CFO Holiday Mixer
December is when the year’s numbers become real. The close is coming, the 2027 plan is due, and the board deck is half built. Before all of that, take one evening away from the spreadsheet with finance leaders who know what this month feels like.
Join the CFO Executive Forum for our holiday mixer in downtown Palo Alto. The exact address is shared with approved guests. It is a small room, off the record, with a festive menu and no slides or vendor pitches. Just finance leaders, good food, and introductions that are worth your evening.
What we will talk about
What your 2027 plan is really built on
Raising in 2027, and what investors are asking finance leaders now
Getting audit and IPO ready without stopping the business
Where AI is saving real time in the finance team
M&A from either side of the table
Hiring and building the team
Who should attend
CFOs, VPs and Heads of Finance, and Chief Accounting Officers at venture-backed, PE-backed and public companies in the Bay Area.
The evening
5:30 PM Arrival, holiday drinks and food
6:15 PM Welcome from Open Future Forum and our partners
6:20 PM Hosted introductions and mixing
8:00 PM Close
This is a mixer with one simple idea. When you arrive, you pick a badge sticker with your top question for 2027: raising, audit or IPO readiness, AI in finance, M&A, or building the team. Our hosts spend the evening introducing people who share a question, so your first conversation is never small talk. Off the record, Chatham House rules. Dress is festive business casual. Seats are limited and registration is by approval.
Hosts
Murray Newlands, CEO, Open Future Forum
Yvonne Newlands, Chief Business Officer, Open Future Forum
Preet Gill, Global Technology Practice Leader, Lockton
Louis Lehot, Partner, Foley & Lardner
Christina Bui, VP, Managed Business Solutions, Robert Half | Protiviti
Ellie Yashiro, Managing Director, First Citizens Innovation Banking
About Open Future Forum
Open Future Forum is a global executive community founded in Silicon Valley in 2019, creating spaces where leaders expand what’s possible. Through Forum Select, its private gatherings, and Forum Events, its open panels, it brings executives together to build relationships, exchange ideas and learn from peers. It runs series for C-suite leaders (CEOs, CFOs, CMOs, CISOs and General Counsel), investors (VC and Private Equity), and builders (YC Founders and AI Leaders). Open Future Forum also publishes original research based on first-party surveys and insights from its community. Learn more at openfutureforum.com.
Our Partners
Lockton
Lockton’s Global Technology Risk Practice advises technology companies, founders, finance leaders and investors on complex risk and insurance strategies across M&A, financing and growth. As the world’s largest independent insurance brokerage, they combine deep technology sector expertise with transaction advisory capabilities to help clients diligence risk, structure insurance solutions and navigate acquisitions, exits and scale. They help clients navigate emerging technology risks, including AI liability and performance, cyber and technology E&O, intellectual property, digital infrastructure, and the evolving exposures created by autonomous and AI-enabled technologies.
Foley & Lardner LLP
Foley & Lardner is a nationally recognized top law firm with a Chambers-ranked venture and emerging companies practice advising founders and venture investors from formation through financings, commercialization, M&A, and scale. We bring the speed, experience, and practicality startups need, with the rigor and deep specialist bench investors expect, so deals get done efficiently and companies stay ready to go from garage to global. Find us at the event, meet us at our San Francisco or Palo Alto offices, or contact Louis Lehot at llehot@foley.com.
Robert Half | Protiviti
Robert Half and Protiviti support finance leaders with specialized talent and consulting expertise across accounting, finance transformation, technology, risk, compliance and business operations.
First Citizens Innovation Banking
First Citizens Innovation Banking, part of First Citizens Bank, works with companies and investors across the innovation economy, providing banking, financing and expertise throughout the company lifecycle.