How the CFO, CMO, and Head of Growth Should Work Together

Most DTC brands have a CFO, a CMO, and a Head of Growth.

The good ones are actually working together...

If they're not aligned, that's one of the main reasons brands struggle.

Not because team members are bad at their jobs.
But because the roles operate without a shared context.

Marketing spends without full P&L visibility,
Finance cuts without understanding the growth data,
And the Head of Growth sits in the middle...
 
The worst thing is trying to hit numbers that were set without all 3 of them in the room.

Here are 3 things they should be clear on:

1️⃣ Forecasting

→ New vs repeat customers, tracked separately. Not just topline demand.
→ At Anine Bing, we ran 15-month rolling forecasts that informed inventory planning/buying, and the cash runway of the business.

If your CFO and Head of Growth aren't aligned on that number,
Everything downstream is guesswork.

2️⃣ P&L ownership

→ The Head of Growth has to understand contribution margin, not just ROAS.
→ If they can't read the full P&L and see where their spend or their Org map to it...
They're optimizing in a vacuum.

A Chief Growth Officer can't make smart investments without knowing what growth levers are working.

3️⃣ Customer data

→ Cohort behavior is what connects finance and marketing.
→ How long it takes a new customer to repurchase.

What they buy first, and what lifetime value looks like by acquisition channel.
This belongs in both rooms.

When these three roles operate as a unit, growth is a system.
When they don't, their growth flatlines.

For them to work together, they need to be aligned on the data.

This functions as one source of truth,
Which all 3 roles can trust and make decisions from.

Are your CFO and growth team in sync?

Happy to connect if that's something you are navigating.

♻️ Repost for someone who needs to hear this.
And follow me, Jacob Rokeach, for more on creative and growth strategy.