In this episode of CFO Weekly, Courtney Colmenares, Chief Financial Officer at Crane Stationery, joins Megan Weis to explore why owning the data stack has become one of the most critical responsibilities of the modern CFO. Courtney brings a rare blend of financial rigor and operational instinct, shaped by her time on Sarah Blakely's personal finance team at Spanx and her experience scaling a fast-growing startup from $10M in revenue with nothing but a self-built data lakehouse and a relentless focus on what matters most.

With hands-on expertise spanning accounting, FP&A, systems implementation, and data architecture, Courtney shares how she turned the finance seat into the strategic nerve center of every organization she's led. She unpacks why companies between $10M and $100M in revenue almost never have a chief data officer and why that gap almost always falls to finance to fill. She covers the three pillars of owning the data stack, the biggest pitfalls companies make when building a unified data foundation, and the mindset shift that separates reactive CFOs from those who help their teams see around corners.

What You'll Learn:

• Why the CFO is uniquely positioned to own the data stack in mid-market companies
• The three pillars of data ownership every finance leader must master
• How to build a data lakehouse on a lean budget and drive real-time decisions
• Why waiting for clean data is the single biggest mistake in finance
• How finance acts as the universal translator across every department
• What the CFO role will look like in the next five to ten years

Learn More About Courtney:

• Courtney Colmenares on LinkedIn 
• Crane Stationery Website
  
  

Episode resources:

• Personiv's Website
• Personiv on LinkedIn
• Personiv on Facebook
• Personiv on Twitter
  
  

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Previous guests include: Tom McDermott, CFO at Career Certified, Claire Bramley, CFO at Teradata, Chris Miles, Founder of Money Ripples, Ranil DeSilva, CFO & COO at CARE, Jordan Grumet, Financial Independence Expert & Host of Earn & Invest & William Washington, Global CFO at Baker McKenzie

Check out some of our most recent episodes:

• Driving Value Beyond Finance with Tom McDermott
• Why CFOs Are the Chief Everything Officers with Claire Bramley
• Why Traditional Financial Advice Fails and What To Do Instead with Chris Miles
• NGO Finance Secrets: CARE’s $900M Strategy with Ranil DeSilva
• What Lights You Up? with Jordan Grumet
• Become a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt with William Washington
  
  

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