The CFO Executive Forum: A Private Council for Finance Leaders in the AI Era

The CFO Executive Forum is a private peer council for finance chiefs, run by Open Future Forum. It puts a small group of CFOs around one table to talk honestly about AI, spend, and risk, with no vendors in the room and no stage to play to.

Most CFOs I talk to share the same problem. They are asked to sign off on AI budgets with no clear return, under board pressure for certainty that does not exist yet. The useful answers are not on a conference panel. They are in the heads of other CFOs who have already made the call, taken the risk, and seen what happened next.

That is what the CFO Executive Forum is built for. It runs as small private dinners in San Francisco and Palo Alto, eight to twenty finance leaders at a time. Off the record. No agenda. No pitch. Everyone shares what they know and what they got wrong, because the room is more valuable when people give more than they take.

The forum is one of the role-based councils inside Open Future Forum, alongside groups for CROs, CISOs, CTOs, and CEOs. Over the past two years Open Future Forum has run more than 100 events across the Bay Area, all built on the same idea: the right small room beats the biggest conference.

If you are a CFO trying to make good AI decisions faster than your peers, this is the kind of room worth being in.

Frequently asked questions

What is the CFO Executive Forum?
It is a private peer council for CFOs, run by Open Future Forum. Small off-the-record dinners in San Francisco and Palo Alto where finance leaders discuss AI, budgets, and risk without vendors present.

Who is it for?
Sitting CFOs and senior finance leaders at growth-stage and enterprise companies who want candid peer advice on AI spend, ROI, and governance.

How is it different from a conference?
Conferences are large and public, with people on stage and vendors working the room. The CFO Executive Forum is small and private, eight to twenty peers at one table, so the conversation is honest and specific.

How do I join?
Membership is by invitation or referral. CFOs who want to be considered can reach out through Open Future Forum at openfutureforum.com.

Follow Murray Newlands

Murray Newlands is a Partner at IA Seed Ventures and the founder of Open Future Forum, a Silicon Valley executive community that runs private dinners for C-suite leaders and open events for the AI and tech comm