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A regular on Treasury and Risk Management Magazine\u2019s \u201c100 Most Influential People in Finance\u201d list, Smartsheet CFO Jennifer Ceran joined the company, a SaaS platform for managing collaborative work and automating work processes, in 2016 with impressive Silicon Valley bona fides. She\u2019s served as CFO and in senior finance executive roles at Quotient Technology (formerly Coupons.com), Box, Ebay/PayPal and Cisco. Ceran\u2019s current mission is to help lead Smartsheet\u2019s long-term strategy, and she\u2019s thrilled by Smartsheet\u2019s market opportunity. \u201cIt\u2019s in the multiple billions of dollars,\u201d she enthuses. \u201cWe have a real chance of extending our leadership position, so we\u2019re going after [a goal of] $1 billion in revenue within four to six years.\u201d Ceran is equally enthusiastic about sharing career guidance with future finance leaders. She identifies two crucial propellants to the CFO seat: 1) Amassing as much corporate finance knowledge as possible in all of the realm\u2019s key functional areas; and 2) Understanding the value \u2013 and exceedingly positive impact on company performance \u2013 that a healthy and candid CFO-CEO relationship engenders. \u201cIt\u2019s really important that you and the CEO have mutual respect and alignment,\u201d Ceran adds. \u201cIt\u2019s important that you\u2019re in an environment where you feel safe on both sides to discuss the toughest situations at work, debate the issues and then come together on a course of action.\u201d