1991–1996
Intuit
Early finance team · IPO and operating scale
Joined when Intuit was roughly 100 people, helped lead the 1993 IPO and key M&A work, then served as Divisional Controller for the QuickBooks business.
Built in the operating seat, not from the sidelines.
Jim’s pattern recognition comes from helping build iconic Silicon Valley companies at the moments when finance, operations, leadership, and culture had to scale together.
1997–1999
Netflix
Founding team · Finance and operations
Built foundational finance and operating systems at the beginning of Netflix, including the operational model behind delivering DVDs through the mail.
2005–2018
Mozilla
CFO · Global growth and infrastructure
Led finance and operating infrastructure through Mozilla Firefox's expansion from a small team into a global organization.
15+ years
Executive peer groups
Group director and expert moderator
Led thousands of hours of CEO, CFO, and operator discussions through the Alliance of CEOs, Operators Guild, Founders Circle Capital, and private groups.
Today
BenchBoard · Cook’s PlayBooks
Coach, author, curator, and moderator
Turns hard-won operating lessons into practical frameworks for founders, CFOs, COOs, finance leaders, and the Cook’s CFO Teams room.
The moderator and the trusted group are the product.
A room of accomplished CFOs is only valuable when someone can create trust quickly, direct candor productively, and convert shared experience into a decision.
Curates the room
Jim personally assesses stage, pattern fit, conflicts, contribution, and whether each CFO will make the room stronger.
Focuses the Discussion
He knows when a conversation is staying on the surface and directs the room toward the actual decision, tradeoff, or leadership issue.
Ensures Active Participation
Active moderation prevents dominated conversations, passive attendance, and advice that never becomes an accountable next move.
Brings pattern recognition
Three decades of company-building and thousands of hours in executive rooms help Jim identify what is familiar and what is genuinely different.
30+
years operating through startup scale, public-company demands, and multiple economic cycles
15+
years directing and moderating high-trust executive peer groups
3
iconic operating chapters: Intuit, Netflix, and Mozilla
“Coach. Mentor. Friend. Therapist. Course corrector. The ‘set-me-straight’ figure. Jim helped me identify blind spots, gain confidence, and change how I showed up for my CEO, board, team, and peers.”
The lessons became PlayBooks.
Jim publishes practical CFO and leadership frameworks drawn from lived operating experience. His Netflix chapter is also documented in books, podcasts, and film, not reconstructed as a coaching origin story after the fact.
Explore the CFO peer network built for your role.
This is the role-specific peer network CFOs have been missing, built as a deliberately exclusive, invite-only team whose members make the room indispensable to one another. Connect with Jim to explore founding membership or nominate a CFO who belongs in it.
What does membership cost?
Pricing and founding-member terms are shared privately during the fit conversation.
How often does the team meet?
The team holds one focused two-hour working session each month, supported by private communication and real-time spin-up sessions between meetings.
How does team selection work?
Jim begins with a personal interview, followed by a background check and references. Once the team is formed, its members vote new CFOs on and can vote members off to protect the room’s trust, fit, and standards.
Can I nominate another CFO?
Yes. You can nominate another CFO using the same form. “Nominating a CFO” will be selected so Jim can follow up appropriately.