No Longer Just Number Crunchers, CFOs Are Grabbing More CEO Jobs

Newell Brands Inc., the company behind Rubbermaid and Sharpie, made deep cuts in recent years to simplify operations that included slashing its product varieties, or stock keeping units, by 75%.

That track record helped Chris Peterson rise from the company’s chief financial officer to president and then chief executive in May. Such mobility placed him in a growing cohort of CFOs who advanced to the top job. To make that jump, executives on the finance side of a company also need to be well-versed in what drives growth, according to Peterson.

“I spent most of my time in strategy ...