CFOs often wear many hats—and the multiple, high-stakes priorities they juggle can increase the chances of burnout. “No position in the C-suite is prone to get more responsibility than the CFO,” Jonathan Johnson, former CEO of Overstock.com, who has also been in the CFO seat, told CFO Brew. On top of all the areas they oversee within a company, lately CFOs have had to add tariffs, geopolitical instability, consumer uncertainty, and AI implementation to the mix.

Executive turnover has accelerated in recent years: In 2025, CFO turnover was the highest it’s been in seven years, while CEO turnover hit record highs, according to a report by Russell Reynolds. Johnson, who has served on numerous public and private company boards, believes burnout may be one reason why.

On two occasions during his career, Johnson said, he’s had to ask colleagues to take a month or two off to recharge. In both cases, the temporary break was exactly what was needed. “They came back recharged, reengaged, and in the interim, their team had gotten strong, which made it easier for them to do this expansive job,” Johnson said. Both times, “the person thanked me for forcing a disconnect,” he said.

But executives are often reluctant to hear that they might need help. “That’s a really hard message, because people think it’s the prelude to being let go,” Johnson said.

And what’s the board’s role in alleviating CFO burnout? Read on here.—CV

Like any good coach, a CFO should have a well-thought-out playbook for their company. But when it comes to AI playbooks, some CFOs, both at private equity and in portfolio companies, are finding it difficult to cross their Xs and finish their Os.

According to a recent Accordion survey titled “The PE AI Adoption Benchmark: From scaling to systematizing,” many firms are stuck in “pilot purgatory”: They’ve spent capital on AI experiments, “but [there’s] no operational playbook to turn isolated deployments into compounding portfolio value,” according to the report.

But Kyle Roemer, managing director and US head of data, analytics, and AI at Accordion, said prototyping an AI use case is one thing; it’s entirely different to “get it deployed into your system…and into everyone’s workflow, so they can start leveraging it.”

Put more simply, the report states: “The majority [of PE firms] are somewhere in the expensive middle: past casual experimentation but not yet at genuine operating leverage.”

But portfolio company CFOs are “in a unique position” to execute on PE’s AI deployment plans, Roemer also said, given their exposure across “value creation areas of the business,” and connection with the PE sponsor.

Keep reading for strategic insights on deploying AI.—DL

President Trump learned yesterday that his unilateral ability to fire people on The Celebrity Apprentice doesn’t apply to his job as leader of the free world—but it’s getting close. The Supreme Court issued a pair of decisions on the issue: One said he can’t jettison Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook (for now) to preserve the central bank’s independence, while the other expanded his power to fire officials at other regulatory agencies.

The court ruled 5–4 that President Trump denied Cook due process when he attempted to fire her over allegations of mortgage fraud—a charge she denies and that critics say is a pretext to appoint someone who will vote for his desired interest rate cuts. The decision means Cook can keep her job while she challenges the firing, but it also left the door open for Trump to ultimately oust her if he can show it’s “for cause” as the law requires.

The court also highlighted the importance of the Fed being free from Oval Office pressure:

• The majority opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts stated: “Not only the fact of independence but also the appearance of independence is key to the Federal Reserve’s design.”
• Therefore, giving a president the ability to fire a Fed governor at will as if they were Stephen Baldwin in 2008 would inhibit the central bank’s ability to set policy without influence, Roberts wrote (except for the Baldwin brother part).

That independence is crucial to investors’ faith in the bond market and the strength of the US dollar.

But otherwise, Trump gained more executive power; read more on Morning Brew.—DL

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