Why companies are paying a premium for battle-tested CFOs—and Nike’s struggling turnaround shows what that costs ^43.7%

fortune.com - By Sheryl Estrada - 7/10/2026, 12:35 PM

Ambiguity (Equivocation) 25.5% - Negativity Bias 24.1% - Appeal to Authority 16.9%

Good morning. Proven public-company CFOs are scarce enough that companies increasingly offer pre-paid packages when recruiting them away from other organizations, especially at companies that need a boost to their turnaround strategy. That’s what Shawn Cole, president and co-founder of Cowen Partners, an executive search firm, told me... more