The World Class Leaders Show: The CEO leadership podcast for leaders who solve big problems and build better futures. · Andrea Petrone

228 - She quit her CFO job for this! This Female Executive Made a Bold Career Move | Cameron Drinkwater

February 26, 2026·46 min·4 clips

This CFO says the most important career decision you'll make has nothing to do with your resume.

Andrea Petrone welcomes Cameron Drinkwater, chief product operations officer at SAP, Dow Jones Indices. Cameron's path is unusual for a finance leader. She moved from CFO work into product innovation and operations. That shift opens a wider conversation about identity. She explains what it means to take an intelligent risk at a senior level. The discussion stays close to the realities of modern leadership. Automation, digital transformation, and AI sit inside the day-to-day work of modernizing delivery. Cameron also describes leading a 500-person organization. She connects that responsibility to the discipline she keeps outside work. Coaching matters to her. Athletic habits matter too. Together, they help her stay steady under pressure. The conversation turns to culture. Andrea presses on psychological safety and the kind of environment that allows people to stretch. Cameron describes a setting where people are encouraged to try, learn, and move forward. When people do not succeed, they are not treated as permanent failures. They are moved on to their next opportunity. She frames that as a culture of recycling and growth. The two also talk about how organizations change over time. Heritage and pride may be strong, but mobility has to be built deliberately. The conversation keeps coming back to the idea that leaders cannot simply mandate transformation. They have to model it, reinforce it, and make it workable for the people around them. The episode closes by inviting listeners to connect with Cameron on LinkedIn.

As heard by us

A clear look at career reinvention, psychological safety, and the habits that keep leaders steady.

Cameron Drinkwater's move from CFO to chief product operations officer at SAP, Dow Jones Indices gives the episode its center. Andrea Petrone keeps the discussion grounded in leadership practice, while the talk moves through automation, digital transformation, AI, and the…

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Why you'd press play

You want a grounded example of a CFO stepping into product innovation and operations.

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