When Steve Fox joined Every Man Jack in 2021, the men’s personal care brand had a new private equity owner and an ambitious growth agenda. Carlyle Group saw an opportunity: a widely distributed brand that had never invested heavily in marketing. The challenge was finding the operating leverage to fund that investment.For Fox, the answer increasingly lies in technology.At Every Man Jack, a company known for its outdoor-inspired grooming products, the finance team has remained at five employees even as transaction volume has tripled. Fox credits investments in technology and a growing emphasis on automation.The initiative even has a name: “Nix the Clicks by 26.”The goal is to eliminate manual transactions and replace traditional workflows with functional command centers where employees supervise automated processes, investigate exceptions, and monitor business performance.The transformation gathered momentum after Every Man Jack implemented NetSuite in September 2025. A month later, at SuiteWorld, the company’s IT manager connected the new ERP platform to emerging AI capabilities.Still, Fox recognizes that easier access to technology brings its own complications. With roughly 70 employees suddenly capable of creating software-driven solutions, the company established an AI oversight committee to prevent duplication and keep experimentation aligned with strategy.It’s a distinctly operational approach from a CFO whose career began in public accounting before taking him into retail management and high-growth businesses.And while Fox is enthusiastic about what technology makes possible, his guiding principle remains decidedly human: successful adoption begins with investing in people.

When Steve Fox joined Every Man Jack in 2021, the men’s personal care brand had a new private equity owner and an ambitious growth agenda. Carlyle Group saw an opportunity: a widely distributed brand that had never invested heavily in marketing. The challenge was finding the operating leverage to fund that investment. For Fox, the answer increasingly lies in technology. At Every Man Jack, a company known for its outdoor-inspired grooming products, the finance team has remained at five employees even as transaction volume has tripled. Fox credits investments in technology and a growing emphasis on automation. The initiative even has a name: “Nix the Clicks by 26.” The goal is to eliminate manual transactions and replace traditional workflows with functional command centers where employees supervise automated processes, investigate exceptions, and monitor business performance. The transformation gathered momentum after Every Man Jack implemented NetSuite in September 2025. A month later, at SuiteWorld, the company’s IT manager connected the new ERP platform to emerging AI capabilities. Still, Fox recognizes that easier access to technology brings its own complications. With roughly 70 employees suddenly capable of creating software-driven solutions, the company established an AI oversight committee to prevent duplication and keep experimentation aligned with strategy. It’s a distinctly operational approach from a CFO whose career began in public accounting before taking him into retail management and high-growth businesses. And while Fox is enthusiastic about what technology makes possible, his guiding principle remains decidedly human: successful adoption begins with investing in people.

1225: Nix the Clicks: Building a Finance Function That Manages by Exception | Steve Fox, CFO, Every Man Jack

205: Erik Wissig, CFO, Hixme

Jennifer Templeman, CFO,  Jumpstart

Jennifer Templeman, CFO, &nbsp;Jumpstart

204: Jennifer Templeman, CFO,  Jumpstart for Young Children

203: The Operations Mandate, Chris Lafond, CFO, Intralinks

(Part II) Author & Top Consultant Steve Player, BBRT, North America

(Part II) Author & Top Consultant Steve Player, BBRT, North America

&nbsp;(Part II) Author &amp; Top Consultant Steve Player, BBRT, North America

202: Five Strategies for Creating a Dynamic Finance Function (Part II)

(Part One)  Rich Pirrotta, CFO, Logicalis

(Part One) &nbsp;Rich Pirrotta, CFO, Logicalis

201: Five Strategies for Creating a Dynamic Finance Function (Part I)

090: Barak Ben-Gal, CFO, Findly (Part II)Looking for novel ways of eliminating waste? Join us as Barak recounts how his team identified WiFi usage as a key measure of office activity when determining the costs of different office space across Findly’s operations.

090: Barak Ben-Gal, CFO, Findly (Part II)Looking for novel ways of eliminating waste? Join us as Barak recounts how his team identified WiFi usage as a key measure of office activity when determining the costs of different office space across Findly’s operations.

090: Barak Ben-Gal, CFO, Findly (Part II)Looking for novel ways of eliminating waste? Join us as Barak recounts how his team identified WiFi usage as a key measure of office activity when determining the costs of different office space across Findly’s operations.&nbsp;

090: On Lowering the Costs of Facilities, Healthcare, Barak Ben-Gal, CFO, Findly (Part II)

089: Building a Strategic FP&A Function,  Barak Ben-Gal, CFO, Findly

089: Building a Strategic FP&A Function, Barak Ben-Gal, CFO, Findly

089: Building a Strategic FP&amp;A Function, &nbsp;Barak Ben-Gal, CFO, Findly

089: Building a Strategic FP&A Function,  Barak Ben-Gal, CFO, Findly

Where do numbers and management decision making intersect? Join us as Barak charts his path from Fortune 100 controller to the CFO office, and reveals a finance philosophy that  embraces the simple premise that numbers in it of themselves are never an end.

Where do numbers and management decision making intersect? Join us as Barak charts his path from Fortune 100 controller to the CFO office, and reveals a finance philosophy that embraces the simple premise that numbers in it of themselves are never an end.

Where do numbers and management decision making intersect? Join us as Barak charts his path from Fortune 100 controller to the CFO office, and reveals a finance philosophy that &nbsp;embraces the simple premise that numbers in it of themselves are never an end.&nbsp;

059: Demystifying the Numbers: A CFO's Guide to Informing Management Decision Making: Barak Ben-Gal, CFO, Findly

CFO THOUGHT LEADER is a podcast featuring firsthand accounts of finance leaders who are driving change within their organizations.
We share the career journey of our spotlighted CFO guest: What do they struggle with? How do they persevere? What makes them successful CFOs?  CFO THOUGHT LEADER is all about inspiring finance professionals to take a leadership leap. We know that by hearing about the successes — (and yes, also the failures) — of others, today’s CFOs can more confidently chart their own leadership paths across the enterprise and take inspired action.

Business

Careers

CFO THOUGHT LEADER is a podcast featuring firsthand accounts of finance leaders who are driving change within their organizations. We share the career journey of our spotlighted CFO guest: What do they struggle with? How do they persevere? What makes them successful CFOs? CFO THOUGHT LEADER is all about inspiring finance professionals to take a leadership leap. We know that by hearing about the successes — (and yes, also the failures) — of others, today’s CFOs can more confidently chart their own leadership paths across the enterprise and take inspired action.

Share CFO THOUGHT LEADER

Sign up to save your podcasts

CFO THOUGHT LEADER

CFO THOUGHT LEADER episodes

About CFO THOUGHT LEADER

More shows like CFO THOUGHT LEADER

The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors

Masters in Business

The McKinsey Podcast

PwC's accounting podcast

Coaching for Leaders

Accounting Best Practices with Steve Bragg

The a16z Show

HBR IdeaCast

The Accounting Podcast

Inside the Strategy Room

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

CFO Weekly

Business Breakdowns

Planning Aces

HBR On Strategy

HBR On Leadership