Speaking CFO: How Sakara Life turns CMO–CFO tension into a growth engine

In most organisations, the relationship between marketing and finance is a balancing act. One side is tasked with driving growth; the other with protecting profitability. When the relationship works, this tension can push both teams to make smarter decisions. When it doesn’t, it stalls progress.

At Sakara Life, Chief Marketing & Digital Officer Tierney Wilson and Chief Financial Officer Meg Lovejoy have built a partnership that does more than keep the peace - it uses tension as fuel for better, faster, more aligned decisions.

Speaking at eTail Boston in a keynote fireside moderated by Andrea Wasserman, the two leaders walked through the habits, structures, and mindsets that keep their functions aligned and accountable, even when the stakes are high.

The session opened with a point that drew nods from across the room: misaligned definitions kill alignment before it even begins.

Lovejoy put it plainly: “If your CAC isn’t the same CAC your CFO is looking at, you’re not having the same conversation.”

For Sakara, “speaking CFO” starts with defining every key metric, CAC, AOV, retention, together. The goal is not just a glossary but a single calculation methodology that both teams own. Without that shared foundation, performance debates turn into semantic battles, and decisions are delayed while the numbers are re-explained.

They also agree on baselines before briefs. Every campaign begins with a clear starting point so that post-launch results can be compared with confidence. “If you don’t have a line in the sand,” Wilson noted, “you don’t know if you moved the needle or by how much.”

Once campaigns are live, the collaboration shifts into a two-lens analysis.

Wilson’s marketing team brings multiple attribution views - last-click, first-click, blended performance so the discussion isn’t anchored to a single model. Lovejoy’s finance team runs those same results through the P&L, measuring how they translate into revenue growth, profitability, and cash flow.

This dual view can sometimes surface uncomfortable truths, like when an initiative drives engagement but fails to improve contribution margin. But that’s exactly the point.

“You need both,” Lovejoy said. “If you only look through your own lens, you’ll over- or under-value what’s working.”

Finance often gets painted as the “no” function. Lovejoy rejects that framing.

“Our job is to say yes when the numbers say yes,” she explained. But that “yes” has to be earned. At Sakara, new initiatives must first deliver the agreed table-stakes wins before they get more budget or freedom to scale.

When they do pivot, they pivot in 25% increments, a move designed to test conviction without risking the stability of core revenue streams. This approach keeps experimentation alive without swinging so hard that a failed bet damages the business.

Another pillar of the partnership is clarity on decision rights. For certain calls, like shifting budget mid-quarter, the CFO has final say. For others, like creative direction, the CMO leads. These boundaries prevent bottlenecks and keep momentum in high-pressure periods.

Trade-offs are also made explicit. If budget moves from one channel to another, both teams openly acknowledge what’s being lost as well as what’s being gained. This transparency means no one is blindsided when results in one area dip as another grows.

One of the more nuanced challenges they discussed was timing. Sometimes marketing decisions, like bundling products or shifting customer acquisition offers, generate revenue that doesn’t hit the P&L immediately.

Lovejoy shared an example where a change in customer pack size boosted average order value on paper but delayed repeat purchase cycles. Without alignment on timing expectations, this could look like a miss in finance’s view. With alignment, it’s recognised as a calculated trade-off that will pay off over a longer window.

Both Wilson and Lovejoy stressed that the goal is not to remove tension, it’s to design for it.

Wilson described the relationship as “constructive friction”: marketing pushes for growth, finance tests for viability, and together they find the balance that meets both goals. When they disagree, it’s not personal; it’s a signal to dig deeper into the assumptions behind each perspective.

Lovejoy agreed: “If we’re never disagreeing, it means we’re not pushing far enough.”

What Wilson and Lovejoy have built isn’t just a healthy working relationship, it’s a system. One that any growth-minded organisation can adapt:

This system doesn’t just reduce conflict. It accelerates decision-making, improves capital allocation, and creates a culture where both marketing and finance own growth outcomes.

Final Takeaway: Speaking CFO isn’t about watering down marketing’s ambitions or finance’s discipline. It’s about building a shared language so that when you push, you push in the same direction.

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