The CFO Review Podcast

Episode 2: Bo Meissner on Mission-Driven Finance, P&G, and Building the Seat He Wanted

Bo Meissner never planned to be a CFO. Before his first finance job, he'd already survived bear country in the Northwest Territories, built and sold a roofing company at 22, and circled the globe twice on his own dime. By the time he sat down in his first CFO chair, he'd spent 12 years at Procter & Gamble, helped steer an $8B global division, navigated eight acquisitions, taken a company through an IPO, and made a career-defining lateral move most people would have called a step down.

In this episode of the CFO Review, host Paul Lynch sits down with Bo Meissner, CFO of Grassroots Carbon and former CFO of Vital Farms, to trace the unconventional path that built one of the most well-rounded finance leaders in the game.

If you're a finance professional trying to figure out when to take the title versus when to take the experience, this one's for you.

What you'll take away:
→ Why Bo turned down a CFO title to take a VP role — and why it was the right call
→ How 12 years at P&G shaped a "business person with finance expertise" mindset
→ What it actually looks like to be CFO at a public company on IPO day
→ Why mission-driven companies changed what Bo was willing to work on
→ The future of finance — automation, merging roles, and why curiosity is the real edge

The CFO Review — bi-weekly conversations with finance leaders who've already made the jump.

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