• Discover how Fiona delivered double her salary in savings within three months
• See how she restructured operations, supported commercial contracts, and improved boardroom presence
• Learn how The CFO Boardroom helped her feel less alone and build her influence across the business
CASE STUDY: FIONA ZACHARIAS
The Context
Fiona Zacharias was already a successful CFO in the construction industry when she joined The CFO Boardroom. She had deep technical capability and a clear commercial lens, but she felt alone in her role.
Her finance team was strong, her reporting reliable. But much of her work was reactive; managing issues, solving problems, and staying on top of deadlines.
What was missing was a space to think differently. Somewhere outside the business where she could challenge assumptions, test ideas, and get objective feedback on how she was leading her team and building her profile within the business.
She found that space in The CFO Boardroom.
The Challenge
Fiona wasn't looking for technical training. She needed a peer-level forum. A place to have the conversations that didn't fit neatly into a finance meeting. She wanted to contribute more meaningfully to strategic decisions, lead more visibly across the business, and feel less pressure to have all the answers alone.
Importantly, she wanted to tangibly impact both business revenue and culture.
Why Alena
After following Alena on LinkedIn for a while, a post about the CFO Boardroom sparked her interest and convinced her to book in for a discovery call. From that very first call, she felt immediately aligned with Alena's energy and her approach.
What drew Fiona to Alena wasn't a list of credentials. It was her way of thinking.
"She just got it," Fiona said. "Straight away, I felt comfortable talking to her about where I was and where I wanted to go."
The Work
Fiona committed fully to the group. She valued the mix of industries and perspectives, but more than that, she valued the trust. "It became a safe space to share," she said. "Often, you don't have that inside your own business."
The real-time relevance of the work stood out. Whether it was reading, reflection, or group discussion, Fiona could always apply it back to an upcoming presentation, a boardroom challenge, or a difficult conversation.
She used the program to:
• Identify underperforming staff and workshop tough conversations
• Recruit new team members better aligned with company strategy & culture
• Rehearse conversations with her CEO and executive peers
• Challenge herself to step forward in leadership discussions she might previously have sat back from
The Impact
Fiona's CEO started to involve her earlier in decision-making. She began to build a stronger personal profile across the business.
"Our cashflow and net profit have been most impacted," she said. "I've consolidated costs, reduced waste, duplication of tasks, and reshuffled tasks to create great efficiencies."
In her first three months of the CFO Boardroom program, Fiona created savings equal to twice her salary by consolidating costs, reducing waste and duplication, and reshuffling tasks to improve efficiency.
Operationally, she's enhanced subcontractor management and safety reporting.
Perhaps most importantly, she's helped identify, vet and recruit talent aligned with the company's strategic direction.
"Now that we've recruited staff who are more aligned with our strategy, the Directors are seeing the benefit."
In Her Words
Click on the video below to see Fiona talk about the value of The CFO Boardroom in her own words.
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