The CFO Playbook: Kate Vacovec on Authentic Leadership and Femininity as a Superpower

Kate’s career philosophy boils down to a single saying: keep your plans in sand, but your goals in concrete. From her earliest days at university studying international studies with a business minor, she knew she wanted something international, something strategic, and the opportunity to work abroad. What she didn’t know was that the path would wind through unexpected turns to land her in the CFO seat.

“I think from a very early age I was very clear in my goals, which, by the way, was not necessarily to be a CFO. And the way that I got there was through twists and turns, but holding true to some of the things that were really important to me.”

Kate’s original plan looked straightforward: management consulting, then an MBA, then landing a director of strategy role at somewhere like Nike or Under Armour. During the summer of her junior year at university, an opportunity with Yum Brands appeared that ticked every box: great organisation, strategy role, huge international exposure across KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut’s global growth, with the possibility of relocating abroad.

“I took the leap and then my career really unfolded. I just continued to focus on what’s really important for me. And at that point it was learning, it was growing, it was being in an environment that I really enjoyed with people that I enjoyed and a purpose that felt meaningful to me.”

The pivotal moment came when Kate  reached director of FP&A for Pizza Hut Global. She didn’t want it. Working in market at Pizza Hut UK, she desperately wanted to become a director within the business unit rather than at global level. The role required relocating, something she resisted.

“I was so disappointed because I really wanted to get to director but I didn’t want to relocate. And in the end that was the most critical role for my career trajectory to get to CFO because it got me closer to some of the decision makers who then decided to take a bet on me.”

That experience reinforced her philosophy. “If some of the journey doesn’t impact your values or your goals, maybe take that unexpected step because a new door may open that you did not realise would have come your way.”

Looking back, Kate operates with a no regrets mindset. But she’s wrestling with a question that she believes particularly affects women: am I making decisions to prove that I can?

“I think this is something as women, sometimes we want to prove that we can do it, or maybe because we should do something versus because I really want to at my core.”

Having worked hard to reach the CFO level, with all the trade-offs that entailed, she’s now focused on being more intentional. “What is it that I really want to do? Not what I should do, not what others are telling me or not what I need to prove to others.”

Her advice to her younger self would be to pause occasionally and recalibrate. “I have noticed some individuals who come up for a breath of air, something changes and they’re like, holy shit, where I am isn’t necessarily where I want to be.”

When it comes to critical competencies, Kate takes an unconventional stance. “Women should be their authentic selves and leverage that which makes them women. I actually see femininity as a superpower. I don’t think we talk about it a lot.”

She recalls the archetypes of female leaders she observed early in her career: either very masculine women who sacrificed everything, working endless hours, or superwomen who perfectly balanced work and family whilst looking exhausted.

“I was like, that doesn’t feel right. And then the super woman mom, I looked at that human being and I’m like, that looks tiring. I don’t want to be that either.”

Her perspective centres on leveraging feminine strengths rather than suppressing them. “We are not men. This is an advantage for us in a boardroom or with our external stakeholders. Yes, we need to build tough skin to navigate really challenging conversations and crises. But I don’t think we need to shut off a whole part of us, which are superpowers, in terms of our empathy, our ability to listen, our low ego, our high humility.”

What women should challenge, however, is consistently questioning whether they deserve a seat at the table. “That’s something that I think is because of all the beautiful things that make women so incredible can sometimes, on the flip side, become a vulnerability.”

She emphasises allowing women to be their authentic selves. “You can be a female leader who doesn’t have a family, who’s going through menopause, who is straight or gay. And that is beautiful. We have the gift right now to offer that to the next generation of talent.”

The biggest challenge she faced wasn’t external barriers but internal ones. “Yes, there is an environment around us that makes it more difficult. That being said, I actually sometimes think we can be our own worst enemies.”

Much of her self-talk revolves around not feeling smart enough, good enough or qualified enough. “I’m actually putting a ceiling for myself. Men don’t have that self-talk.”

For years, Kate had been repressing her full self at work. Younger than typical American leaders, single without a partner, living a lifestyle different from colleagues who married young and started families, she felt she couldn’t be authentic.

A revelation came sitting in a room with other women a year ago. “If I’m not showing up as my authentic self, who else is going to do that? I need to be bolder and more courageous to take a stand. It’s our responsibility to normalise different ways of being as female leadership.”

She also believes women need to give each other tough love. “I think sometimes we need to give each other a shake. You have a seat at the table, you need to take it. If you don’t take that seat, somebody else is going to take it.”

Kate loves people and connection, describing herself as extroverted and sociable. But networking and asking for help terrify her. Rather than fight that battle, she’s built her support network through individual coffee chats and slowly building relationships. “I’ve reached out individually to people that I want to learn from. And that’s worked for me.”

She uses a fear setting exercise when she hesitates. “What’s the worst case scenario? They ignore my LinkedIn request. Who cares? I’ll forget about it in a week.”

Male advocates have been crucial. “Looking back, my career journey would not have been the same without many male advocates pushing for my growth.”

Kate’s perspective on work life balance is straightforward. “Let us be real, work life balance is not a thing.”

For high performing individuals, she believes work life integration is more realistic, ebbing and flowing depending on life circumstances. “Hard choices make an easier life. I really don’t know any female or male colleague who has just gotten to a very senior role by just coasting and floating.”

She used to feel guilty as a woman without children, believing her time leaving work for drinks with friends was less valuable than colleagues picking children up from school. “Which is so ridiculous. But again, back to the archetypes.”

Her shift came from viewing herself as an athlete. “A high performing individual in an organisation is no different than an athlete. They prepare, they train, they perform and then they rest. If you’re an athlete and you’re always performing, something is going to go wrong.”

She realised she was only performing. “I was running on adrenaline, I had high cortisol levels. Since I’ve made some of those changes, I’m such a much better leader, I’m such a much better person.”

Kate’s guidance centres on clarity and courage. Start with a long-term development plan, understanding what type of organisation, culture and industry you want, then work backwards with trusted advisors and mentors.

“Lean into self-awareness. Journaling is a really good thing to do. Then throw yourself at the things that scare you most, whether that is crisis, challenging, gnarly problems, high stress environment.”

Build relationships with critical decision makers and find an organisation that genuinely wants to nurture your growth.

As an atypical CFO with a commercial and strategy background, she sees those skill sets becoming increasingly important. With technical work increasingly outsourced or leveraged through AI, how you lead talent becomes paramount.

“Being a knowledge worker who has a broader perspective in which you can lean into technical expertise from your team is going to be more and more valued.”

Kate sees her greatest opportunity in mentoring the next generation of female talent who won’t have to navigate the same restrictive archetypes.

“We have such a responsibility and a privilege to mentor and shape the next generation who have this beautiful gift of coming into the workforce and maybe not having that same level of negative self-talk, but can be their most authentic self.”

With so few women in senior finance roles, she views the responsibility as extending beyond finance. “It’s almost functional agnostic in terms of our responsibility.”

Her message is clear: women bring incredible perspective and leadership styles that drive higher performing teams. The privilege now is ensuring the next generation inherits a better landscape.

• Goals Over Plans: Maintain clarity on long term goals while staying flexible on the path. Career progress often depends on adaptability rather than linear planning.
• Intentional and Values Led Decisions: Regularly distinguish between choices made to prove capability and those driven by genuine desire. Without recalibration, success can drift away from personal fulfilment.
• Authentic Leadership as Advantage: Femininity, including empathy, humility, and listening, is positioned as a leadership strength rather than something to suppress. Authenticity improves influence and organisational impact.
• Internal Barriers and Self Belief: Self-doubt and negative self-talk are often greater constraints than external obstacles. Women must actively dismantle internal narratives that limit ambition.
• Claiming Power and Presence: A seat at the table must be taken, not questioned. Hesitation or self-exclusion directly undermines leadership authority.
• Work Life Integration and Sustainability: High performance requires intentional integration of work and life, not balance. Sustainable leadership depends on cycles of effort, recovery, and self-care.
• The Modern CFO Skill Set: Strategic thinking, commercial acumen, and people leadership are becoming more critical than pure technical expertise. Leading talent effectively is a defining capability in an AI enabled finance function.
• Responsibility to the Next Generation: Senior leaders have a duty to normalise diverse leadership models through mentorship and visibility. Creating a better landscape for future women leaders is both a responsibility and a privilege.