# The North Face Former CFO: How Finance Builds Iconic Brands

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/run-the-numbers-6739797/the-north-face-former-cfo-how-finance-builds-iconic-brands
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/run-the-numbers-6739797/the-north-face-former-cfo-how-finance-builds-iconic-brands.md
Podcast: [Run the Numbers](https://stenobird.com/podcast/run-the-numbers-6739797)
Published: 2026-04-27T09:02:00+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cjgustafson222/episodes/The-North-Face-Former-CFO-How-Finance-Builds-Iconic-Brands-e3ie3cn
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/10e7a9a40/podcast/play/118999895/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-3-24%2F422823172-44100-2-2a37998a12e71.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/run-the-numbers-6739797/episodes/the-north-face-former-cfo-how-finance-builds-iconic-brands
Duration seconds: 3080

## Resource

In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ Gustafson sits down with Angela Chen, former CFO of The North Face and Mars Veterinary Health, to unpack how finance leaders build and scale iconic consumer brands. Angela shares how to measure brand equity, why the CFO should act as an architect of growth, and how capital, talent, and strategy connect inside a scaling business. They also get into humanistic leadership, consumer-margin tradeoffs, and what a 39-cent Taco Bell taco can teach finance teams about growth. — SPONSORS: Aleph is a modern FP&A platform built for teams that want more than another planning tool. By connecting your ERP, CRM, and other systems into one trusted data layer with AI workflows, Aleph helps you move faster with real-time insights. Get a personalized demo at https://www.getaleph.com/run RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for teams that have outgrown spreadsheets and billing tool workarounds. It handles high-volume subscriptions, usage-based contracts, and mid-cycle upgrades, so you can scale without scrambling at month-end. For RevRec that keeps your books clean, visit https://www.rightrev.com/CJ Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to close faster without fighting legacy systems. Designed to support complex revenue recognition, multi-entity operations, and real-time reporting, Rillet helps teams achieve a true zero-day close—with some customers closing in hours, not days. If you’re scaling on an ERP that wasn’t built in the 90s, book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj EY works with high-growth tech companies to navigate the messy realities of scaling—from regulatory requirements to IPO readiness. By helping teams get it right early and often, EY lets founders stay focused on building while…

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