A breakout period for CFOs—the most movement in two decades
In Australia's largest corporations, the path from finance chief to chief executive has never been more traveled — or more female. One in five ASX100 companies now have a former CFO leading the organisation, a concentration of executive mobility unseen in two decades, while average CFO pay has surged 24 percent in a single reporting cycle. The elevation of figures like Vicki Brady, Leah Weckert, and Vanessa Hudson reflects a quiet but consequential shift in how boards define the qualities they need most at the helm. What was once a supporting role in the corporate drama has become, for a growing number of women, the opening act of something larger.
- One in five ASX100 companies now have a CFO in the CEO chair — the most concentrated executive reshuffling in twenty years, and it is disproportionately women making the leap.
- A 24 percent average pay surge signals that boards are treating proven financial leadership as a scarce and premium commodity, willing to compete fiercely to secure it.
- Beneath the headline numbers lies a treacherous gap: statutory pay figures can dwarf actual cash received, with some CFOs earning as little as $387,000 despite packages listed at over $10 million.
- The volatility cuts both ways — while some CFOs saw pay jump 37 to 64 percent, others watched compensation collapse by as much as 63 percent as performance-linked equity failed to deliver.
- Australian female finance talent is now commanding global platforms, with women leading CFO and chair roles at HP, AngloGold, Aon, and Tesla, signalling that the breakout extends well beyond domestic borders.
Across Australia's largest companies, the CFO role has quietly transformed into a launchpad for the corner office. One in five ASX100 firms now have a chief financial officer sitting in the CEO chair — a concentration of executive movement unseen in twenty years. The pattern is unmistakably female-led: Vicki Brady at Telstra, Leah Weckert at Coles, and Vanessa Hudson at Qantas have each made the transition, signalling a broader shift in how boards are thinking about leadership.
The pay data reinforces the moment. Average CFO compensation jumped 24 percent in the latest reporting cycle, reflecting both the scarcity of proven financial talent and the premium boards will pay to secure it. Macquarie's Alex Harvey leads the field at $10.5 million in statutory terms — ahead of most CEOs — though his actual received pay of $8.77 million tells a more grounded story. The distinction matters: David Shafer at Kogan sits second on paper at $10.2 million, but his real take-home was $387,000, with nearly everything tied to long-term incentives that depend on share price recovery.
Women occupy an outsized share of the conversation beyond just the CEO transitions. Joy Linton at CSL earned $6.2 million, the highest among female CFOs, while Nessa O'Sullivan at Brambles and Michelle Jablko at Transurban represent a deep bench of potential future leaders. The talent pool reaches further still — Australian women now hold senior finance roles at HP, AngloGold, Aon, and Tesla, commanding genuinely global platforms.
The pay surges were uneven. Some CFOs saw compensation climb 33 to 64 percent, while others — at Ansell, Bega, Costa Group, and Inghams — saw packages fall sharply as performance-based structures offered little shelter in a difficult market year. What the data collectively reveals is a sector in transition: the CFO role has become a destination in its own right, one that now rivals the CEO in compensation and, increasingly, in ambition.
Across Australia's largest companies, the chief financial officer role has become a launchpad to the corner office. One in five of the ASX100's top firms now have a CFO sitting in the CEO chair—a concentration of executive movement unseen in the past twenty years. Vicki Brady at Telstra, Leah Weckert at Coles, and Vanessa Hudson at Qantas represent a visible shift in how boards are filling their highest positions, and the pattern is unmistakably female-led.
Phil McCann, who heads CFO recruitment at Odgers Berndtson and commissioned a sweeping pay report on the sector, calls it a breakout period. The data backs him up. Average CFO compensation jumped 24 percent in the latest reporting cycle, a surge that reflects both the scarcity of proven financial leadership and the premium boards are willing to pay to secure it. Yet the numbers tell a more complicated story than raw salary figures suggest. At Macquarie Group, CFO Alex Harvey commands the country's highest-paid finance role at $10.5 million—a figure that places him ahead of most CEOs. His boss, Macquarie chief Shemara Wikramanayake, earned $23.7 million as CEO, while the firm's commodities head Nick O'Kane took home $32.4 million, the largest single paycheck in corporate Australia. These outliers matter less than the broader pattern: finance chiefs are being valued as never before.
The composition of that value, however, varies wildly. David Shafer at Kogan ranked second among CFOs at $10.2 million on paper, but nearly all of that sits in long-term incentives—performance-based payouts that may never materialize. His actual take-home pay last year was $387,000. This distinction between statutory pay and real cash in hand runs through the entire sector. Companies are required by law to disclose one number but not the other, creating what the report calls an "accountants' view" that can distort reality. When measured by what CFOs actually received, the picture shifts. Alex Harvey still leads at $8.77 million, followed by Nessa O'Sullivan at Brambles on $4.26 million. The gap between promise and delivery matters most to those whose packages are heavily weighted toward equity that depends on share price recovery—a fraught proposition given the market's volatility through the pandemic.
Women occupy an outsized share of the conversation around CFO advancement, and not simply because Brady, Weckert, and Hudson made headlines. Joy Linton at CSL earned $6.2 million, the highest pay among female CFOs. O'Sullivan at Brambles was the only other woman in the top ten, at $4.3 million, though she stepped down from the role earlier this year with plans to pursue non-executive directorships. Michelle Jablko at Transurban, another potential future CEO, landed just outside the top tier at $3.2 million. The talent pool extends beyond Australia's borders. Maria Myers leads finance at HP. Gillian Doran holds the CFO role at AngloGold. Christa Davies runs Aon's finances. Robyn Denholm chairs Tesla. These names signal that Australian women in finance have reached a scale and visibility that commands global platforms.
The pay surges were not evenly distributed. Novonix's Nick Liveris saw his compensation rise 33 percent to $4 million, though again, 70 percent sits in long-term incentives. Jeff Howard at Seven West Media jumped 37 percent to $1.6 million. David Grbin at Soul Patterson climbed 64 percent to $1.38 million. Gillian Larkins, who resigned from the ASX in August 2022, received a 57 percent bump as part of a severance package worth $2.4 million. But the year also brought casualties. Ansell's Zubair Javeed saw his pay collapse 63 percent to $1.1 million. Peter Findlay at Bega fell 16 percent. Wayne Johnston at Costa Group dropped 30 percent. Gary Mallet at Inghams fell 38 percent. These cuts reflect the unforgiving nature of performance-based pay in a year when share markets offered little comfort.
What emerges from the data is a sector in transition. The CFO role, once a stepping stone to the executive suite, has become a destination in itself—one that now commands compensation rivaling the CEO in certain cases. The elevation of women to the top finance roles, and from there to the CEO chair, suggests boards have concluded that financial acumen and operational discipline are the qualities they most need at the helm. Whether that pattern holds depends partly on whether the next generation of female CFOs can replicate the success of Brady, Weckert, and Hudson, and partly on whether the market conditions that made 2023 a breakout year for pay growth persist into the years ahead.
Citações Notáveis
There is more CFO movement in the ASX200 than any period over the past two decades. It's a breakout period for CFOs.— Phil McCann, head of CFO recruitment at Odgers Berndtson
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why are so many CFOs moving into the CEO role right now? Is it just that they're good at money?
It's more that boards have realized financial discipline and operational rigor are what they need to navigate uncertainty. A CFO has already proven they can manage complexity, stakeholders, and risk. They're not starting from scratch.
But the pay numbers seem wild. Alex Harvey at $10.5 million as a CFO—that's almost as much as some CEOs earn.
That's the point. Companies are competing fiercely for proven finance talent. And the statutory numbers mask the real story—most of that is long-term incentives that only pay out if targets are hit. The actual cash is often much smaller.
So David Shafer at Kogan looks like he's the second-highest-paid CFO, but he actually took home $387,000?
Exactly. That's the gap between what the law requires companies to disclose and what people actually receive. It's why the report had to look at take-home pay separately—and why comparing CFO packages is trickier than it looks.
What's striking about the women in these roles?
They're not just moving up within Australia. Maria Myers at HP, Gillian Doran at AngloGold, Christa Davies at Aon—Australian women are leading finance at global companies. That visibility changes what's possible for the next cohort.
Did everyone's pay go up?
No. Some CFOs took significant cuts. Ansell's Zubair Javeed fell 63 percent. Costa Group's Wayne Johnston dropped 30 percent. It depends on company performance and how much of your pay is tied to share price recovery—which was rough during the pandemic.
What does this tell us about where corporate leadership is heading?
That boards are betting on financial discipline as the core competency. And that they're willing to pay premium rates to get it. Whether that strategy works depends on what happens next.