In this issue
FEISV Chapter Newsletter | September 11, 2026 
Celebrating 50 Years of FEI Silicon Valley!
2026 marks FEI Silicon Valley’s 50th Anniversary! We’re excited to celebrate this incredible milestone with our Members, Partners, and friends throughout the year.
The celebration will culminate in April with a special 50th Anniversary Casino Night, and we’re making it a night to share — significant others are invited! More details will be coming soon.
But we’re not waiting until April to start celebrating! At each Keynote event leading up to our anniversary celebration, we’ll hold a special 50th Anniversary Raffle, with one lucky attendee taking home a $50 bottle of wine.
50 years of connections, leadership, and community — and plenty to celebrate!
FEI Silicon Valley Events
09/15 - PD: The CFO’s Next Chapter: Leading Through Growth, Capital and Change
09/15 - Keynote: AI: Hype or Reality? A CIO's Perspective on the Future of the Enterprise and the Office of the CFO
09/25 - Financial Officers Forum (FOF) (Virtual)
09/29 - People, Payroll, and Profitability
10/20 - Keynote: How Finance Leaders Can Harness AI Without Losing Control
11/18 - Annual Women CFOs of the Year Awards
12/09 - Annual President's Party
Partners & Other Chapter Events
09/22 - AI in Action: How NetSuite Uses AI Across the Suite for Financial Executives International (Virtual) | FEI
09/24- How to Improve Financial Forecast Accuracy When Business Conditions Keep Changing (Virtual) | FEI
09/14 - Q3 2026 Quarterly Accounting Webcast (Virtual) | PwC
09/29 - Why AI Fails In Corporate Finance – and How to Get Ahead (Virtual) | FEI
09/30 - Global Finance Trends Survey (Virtual) | FEI
10/07 - Beyond SAP BPC: Rethinking Finance for the AI Era (Virtual) | FEI
10/13 - Private Company Roundtable (Virtual) | FEI
10/15 - Beyond Spreadsheets: Building an Audit-Ready Fixed Asset Process for Complex Lifecycles (Virtual) | FEI
10/15 - Financial Scenario Planning: How to Prepare for Disruption and Make Faster Decisions (Virtual) | FEI
10/22 - Is Your Budgeting and Forecasting Software Built for Where You’re Going — or Just Where You’ve Been? (Virtual) | FEI
10/28 - 10/29 - AI Update and Use Cases Conference (Virtual) | FEI
11/10 - 2026 Corporate Financial Reporting Insights (CFRI) Conference (Virtual) | FEI
Latest Trends in FEI
AI is reshaping how companies operate—but the real opportunity comes when technology and finance leaders move beyond the hype and align around measurable business value.
Next week, join Sanjay Chandra, Vice President and Global Head of Information Technology at Lucid Motors, and Steve Januario, Chief Information Officer at BILL, at Pillsbury this Thursday, September 15th for a Keynote Discussion on AI: Hype or Reality? A CIO’s Perspective on the Future of the Enterprise and the Office of the CFO.
Sanjay brings more than two decades of experience scaling enterprise technology across high-growth companies, with leadership experience spanning Lucid Motors, TiVo, Workday, PayPal, and more. Steve has led enterprise AI adoption at BILL, including AI search, copilots, LLM-powered tools, customer assistants, and finance-workflow automation designed to deliver measurable results.
Together, they will offer a candid, practical look at how today’s CIOs are evaluating and operationalizing AI across large organizations—and what that means for the modern finance function.
The conversation will explore:
- Where AI is creating durable value versus where expectations may be outpacing reality.
- How AI can strengthen financial planning, reporting, controls, forecasting, compliance, and decision support.
- What responsible AI deployment requires, including governance, data quality, security, and adoption.
- How CIOs and CFOs can partner to convert AI ambition into operational results.
Come for pre-event networking, food, and drinks. Stay afterward to continue the conversation with fellow finance and technology leaders during post-event networking.
Whether you are actively deploying AI or still determining where it fits in your organization, this is an opportunity to cut through the noise, hear from leaders with firsthand enterprise-scale experience, and make meaningful connections.
Keynote: AI: Hype or Reality? A CIO's Perspective on the Future of the Enterprise and the Office of the CFO will be held at Pillsbury in Palo Alto on Tuesday, September 15th, from 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm Pacific.
FEISV Members & Partners: Free | Other FEI Members: $135 | Registration: Here
Pre-Keynote Event - This Tuesday!
Pre-keynote networking events are back, and we’re excited to get back into the swing of things after summer with an afternoon of timely insight, meaningful conversation, and connection with fellow finance leaders.
Join us before the keynote discussion on September 15th for The CFO’s Next Chapter: Leading Through Growth, Capital and Change, a panel discussion focused on the increasingly strategic role of today’s CFO. As companies scale, raise capital, enter public markets, pursue acquisitions, or prepare for an exit, finance leaders are doing far more than managing the numbers—they are helping shape some of their organizations’ most consequential decisions.
Hear from experienced CFOs and finance leaders who have navigated private financings, public offerings, M&A activity, and other critical growth-stage inflection points. The discussion will explore how to evolve the finance function as a company grows, prepare for capital raises and strategic transactions before a formal process begins, build candid relationships with boards and investors, and develop the systems, teams, and processes needed to scale with confidence.
Come for the practical perspective on growth, capital, and change—and stay for the opportunity to reconnect with peers and expand your professional network.
Separate registration and badges for Main Program required.
Pre-PD: The CFO’s Next Chapter: Leading Through Growth, Capital and Change will be held at Pillsbury in Palo Alto on Tuesday, September 25th, from 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm Pacific.
FEISV Members & Partners: Free | Other FEI Members: $50 | Registration: Here
From Call Center to CFO: How Texas811's Jill Nelson Uses Art to Build Braver Teams
Jill Nelson’s path to CFO at Texas811 began in the call center, not the finance department. Along the way, she discovered that the creativity, curiosity, and attention to detail that shaped her early interest in art could also become strengths in accounting and leadership.
Today, Nelson is bringing art, neuroscience, and the Wander Workshop into her approach to developing finance talent. Her story explores how giving teams space to navigate ambiguity, take thoughtful risks, and think beyond traditional processes can help prepare the profession for a more AI-driven future.
Learn more. Read From Call Center to CFO: How Texas811's Jill Nelson Uses Art to Build Braver Teams via FEI Daily.
Nominations Are Open: 4th Annual Women CFOs of the Year Awards
Nominations are now open for the 4th Annual Women CFOs of the Year Awards, recognizing exceptional women whose financial leadership strengthens organizations, shapes strategy, and inspires the next generation of accounting and finance professionals. See the form attached to nominate yourself or another deserving financial executive.
This is an opportunity to spotlight CFOs who bring rigor to the numbers, clarity to complex decisions, and leadership that extends well beyond the finance function.
Honorees will be recognized across five categories:
- Public Company CFOs at organizations with market capitalization of $1 billion or more
- Public Company CFOs with market capitalization below $1 billion
- Private Company CFOs at organizations with revenue of $50 million or more
- Private Company CFOs with revenue below $50 million
- Non-Profit Organization CFOs
Whether she is guiding a public company through change, helping a growing private business scale responsibly, or advancing a mission-driven organization, nominate a leader whose work deserves to be celebrated.
The awards honor women who lead, inspire, and motivate others while making meaningful contributions to their organizations and to the broader accounting and finance community.
Nomination form is attached to this email.
Please submit nominations by the end of the day on October 30, 2026.
4th Annual Woman CFO of the Year Awards Dinner will be held at the Green Hills Golf & Country Club on Wednesday, November 18th, from 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm Pacific.
FEISV Members & Partners: Free | Non-Members: $275 | Registration: Here
Select Sponsorship Opportunities: 4th Annual Women CFOs of the Year Awards
The 4th Annual Women CFOs of the Year Awards will take place on November 18 at Green Hills Golf & Country Club, bringing together an exceptional community of leaders who are shaping the future of finance.
This event is a platform to recognize and elevate women who are driving innovation, strengthening organizations, and inspiring the next generation of financial leadership. Their impact extends far beyond their roles, influencing industries, workplaces, and communities.
Sponsoring this event is a meaningful opportunity for your organization to align with that impact. It positions your brand alongside excellence, leadership, and progress in the accounting and finance space. More importantly, it demonstrates a clear commitment to supporting and advancing women in executive roles—something that resonates with clients, partners, and employees alike.
With a range of sponsorship options available (some with limited availability), now is the time to secure your place and ensure your organization is part of this important evening.
To explore and claim sponsorship opportunities, please download the sponsorship form attached to this email.
4th Annual Woman CFO of the Year Awards Dinner will be held at the Green Hills Golf & Country Club on Wednesday, November 18th, from 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm Pacific.
FEISV Members & Partners: Free | Non-Members: $275 | Registration: Here
Sellers Beware: Buyers Are Asking Founders to Pay Legal Bills for Unproven R&W Claims
When founders sell a company, they often expect the sale proceeds to help take risk off the table for themselves and their investors. But in private M&A deals, buyers are increasingly asking sellers to cover legal defense costs for post-closing claims even when the claim has not been proven, or no representation or warranty (R&W) has actually been breached.
That is a meaningful shift in risk, and one that sellers may be blindsided by based on an intuitive sense of how R&Ws should work. Traditionally, a seller is responsible for losses that result from an actual breach of the R&Ws made in the purchase agreement. Those losses may include damages, settlements, attorneys' fees, and other defense costs.
Aggressive buyers are now pushing for broader language that would require sellers to fund defense costs whenever a third-party claim merely alleges facts that, if true, would amount to a breach. This effectively reduces the R&Ws to a mere diligence exercise and, most importantly, exposes a seller’s proceeds to unnecessary liability for meritless claims. Founders are right to push back against these types of indemnification requirements in business sale transactions.
Learn more. Read Sellers Beware: Buyers Are Asking Founders to Pay Legal Bills for Unproven R&W Claims via our Platinum Partners at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.
FEISV Member of the Week
Andrea Li currently serves as the External Reporting & Technical Accounting Director at Netflix, having served in various roles since 2011. Before Andrea's career at Netflix, she was a Senior Associate in Audit at PwC.
Andrea earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley.
FEISV Partner of the Week
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP is a premier global law firm with more than 700 attorneys located across 20 offices throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Their commitment is to deliver sophisticated, tailored legal solutions spanning corporate transactions, complex litigation, regulatory compliance, intellectual property, cybersecurity and data privacy, technology, and financial services.
Pillsbury has a leading capital markets practice advising on a full spectrum of transactions, including IPOs and follow-on/secondary offerings, confidentially marketed public offerings, convertible and equity-linked securities, and at-the-market programs. Their attorneys also provide comprehensive counsel to public companies on disclosure obligations, corporate governance, regulatory filings, and ongoing compliance with securities regulations.
Their team leverages their deep understanding of industry-specific challenges and market trends, enabling their experts to anticipate clients' evolving legal needs and proactively develop innovative strategies. Pillsbury's attorneys bring extensive industry knowledge, technical expertise, and a global perspective to help clients navigate complex legal and business landscapes and achieve their strategic objectives. At Pillsbury, they are dedicated to providing exceptional service and helping their clients succeed.
CONTACT:
Davina K. Kaile
Corporate and Securities Partner and Global Leader of Pillsbury’s Capital Markets and Public Companies Practice
[email protected]
Special Thanks to Our Strategic Partners
Marquee Partners
Platinum Partners
Gold Partners
Silver Partners
