The Circle by Founders Circle Capital

Our celebration of #WomensHistoryMonth continues by highlighting exceptional female executives in The Circle community. Today, meet Gianna Driver, advisor and former Chief People Officer at Lattice. As a champion for human-centric HR leadership, Gianna is dedicated to building high-performing, people-first cultures. She is also super passionate about the benefits of #AgenticAI for people teams and building CFO/CHRO alignment — which is always a hot topic for our community. Gianna brings over 20 years of experience in human capital leadership, helping companies navigate hypergrowth, M&A, and cultural transformation. She’s also a graduate of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Her expertise in aligning people strategy with business goals makes her a valued member of the CHRO|Circle, where she contributes insights on leadership, talent development, and DEI. We're so inspired by female powerhouses like Gianna who make workplaces better for everyone! ?? #WomenInLeadership #HRLeadership #PeopleFirst #CHRO

To celebrate #WomensHistoryMonth, we’re featuring standout female executives who we're proud to have as members of The Circle by Founders Circle Capital. Karen Moran, CFO at Crux, has played a pivotal role in scaling Crux’s operations, driving growth, and fostering a culture of innovation.? With over 25 years of experience in finance and an MBA from The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, Karen brings deep experience and scar tissue to every discussion with her peers in the CFO|Circle. She has a knack for financial storytelling of highly technical products and complex business issues. Her enterprise SaaS chops are also a huge asset to the community. Karen, thank you for your leadership, resilience, and the impact you continue to make on your community! ?? To join Karen and 300+ other standout CFO peers, apply to join the community: https://lnkd.in/ddtNzmwc #Leadership #Finance #Innovation #WomenInBusiness

Tomorrow is #InternationalWomensDay! To celebrate, tag a woman who has influenced your career in a comment below ??

Celebrating Valentine’s Day by sharing 4?? CXOs we’re #CrushingOn! ?? Lisa Luscap - CMO at our portfolio company Starburst ?? Chris Trombetta - CPO at our ? newly public! ? portfolio company ServiceTitan ?? Allison Metcalfe - CRO at Cloudinary ?? Larry Roseman - CFO at our portfolio company Thumbtack Looking to hire a rockstar CXO? Read insights from peers on how to find the right leader and set them up for success with our #hiring playbooks ?? https://lnkd.in/dUnnQnSs

Earlier this month, we hosted a 2025 State of the Market conversation with #CFOs and #CHROs in The Circle, focused on: ??? Federal Technology Policy with experienced lobbyist Andrew Howell ?? Macroeconomic Outlook with Steve Edwards, CFA, Managing Director @ Morgan Stanley ?? Equity Capital Markets with Cullen Lee, Head of Technology Equity Capital Markets @ Stifel Financial Corp. ?? IPO Dynamics + Advisory with Alex Wellins, Co-Founder + Managing Partner @ The Blueshirt Group Find nine actionable takeaways below designed to help you align your strategies with the current market realities ?? #MarketOutlook #WorkforceStrategy #CapitalMarkets #startups #IPOreadiness #finance #HR

There are only a few spots left in our upcoming Circle|Class: CFO Masterclass with Rob Krolik on October 8th in SF! This interactive, workshop-style session focuses on accelerating the personal and professional development of up-and-coming, first-time, or new-to-the-role CFOs, equipping them to lead confidently in key company and career inflection points. CFO|Circle members are welcome to offer this course to a senior direct report who is on the path to becoming a future CFO. If you fit the following criteria, register to join this inaugural Circle|Class with Rob Krolik: ? Either a first-time CFO or a rising senior finance leader ? On the track to becoming a CFO who is currently working at a high-growth company that is Series B or later Register here ?? https://lnkd.in/evdPWamU #CFO #finance #startups #community

Equity Strategy: Playing Chess, Not Checkers Managing equity burn is a critical challenge as your organization scales, requiring a balance between rewarding talent and maintaining shareholder value. Join your CFO and CHRO peers and VIPs Ashish Raina, Compensation and HR Consultant at Optimize Talent, LLC, Shawn Murphy, Director, Head of Private Markets, at Morgan Stanley at Work, and Anand Mehta, CPO at ID.me.me in a candid discussion on crafting a flexible equity strategy. Together, explore equity strategies at various stages and gain actionable insights to refine your compensation philosophy, ensuring your equity program supports sustainable growth and team engagement. If you're a member of The Circle, sign up. Interested in joining? Learn more at https://lnkd.in/ddtNzmwc #thecircle #cfo #chro

CHRO|Circle Insights from Anand Mehta, Chief People Officer, ID.me The role of the CHRO in preparing a company for IPO can sometimes be oversimplified and reduced to a checklist. However, the IPO readiness process has significant cultural and strategic implications that CHROs must be prepared to navigate. While your company’s public debut might be down the road, these implications impact your?compensation and equity strategy, organizational culture, employee performance, workforce planning, and executive makeup. Read on for expert perspectives on setting realistic employee expectations, educating your company on what’s next, and guiding important executive compensation decisions. https://lnkd.in/dnJtTrew

Before the #CFO and #CRO can drive revenue #growth at their company, they must align on these three key factors: ?? Cultural alignment ensures a common framework for how to collaborate and a commitment to compromise for the good of the business. ?? Business goals alignment ensures a shared understanding of the expectations of the CEO and board of directors, and agreement on the long-term strategic priorities for the company. ?? Data source alignment ensures that everyone will evaluate success using the same set of accurate metrics. To learn more about how #finance and #revenue leaders can collaborate to scale their business effectively, read the Takeaways from our conversation featuring Robert Goldenberg, CFO at 6sense, John Turner, Advisor at Moloco and former CRO at Google, and Jake Johnson, principal at The Alexander Group. https://lnkd.in/eXPykYkZ #startups #sales #GrowthStrategies #MarketExpansion #RevenueTriangle

CFO|Circle Insights: Tracy Knox, Board Member at Getty Images and Babylist Financial leaders are in demand to fill open board seats. According to?research from Spencer Stuart, there has been a recent trend reversal in the professional backgrounds of new independent directors in the S&P 500: Between 2022-2023, P&L and Functional Leader backgrounds decreased while financial backgrounds and CEOs increased, making up 27% and 30% of new directors, respectively. As more CFOs enter the board talent marketplace, those aiming to land a seat must be prepared to differentiate themselves, notably through their career performance. But how exactly does one hear about opportunities and land the right role? Read on to learn about the qualifications needed to serve, how to determine the best company fit for your experience and skills, and ways to activate your network to find open roles. https://lnkd.in/efg-y6YY