in accounting.
13. John Warren
Chief Financial Officer, Advance Storage Products
John Warren is the Chief Financial Officer of Advance Storage Products. He supports their expansion into Rover AS/RS automation technology. Warren provides financial leadership to the executive team led by President and CEO John Krummell.
He was previously the CFO at LMC Enterprises and Trojan Battery Company. Before this, he was the Director of Operations and Finance at ConAgra Foods and the Director of Finance at Mattel. Warren earned his MBA from Boston University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Framingham State College.
14. Jeff Byal
Chief Financial Officer, Avetta
Jeff Byal is the Chief Financial Officer of Avetta. He is tasked with assisting in managing the company’s continuing growth. Byal has 30 years of experience in leading the growth of billion-dollar SaaS and technology organizations.
Previously, Byal served as the CFO for Appriss, a Kentucky-based global company that provides state-of-the-art technology, risk, and data-driven analytic solutions. Before this, he was the CFO of NewComLink and MSI Systems Integrators. He's also held various finance roles at EZCORP, Pamida, GiftCertificates.com, and Gordmans. Byal graduated from Iowa State University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.
15. Salah Gamoudi
EVP & Chief Financial Officer, SandRidge Energy
Salah Gamoudi is the EVP and Chief Financial Officer of SandRidge Energy. He joined the company in 2020 as its Vice President of Accounting and Finance.
Before SandRidge Energy, he worked as Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer at Jones Energy. Gamoudi previously served in similar roles at Remora Petroleum, Glacier Oil & Gas, LRR Energy, and Lime Rock Resources. Prior to this, he served as an Auditor for Deloitte and Ernst & Young. Gamoudi received his Bachelor of Arts from Portland State University.
16. Michael Lafair
Chief Financial Officer, DISCO
Michael Lafair is the Chief Financial of DISCO. He joined the company in 2018. Lafair previously served as the Chief Financial Officer of Offers.com until its acquisition by Ziff Davis, LLC in December 2015. Following the acquisition, Lafair served as Global Head of Finance of Ziff Davis B2B. Prior to Offers.com, he served as Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel of All Web Leads, Inc., as well as Vice President and General Counsel of Interlogix, Inc. Earlier in his career, he practiced corporate law at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. Lafair has a Bachelor of Science in economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a JD from the Temple University School of Law.
17. Eric Jenny
Chief Financial Officer, SOCi
Eric Jenny is the Chief Financial Officer of SOCi. Jenny has over 15 years of finance and operational experience across private and public sectors, with deep industry expertise in high-growth SaaS technology start-ups.
In 2020, he was recognized as the CFO of the Year by the San Diego Business Journal. During his three previous roles as CFO at Axon Ventures, iSheriff, and Place, he managed global finance and operations, IT infrastructure, M&A, tax, and accounting. He has defined a new generation of CFOs by cultivating cross-departmental collaboration to break down the walls between finance and technology. Jenny graduated from San Diego State University with a bachelor's degree in accounting.
18. Amy Gamble
Chief Financial Officer, Lifesize
Amy Gamble is the Chief Financial Officer of Lifesize. She joined the company in 2022. Gamble is an accounting and finance executive with over 25 years of experience in public accounting and private industry, leading organizations through various stages of growth. Her experience includes IPO, SEC reporting, software revenue recognition, and M&A activity.
Previously, she was the SVP of Accounting at SAI360. Before this, she was the VP of Integrations at Temenos, the VP Worldwide Controller at Kony, and the VP of Finance at Stratfor. Prior to this, she held various finance roles at Planview, Troux, Motive, Motion Computing, AGEA, and PwC. Gamble graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
19. Josh Harding
Chief Financial Officer, AuditBoard
Josh Harding is the Chief Financial Officer at AuditBoard. Harding brings 15 years of technology finance experience. Harding joined AuditBoard after five years at SailPoint, where he led corporate finance and FP&A, and investor relations. He was also instrumental in executing the company’s successful 2017 IPO. Prior to SailPoint, Harding held multiple leadership roles in finance, operations, and corporate development at RetailMeNot through rapid growth stages and an IPO. Previously he was a growth equity investor at Austin Ventures, a venture capital and growth equity firm, as well as an investment banker at Citigroup. He graduated from Texas A&M University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
20. David Repp
Chief Financial Officer, Texas General Land Office
David Repp is the Chief Financial Officer of Texas General Land Office. He was previously the Deputy Chief of Staff at HHSC, where he managed the budget and business operations support services department and assisted the Chief of Staff with organization-wide issues. Before this, he was a Budget Analyst at the Legislative Budget Board and a Data Analyst and Evaluator at the Texas Department of State Health Services. Earlier, he was a Sergeant, Team Leader, and Broadcast Journalist in the U.S. Army. Repp graduated from The LBJ School of Public Affairs with a Master of Public Affairs and from The University of Texas Arlington with an undergraduate degree in history and communication.
21. Christian Fadel
Chief Financial Officer, AffiniPay
Christian Fadel is the Chief Financial Officer of AffiniPay. He oversees all accounting and finance activities and team members. He brings more than 20 years of experience in the payments industry to the team.
Prior to joining AffiniPay, he served as CFO of Hyperwallet (later acquired by PayPal). Prior to that, Fadel served as EVP and CFO of SecureNet (later acquired by Worldpay), a Sterling Partners portfolio company. Fadel graduated from Georgetown University McDonough School of Business with an MBA and Stephen F. Austin State University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.
22. Brett Clinton Tromp
Chief Financial Officer, Medici
Brett Clinton Tromp is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Medici. Medici is a virtual Healthcare system changing the way healthcare is delivered in the U.S.
Prior to this, Tromp was the CFO of Discovery Health for 15 years, Africa's largest health insurance carrier. Tromp is one of the most celebrated CFOs in South Africa. He received two major finance awards in 2015, including Young CFO of the Year and South Africa's High Performing Finance Team of the Year. After winning these awards, Tromp was promoted to judge South Africa's top finance talent for Young CPA of the Year and CFO of the Year. In 2016, he was selected as one of KPMG’s six alumni impacting the business world and profiled in the company’s first-ever alumni magazine in South Africa. Tromp is also a co-founder and investor in a health tech business, changing how vitals are delivered for telemedicine. As an industry expert on finance leadership, Tromp has written in national and global publications, including contributions to Accountancy South Africa.
23. Laurence Noonan
Chief Financial Officer, FloSports
Laurence Noonan is the Chief Financial Officer at FloSports. He oversees growth strategies and focuses on corporate development projects and acquisitions. He also runs new sports strategy and launches, helping FloSports expand its content and channels to serve new customers.
Before he joined FloSports, Noonan was a Senior Associate at Austin Ventures and an Associate at Facebook, working in the marketing monetization division. Noonan graduated from Stanford University Graduate School of Business with an MBA and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Harvard University.
24. Iser Cukierman
Chief Financial Officer, Hero Digital
Iser Cukierman is the Chief Financial Officer of Hero Digital. He oversees the finance team and reports to CEO David Kilimnik.
He has nearly three decades of experience leading financial operations for mature organizations as well as early-stage and emerging growth companies. Iser joined Hero from eMDs, a private equity-backed healthcare IT and services company, where he was the CFO. He founded IC Growth LCC in 2016. His career spans industries that include marketing automation, professional services, and healthcare IT. Cukierman graduated from the Texas McCombs School of Business with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.
25. Rob Senders
Chief Financial Officer, Pensa Systems
Rob Senders is the Chief Financial Officer of Pensa Systems. Senders is an experienced business financial leader with three decades of varied experience in financial management and corporate strategy. He has worked with venture-funded technology start-ups and high-profile Fortune 100 companies.
Prior to joining Pensa Systems, Senders served as CFO at Vorago Technologies, Accend, NetEffect, and Macheen, where he was responsible for accounting, treasury, and financial operations. Earlier in his career, Senders held senior financial leadership roles at HP and Compaq. Senders graduated from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business with an MBA and Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science.
