FinOps in Action

Where can a FinOps career take you? And how do the roles differ between small companies, global enterprises, and vendors?

In this special episode of FinOps in Action, I sat down with Taylor Houck, FinOps Specialist and co-creator of the Cloud Efficiency Hub at PointFive, to trace his career journey across the FinOps landscape: starting as a practitioner at a mid-sized company, scaling cost optimization at NBCUniversal, and now working on the vendor side.

Taylor shares the pros and cons of each career path, what he learned along the way, and how the FinOps role changes depending on scale, complexity, and organizational goals. Whether you’re just getting started or considering your next move, this episode is a roadmap for building a FinOps career that lasts.

 Here’s what we talked about:

• What it’s like starting a FinOps career at a small-to-midsized company

• How enterprise FinOps roles differ from smaller orgs

• The career leap: moving from practitioner to vendor

• Building the Cloud Efficiency Hub as a community resource

If you're trying to scale a FinOps practice, engage engineering teams, and reduce cloud waste—this conversation is packed with insights you can use right now.

 🎧 Subscribe for more FinOps leadership conversations → https://finopsinaction.substack.com/

 Quote of the Show:

• " The biggest thing is humility and trusting that everyone is good at their job and wants what's best for the company " - Taylor Houck

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/twhouck/ 
• Website: https://www.pointfive.co/ 

Ways to Tune In:

• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f25a9d18-c12f-4ee4-93f5-2aa96e509b55 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finops-in-action/id1790497808 
• iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/268443483/ 
• Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/finops-in-action-5958339 
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3IpjMc3qxDXZAjic5Zq21t 
• Substack: https://finopsinaction.substack.com/ 
• Transistor: finopsinaction.com 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PointFiveCloudCostEfficiency

How do leading global companies engage engineers in FinOps and build a sustainable culture of cloud efficiency?

In this special compilation episode of FinOps in Action, we bring together insights from FinOps leaders at Choice Hotels International, Sysco, Under Armour, and Carlsberg Group.

Featuring:

• Mike Routier - Choice Hotels International
• Sonal Gupta - Carlsberg Group
• Amy Ashby - Under Armour
• Prasshant Sharma & Polly Fabry - Sysco

These experts share how they’ve built trust with engineering teams, reduced cloud waste, and created a culture where FinOps thrives. From communication strategies and gamification to accountability and long-term adoption, this episode shows what it really takes to make FinOps work at scale.

Here’s what we talked about:

• How to engage engineers in FinOps without slowing them down
• Why culture is more important than dashboards or reports
• Best practices for building trust and accountability
• The role of gamification and storytelling in FinOps adoption
• Practical steps to reduce waste while building cloud efficiency

 🎧 Subscribe for more FinOps leadership conversations → https://finopsinaction.substack.com/

Connect with these featured guests:

• Mike Routier: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-routier/ 
• Sonal Gupta: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonal-gupta-20793b22/ 
• Amy Ashby: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyashbymke/ 
• Prasshant Sharrma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prasshantsharrma/ 
• Polly Fabry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pollyfabry/ 

Ways to Tune In:

• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f25a9d18-c12f-4ee4-93f5-2aa96e509b55 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finops-in-action/id1790497808 
• iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/268443483/ 
• Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/finops-in-action-5958339 
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3IpjMc3qxDXZAjic5Zq21t 
• Substack: https://finopsinaction.substack.com/ 
• Transistor: finopsinaction.com 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PointFiveCloudCostEfficiency

How do you build a FinOps practice that balances cloud cost optimization, sustainability, and deep cross-functional engagement?

In this episode of FinOps in Action, I am joined by TJ Johnson, Lead Architect for Platform Economics at MGM Resorts International. With over 25 years in IT and 15 years focused on public cloud and optimization, TJ shares a refreshing look at what really drives impact in FinOps—from relationship-building and soft skills to sustainability reporting and unit economics.

TJ breaks down how to move from KPI-driven thinking to momentum-based KMI frameworks, why partnership language changes FinOps collaboration, and how to engage engineers in meaningful ways—without relying on one-off gamification tactics.

Here’s what we talked about:

• Why soft skills and trust-building are critical to FinOps success

• How to incentivize engineering teams without creating bad incentives

• The difference between KPIs and KMIs—and why it matters

• Sustainability modeling in cloud and how to build your own

• What "cost to serve" really tells you about engineering maturity

If you're trying to scale a FinOps practice, engage engineering teams, and reduce cloud waste—this conversation is packed with insights you can use right now.

 🎧 Subscribe for more FinOps leadership conversations → https://finopsinaction.substack.com/

 Quote of the Show:

• " If you find a measurement is no longer giving you what you're looking for, it's no longer effective. If it shifts from a decision making measurement to an awareness measurement, you need to find another one, because all of your measurements should require an action. Otherwise, why are you measuring it?" - TJ Johnson

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyrjohnson/
• Website: https://www.mgmresorts.com/en.html

Ways to Tune In:

• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f25a9d18-c12f-4ee4-93f5-2aa96e509b55 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finops-in-action/id1790497808 
• iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/268443483/ 
• Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/finops-in-action-5958339 
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3IpjMc3qxDXZAjic5Zq21t 
• Substack: https://finopsinaction.substack.com/ 
• Transistor: finopsinaction.com 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PointFiveCloudCostEfficiency 

How do you scale FinOps in a way that actually engages engineers, reduces waste, and drives cloud efficiency without sacrificing velocity?

In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sat down with Sridhar Ayala, Director of FinOps at Adobe, to explore how Adobe approaches FinOps at scale—shifting the focus from just cost savings to enabling engineering efficiency, reducing waste, and expanding margin.

Sridhar shares Adobe’s unique FinOps strategy, including how they define waste as "unintentional spend," how they use gamification and marketing to drive adoption, and why understanding engineering context is critical to long-term success. He also reveals Adobe’s flagship initiatives like “ARM 24 for 24” and “CPU 26 for 26,” designed to drive cloud efficiency and reduce environmental impact.

Here’s what we talked about:

• Why Adobe defines cloud waste as “unintentional spend”

• How to gamify FinOps to engage engineering teams

• The marketing mindset that helps FinOps teams drive adoption

• Long-term FinOps campaigns that actually work

• Why engineering context is key to cloud cost optimization

If you're trying to scale a FinOps practice, engage engineering teams, and reduce cloud waste—this conversation is packed with insights you can use right now.

🎧 Subscribe for more FinOps leadership conversations → https://finopsinaction.substack.com/

 Quote of the Show:

• "There's no one definition of waste. Waste is only unintentional spend. As long as you're intentionally doing something, it can't be wasteful." - Sridhar Ayala

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sridharayala/ 
• Website: https://www.adobe.com/  

Ways to Tune In:

• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f25a9d18-c12f-4ee4-93f5-2aa96e509b55 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finops-in-action/id1790497808 
• iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/268443483/ 
• Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/finops-in-action-5958339 
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3IpjMc3qxDXZAjic5Zq21t 
• Substack: https://finopsinaction.substack.com/ 
• Transistor: finopsinaction.com 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PointFiveCloudCostEfficiency

FinOps isn’t just about tools—it’s about culture, structure, and long-term trust.

In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sat down with Matan Ben-Ishay, FP&A, Engineering at Credit Karma, to explore what it really takes to build a cost-aware engineering culture and scale FinOps sustainably across an organization.

Matan shares his approach to balancing developer velocity with cloud governance, managing GCP commitments strategically, and why FinOps can’t live only in finance or engineering—it needs both.

We discuss:

• Why trust and education are more effective than top-down controls

• How Credit Karma built guardrails without blocking dev teams

• The difference between tactical waste and structural waste

• How to handle long-term cloud commitments in a fast-moving org

• What happens when FinOps sits under finance vs. under engineering

🎧 Subscribe for more FinOps leadership conversations → https://finopsinaction.substack.com/

 Quote of the Show:

• “ By not calling it FinOps, we're basically saying every engineer is expected to do FinOps. ” - Matan Ben-Ishay

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matan-ben-ishay/ 
• Website: https://www.creditkarma.com/ 

Ways to Tune In:

• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f25a9d18-c12f-4ee4-93f5-2aa96e509b55 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finops-in-action/id1790497808 
• iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/268443483/ 
• Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/finops-in-action-5958339 
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3IpjMc3qxDXZAjic5Zq21t 
• Substack: https://finopsinaction.substack.com/ 
• Transistor: finopsinaction.com 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PointFiveCloudCostEfficiency 

FinOps isn’t just about saving money — it’s about managing financial risk.

In this episode of FinOps in Action, I’m joined by Victoria Levy, FinOps Engineering Lead at Alteryx, to explore how FinOps teams can learn from security, prioritize cost optimization alongside engineering, and get serious about forecasting cloud and SaaS spend.

Victoria shares her journey from physics to FinOps, lessons learned working with engineering and product teams, and why organizations should stop calling it "cost optimization" and start treating it like a "risk to the budget."

You’ll hear:
- How to build a culture of accountability for cloud cost optimization
- What security teams do better than FinOps—and how to apply it
- How FinOps can approach SaaS spend like Snowflake and Datadog
- Real-world FinOps for AI: what tracking and optimization looks like today
- The role of anomaly detection, cost spikes, and "major incident" policies

If you're a FinOps practitioner, cloud engineer, or cost-conscious leader—this one’s for you!

Subscribe to our Substack for more FinOps conversations: https://finopsinaction.substack.com/

Quote of the Show:

• “ Security has done a great job of making sure that they are a priority, even though they might not be the purpose of the business, and that's something that FinOps can learn from.” - Victoria Levy

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriarlevy/ 
• Website: https://www.alteryx.com/ 

Ways to Tune In:

• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f25a9d18-c12f-4ee4-93f5-2aa96e509b55 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finops-in-action/id1790497808 
• iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/268443483/ 
• Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/finops-in-action-5958339 
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3IpjMc3qxDXZAjic5Zq21t 
• Transistor: finopsinaction.com 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PointFiveCloudCostEfficiency 

How can strong tagging practices make or break your FinOps strategy?

In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sat down with Sherri Wooldridge, Manager of Cloud FinOps at Carnival Cruise Lines and former FinOps lead at 3M, to explore the foundational role of data classification and tagging in cloud cost management. Sherri shares early lessons from her FinOps career, explains why weak tagging can derail M&A activity, and stresses the importance of aligning with finance teams on how costs are tracked and reported.

Together, we dive into key topics, including:

• Why scalable tagging strategies are critical for accurate reporting and savings

• The value of cost avoidance and collaboration between engineering and finance

• How to educate leadership on the variable nature of cloud spend vs. CapEx

• Tips for building relationships through agile meetings and one-on-one conversations

• The cultural challenges of cloud-first transformation post-acquisition

Sherri also touches on the future of FinOps in AI, and shares a glimpse into her life in Utah—from book recs to downtime between initiatives.

Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more real-world FinOps insights, cloud cost best practices, and expert leadership strategies!

Quote of the Show:

• “ Fix what you can, because it's very foundational. Tagging is so foundational at the resource level.” - Sherri Wooldridge  

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherri-wooldridge/ 
• Website: https://www.carnival.com/ 

Ways to Tune In:

• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f25a9d18-c12f-4ee4-93f5-2aa96e509b55 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finops-in-action/id1790497808 
• iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/268443483/ 
• Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/finops-in-action-5958339 
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3IpjMc3qxDXZAjic5Zq21t 
• Transistor: finopsinaction.com 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PointFiveCloudCostEfficiency 

How can enterprise FinOps drive change across cloud, culture, and leadership?

In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sat down with Scott Linn, Cloud and Services Optimization Manager at Chevron, who shares how he helped launch the company’s first FinOps function after decades in cloud operations. Scott reflects on the mindset shifts, executive support, and automation strategies that helped Chevron turn FinOps into a company-wide responsibility.

Together, we dive into key topics, including:

• Why executive buy-in is critical for starting and scaling FinOps

• How Chevron automated VM shutdowns and leveraged Power BI + Azure for cost visibility

• Why you shouldn’t wait for perfection before taking FinOps action

• The importance of challenging engineering norms to drive better outcomes

• Scott’s journey from San Francisco to Texas—and what’s next after Chevron

Whether you’re launching a FinOps program or improving an existing one, this episode offers hard-earned advice from a seasoned leader who helped shift cloud strategy in one of the world’s largest energy companies.

Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more expert interviews, FinOps leadership strategies, and cloud cost optimization insights!

Quote of the Show:

• “If you take too long to get something done or you try to build a perfect process before you even start, you're almost never gonna get started.” - Scott Linn

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottlinn925/ 
• Website: https://www.chevron.com/ 

Ways to Tune In:

• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f25a9d18-c12f-4ee4-93f5-2aa96e509b55 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finops-in-action/id1790497808 
• iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/268443483/ 
• Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/finops-in-action-5958339 
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3IpjMc3qxDXZAjic5Zq21t 
• Transistor: finopsinaction.com 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PointFiveCloudCostEfficiency 

How is FinOps evolving to meet the rising challenge of data spend management?

In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sat down with Alex Landis, Senior Finance Manager, and Simar Aurora, Value Engineer at Snowflake, to explore how FinOps is being applied to the fast-growing world of data usage and cost optimization. Together, they share how Snowflake’s internal FinOps practices—like “Snowflake on Snowflake”—help improve visibility, efficiency, and scalability for both their teams and customers.

Together, we dive into key topics, including:

• How FinOps at Snowflake is structured across distinct verticals

• Why visibility is essential before optimization when managing data spend

• The role of cross-functional collaboration between finance, data science, and engineering

• Snowflake’s journey with the FinOps Foundation and what it means to be a premier member

• The importance of “eating your own cloud” to better support customers

Alex and Simar also share personal stories about their careers, life in California, and the practices that keep them grounded—from hiking and family time to yoga and mentoring.

Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more expert conversations on FinOps best practices, cloud and data spend management, and the future of financial operations at scale!

Quotes of the Show:
“Our finance team are some of the most technical folks in finance that I've ever met. I think that needs to be more and more the norm as we continue moving forward in this overall cycle.” - Alex Landis

“The practitioner's role is expanding to be more cloud plus. So a lot more FinOps practitioners are also reaching out saying, ‘I'm starting to manage data spend now.’ So it's a two way thing that is happening here. ” - Simar Arora

Links:
Alex’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alandis/ 
Simar’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simarpreet-arora/ 
Website: https://www.snowflake.com/en/ 

Ways to Tune In:
Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f25a9d18-c12f-4ee4-93f5-2aa96e509b55 
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finops-in-action/id1790497808 
iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/268443483/ 
Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/finops-in-action-5958339 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3IpjMc3qxDXZAjic5Zq21t 
Substack: https://finopsinaction.substack.com/ 
Transistor: finopsinaction.com 
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PointFiveCloudCostEfficiency

How can FinOps culture shift cost from a finance problem to an engineering mindset?

In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sat down with Amy Ashby, FinOps and Software Asset Management Lead at Under Armour, who shares her journey from IT data centers to cloud infrastructure and FinOps leadership. Amy unpacks the realities of building a FinOps practice from scratch—and why presenting data alone isn’t enough to inspire change.

Together, we dive into key topics, including:

• Why building a FinOps culture is essential for long-term cloud cost accountability

• The debate between centralized vs. decentralized FinOps in growing organizations

• How Amy’s SaaS cost management work evolved into broader Software Asset Management

• Strategies for continuous cloud waste reduction and optimization

• The importance of treating cost as a core metric, right alongside performance and observability

Amy also shares personal reflections on life in Milwaukee, her love for restoring vintage homes, and performing live music with her band, The Incorruptibles. Whether you’re new to FinOps or deep into SaaS optimization, this episode is filled with practical insights on driving cost-aware engineering cultures.

Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more expert interviews, FinOps strategies, and real-world cloud cost optimization advice!

Quote of the Show:

• “ I think tactically, resource wise, based on usage metrics, we can automate a lot, but I don't think we can automate all facets of what we do in a FinOps practice. So we still need the extra input from the business and teams to be forward looking and how are we going to forecast and how are we going to anticipate that an increase is not an anomaly, but it's intentional. - Amy Ashby

Connect with Amy:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyashbymke/ 
• Company website: https://www.underarmour.com/
• The Incorruptibles: https://www.youtube.com/@theincorruptibles1279 

Ways to Tune In:

• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f25a9d18-c12f-4ee4-93f5-2aa96e509b55 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finops-in-action/id1790497808 
• iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/268443483/ 
• Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/finops-in-action-5958339 
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3IpjMc3qxDXZAjic5Zq21t 
• Transistor: finopsinaction.com 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PointFiveCloudCostEfficiency