The CFO’s guide to building a personal brand

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For years, many CFOs built their reputations solely by delivering results.

Success in their role and the perception of it among their peers was measured by financial performance. That type of strong track record opened the door to better CFO jobs, promotions and paid board seat positions.

Today, all executives — and particularly CFOs — have more opportunities outside of company performance to shape those reputations than ever before. Spend a few minutes scrolling LinkedIn, and you’ll quickly find finance leaders from all industries sharing lessons from the boardroom, commenting on industry news, posting photos from conference stages or publicly congratulating former and current colleagues on new jobs.

The volume of executive content has grown rapidly in recent years, prompting criticism that much of it relies on artificial intelligence-written posts that fall into cringy or cliché storytelling formulas. At the same time, more finance leaders are speaking at conferences, participating in podcasts and putting themselves out there for their stakeholders, fellow executives, colleagues and customers to see.

A personal brand develops through each of those interactions, as five branding experts who work with senior executives told CFO.com in recent interviews. They all agreed that becoming a leader with a powerful presence doesn’t take a viral post or a complete makeover, and has little to do with becoming a social media influencer. Instead, they are built by communicating with authenticity and creating a consistent experience whenever someone encounters them, whether online or in person.

More than just a LinkedIn profile

The phrase “personal brand” can make some executives uncomfortable, according to the experts. And, they say finance leaders built successful careers without spending much time thinking about their social media presence. As communication has become a larger part of executive leadership, more CFOs are finding that the way they explain their experience can influence how they’re perceived long before an interview or introduction ever takes place.

Eric Herrenkohl, founder of Herrenkohl Consulting, an executive coaching firm that advises senior leaders on leadership development and career strategy, said executives often underestimate how much professional reputation influences future opportunities.

“Everyone in the room is qualified,” Herrenkohl said. “Today the CFO candidate pool for any serious search is full of people who can do the job. What separates the one who gets the offer from those who do not is whether they can clearly articulate what makes them different.”

Herrenkohl said many executives develop strong reputations inside their organizations without ever stopping to identify what actually sets them apart. He encourages leaders to step back and examine the common themes that have defined their careers before trying to build a public profile.

“I often tell executives that the rules of leadership haven’t changed. The rules of discoverability have.”

-Chelsea Krost

Founder, Chelsea Productions

“Most executives respected inside their company have never done the work to figure out why,” he said. “They know they are good at the job, but they have not stepped back to identify the actual themes running through their career. The specific combination of experience and judgment that is theirs alone.”

According to Herrenkohl, those themes become the foundation of a personal brand because they give executives a consistent story to tell across every professional interaction.

“The ones who become recognized more broadly are the ones who have done that deep dive, named what makes them unique and started saying it consistently in public, in their bio, on LinkedIn or in a room.”

He cautioned that personal branding cannot compensate for weak performance, though it can help executives communicate accomplishments that might otherwise go unnoticed. “The work still has to be real. But if you cannot name what makes your track record distinct, someone less qualified who can name it will beat you to the role,” Herrenkohl said.

Chelsea Krost, founder of Chelsea Productions, a consulting firm that helps executives develop personal brands and thought leadership strategies, said many leaders approach personal branding from the wrong perspective. She believes executives often worry too much about promoting themselves when they should be thinking about helping other people understand their expertise.

“Today’s CFOs are expected to do more than manage financial performance. [Their] visibility has become an extension of leadership,” Krost said.

“I often tell executives that the rules of leadership haven’t changed. The rules of discoverability have,” she said.

Krost added that visibility begins with clearly communicating who you are and what you want to be known for.

“Your LinkedIn profile should answer three questions immediately: Who are you? What do you want to be known for? Why should someone trust your perspective?” she said. “A strong profile doesn’t just list accomplishments. It communicates expertise, leadership and the unique value you bring to your industry.”

She also encourages executives to rethink what personal branding is meant to accomplish.

“The biggest mindset shift is realizing that it’s about sharing what you’ve learned in a way that benefits other people,” Krost said. “Instead of asking, ‘How do I promote myself?’ ask, ‘How do I package my experience and expertise so others can learn from it?’ When your content is rooted in education rather than attention, it doesn’t feel like self-promotion. It feels like leadership.”

Finding your voice

Building a personal brand starts with identifying what makes an executive different. Rachel Grunbaum, founder of Marketing Micromanager, a consultancy that helps business leaders build personal brands on LinkedIn, said many executives still underestimate LinkedIn’s influence on professional reputation.

“On the content side, the biggest mistake is being too cautious and vanilla. That’s how you blend in and get skipped or forgotten. Instead, take a stand.”

Rachel Grunbaum

Founder, Marketing Micromanager

“LinkedIn started as an online resume site for job seekers and recruiters, but today, it’s essentially a 24/7 global networking event,” Grunbaum said. “When somebody searches your name online because they’re considering working with you or offering you an opportunity, the first result will typically be your website, followed by your LinkedIn profile.”

She said many executives spend too much time worrying about how often they post and should be spending more time thinking about what they want to be known for.

Rachel Grunbaum

Permission granted by Rachel Grunbaum

“The biggest mistake is trying to sound like everyone else,” Grunbaum said. “Here’s the test: if I stripped your name and photo off your posts, would your network still know it was you?”

According to Grunbaum, memorable executives consistently communicate a point of view.

“Memorable CFOs take positions on how finance should partner with the business, on the metric everyone worships that they think is misleading, on what’s overhyped in their space,” she said. “Consistent themes mean people think of you when those topics come up.”

She also encourages finance leaders to avoid playing it too safe. “On the content side, the biggest mistake is being too cautious and vanilla,” Grunbaum said. “That’s how you blend in and get skipped or forgotten. Instead, take a stand.”

She also detailed how the ambiguity of authenticity can be removed by sharing experiences that shaped an executive’s career. However, there’s a line. “Share your scars, not your wounds,” Grunbaum said. “This is what happened, here’s how I came out better and stronger for it, and this is the lesson I’m glad to share.”

Bryan MacDonald, director of noise at PB+J, a marketing agency that helps direct-to-consumer brands grow through creative campaigns, has built his own personal brand around humor. His LinkedIn profile describes him as the “Funniest Guy on LinkedIn,” a label he said immediately tells people what to expect from his content and makes him more memorable.

MacDonald believes many executives make the mistake of editing out the very traits that make people connect with them.

“The content that performs the best is the stuff that feels the most human,” MacDonald said. “Everybody wants everything to be polished. They want every word to be perfect. That’s not how people connect.”

He said executives often underestimate the value of showing personality, particularly on a platform filled with similar leadership posts. He pokes fun at this idea going too far in a recent video where he depicts a direct-to-consumer founder explaining why they fired their CFO.

“The quirks are what people remember,” he said. “If your content could have been posted by 500 other people, why would anyone remember it?”

Bryan MacDonald

Permission granted by Bryan MacDonald

MacDonald said CFOs have no shortage of stories worth telling because they regularly make difficult decisions and are increasingly playing a big part in helping shape company strategy. He believes those experiences can resonate far more than generic leadership advice.

Video is another opportunity that remains underused, he said. A short clip recorded after a conference, podcast appearance or customer meeting that is posted on LinkedIn Reels or X can often create stronger engagement than a polished written post, he said, because audiences get to hear an executive’s voice and see their personality.

MacDonald also uses artificial intelligence as part of his creative process. He said Grok tends to generate the funniest ideas and Claude is the best for business. He credits Grok because it is willing to take more risks with humor, though he noted he views AI as a brainstorming partner and not a replacement for original thinking. “The joke still has to be yours,” he said.

For executives experimenting with LinkedIn, MacDonald said success should be measured by developing a target audience. “You don’t have to go viral,” he said. “If the right 300 people see it, that’s enough.”

Authenticity and image

Building a personal brand may be just as new for CFOs as it is for the entire B2B space, according to MacDonald.

“B2B never required a brand before,” MacDonald said. “Services or products sort of sold themselves, but now that everyone has a similar service or product or software, the personal brand building, the actual B2B brand building, I think now is more important than it ever has been.”

MacDonald said he stumbled into that realization while co-hosting a business podcast. Instead of following the serious tone common across much of B2B media, he started cracking jokes during episodes and posting the funniest moments on LinkedIn.

“The response was great,” he said. “Everyone sort of said the same thing, like super refreshing. So refreshing to see on a feed that is congratulations … there’s your typical B2B stuff.”

“It’s easier now than it ever has been before, as a CFO, as a finance guy, as a B2B brand … to separate yourself,” MacDonald added. “We’ve never been in an era where you can separate yourself so easily on LinkedIn.”

“I’m never trying to make somebody look like a CFO or CEO. I’m trying to make them look like themselves at their highest level.”

-Abbey Page

Personal brand developer and stylist

For executives worried about sounding awkward online, MacDonald said the biggest mistake is trying to produce content that feels overly polished.

“Polish will always kill your personality,” he said. “The more that you work on a video, the more that you edit a video, your personality doesn’t shine through. For me, I hit record. I set a 20-minute timer. I have to edit a video in 20 minutes or less, or else I throw the video away.”

Abbey Page, a personal stylist for male professionals, said that a strong approach to style for business leaders regardless of gender can really help them strengthen their executive presence.

“We form an impression of someone within seconds,” Page said. “People are making assumptions about your credibility, your competence and your trustworthiness before you even introduce yourself.”

She encourages clients to think about their appearance as not only fashion or style, but also as another form of both professional and personal communication. “I think the perspective shift here is truly ditching the narrative that caring about your appearance is superficial,” Page said. “Every styling decision is tailored to enhance your personal brand.”

Page also said she isn’t trying to give every executive the same polished look. She argues that look doesn’t exist in an objective sense. “I’m never trying to make somebody look like what their job description is,” she said. “I’m trying to make them look like themselves at their highest level.”

She also pointed to research on “enclothed cognition,” which suggests clothing can influence the way people think and perform. She argued executives often feel more confident when their appearance reflects the role they want to play, making in-person opportunities for executive presence much more critical than any posts on LinkedIn.

Page also made a point that many organizations spend significant time and money on upskilling executives around technical skills, but make mistakes by giving far less attention to executive presence, even though, as she explained, data shows executives communicate before they ever begin speaking.

“We teach people how to read a balance sheet. We teach people how to negotiate,” Page said. “We don’t teach people executive presence.”

That leaves many newly promoted executives trying to figure it out on their own, she said. The ones who successfully develop their brand from scratch develop a consistent presence that reflects who they are instead of trying to imitate someone else’s style. That, she said, is the sweet spot of authenticity.

“When the way you show up matches who you are and how you lead, people remember that,” Page said.