JMI’s 2025 CFO Roundtable

JMI’s annual CFO Roundtable in Washington, DC brought together leading CFOs and Finance executives from the JMI portfolio and software ecosystem to tackle the most pressing financial and operational challenges facing high-growth software businesses.

Harry Gruner, JMI Founder and Executive Chairman, and Randy Guttman, JMI Partner and COO, opened the event sharing insights on what sets top-decile CFOs apart—highlighting how they engage with boards, collaborate across teams, and drive measurable business outcomes.

The morning continued with a keynote from David Burkus, a renowned organizational psychologist and bestselling author, who explored strategies for motivating high-performing teams and leading effectively in today’s flexible work environment. David’s session emphasized the importance of trust, clear communication, and outcome-based performance metrics, tying these principles directly to financial impact.

Attendees then participated in a series of focused discussions led by portfolio company CFOs, JMI Operating Advisors and industry experts. A few examples included:

• Best practices in effective acquisition diligence and integration, featuring specific experiences from CFOs and business integration specialists which highlighted the importance of seamless post-acquisition execution.
• Cybersecurity ‘readiness’ provided actionable insights for mitigating cyber risk, budgeting for security initiatives, and responding to attacks.
• CFO’s role in aligning financial planning with go-to-market execution focused on how a data-driven approach to market segmentation and sales targeting can drive long-term growth.
• AI’s role in continuing to transform the SaaS landscape included a deep dive into AI revenue and cost economics with insights into pricing strategies, cost models, and financial frameworks for AI-powered software offerings.

The event closed with a market update and transaction readiness discussion led by William Blair during which attendees gained perspective on current M&A trends, valuation drivers, and buyer / investor expectations in the current market environment.

Thank you to all attendees, panelists, and discussion leaders for making this an engaging and insightful event. And a special thank you to all our JMI CFOs who drive value creation at our companies every day.

This was the first of six in-person functional roundtables JMI will host in 2025.  We look forward to our next event, Women in Leadership, on April 1^st and 2^nd in Washington, DC.