Anna Kurylenko, Head of Finance at Readdle, is achieving her goal of becoming a strategic financial leader, thanks to skills and insights gained from The Emerging CFO program.
Ukrainian native Anna Kurylenko sits at her laptop inside a co-working space in Stockholm, reflecting on the unexpected turns her life has taken.
A former EY senior manager, Anna built her career as a financial leader at multinational companies. In January 2021, she joined Ukraine-based tech company Readdle, a developer of Apple-based productivity apps, as Head of Finance. She was hired to help the company expand into the global marketplace — a job that became more challenging when Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022.
“We are a company with Ukrainian roots, but we now see ourselves as a truly international business,” Anna says. “Due to war and business developments, most of our team has left Ukraine and is now spread across more than 30 countries.” Anna herself fled Ukraine, met her now husband in Poland, and eventually found asylum in Sweden, where she lives and works today.
“It was not my original life plan,” Anna reflects. “But you never actually know how life can evolve.”
With 350 team members spread across the globe and multiple products at various stages of development, Readdle needed Anna to step up as a strategic leader. “It was crucial for me to strengthen my financial expertise, strategic thinking, and leadership skills to safeguard the company’s financial health and ensure sustainable growth,” she explains.
Readdle’s CEO had attended a Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Education program for growing companies. He encouraged Anna to attend The Emerging CFO: Strategic Financial Leadership Program to achieve her potential. “I told him ‘Yes, yes, yes, of course I want to go!’” Anna recalls. “I had always dreamed of studying at Stanford, and this program was exactly what I was looking for.”
Learning Skills and Gaining Insights to Become a Strategic CFO
Anna traveled to Stanford’s Silicon Valley campus to participate in the program, which combines financial expertise, strategic thinking, and leadership development. The curriculum explores emerging trends and challenges in finance, including mergers and acquisitions, globalization, and corporate venture capital. The in-person program is presented in two one-week modules, taking place in February and April.
“That first week at Stanford was life-changing,” Anna shares. “It transformed my perspective on who I am, what I want to achieve, and how I envision my future growth.”
Before the program, Anna’s role was more operational and less strategic. That changed after the first week, when she gained insights into the strategic skills essential for financial leadership. “I felt like I didn’t fully understand and engage with major processes happening in the company,” Anna admits. However, after reflecting on insights from the first module, including the group discussions, Anna returned ready to apply these concepts. Her mindset of what was possible had shifted.
“It was brilliant to have the program split into two weeks with a break in between, giving us all a chance to apply the new knowledge in practice,” Anna recalls. “I felt like I had grown, and my shoulders broadened. I began to look at the business processes and my role differently, realizing I could contribute and achieve much more.”
Anna returned to campus with a renewed perspective on the role of a CFO, ready to dive into the second-week module, which focused on scaling excellence, leading through chaos, managing organizational culture, cybersecurity, AI and the fintech revolution, and other key financial topics.
“The faculty provide direction and insights on how to change your view on things you are doing daily,” Anna says. “I felt like I had shifted to a helicopter view. During the sessions, I asked myself: Do we have a strategy at the company? Do we have KPI [key performance indicator] metrics in place? Are we using dashboards for data-driven decision-making? There are so many areas we can refine to make the business more productive and operationally efficient.”
Leading a Tech Company Into the Future
Since her time at Stanford, Anna has shared the lessons she learned with her team. “Previously, I felt like I was fighting windmills, trying to do more, but it was not productive,” she says. “I’ve learned to listen to those around me and support them in generating ideas. I’ve also realized it’s OK to fail and learn from mistakes. The whole finance team is now more engaged, and we are seeing better results. It’s a great feeling.”
Anna is excited to help Readdle develop new strategies to bring its products and innovation to customers and potential partners worldwide. “At the end of the day, I want to lead the team that drives business forward,” Anna says. “Now I have the energy, knowledge, and skills to make that change happen.”
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