Technology
McAfee Appoints Experian Veteran Brian Herb as New Chief Financial Officer
McAfee announced on Wednesday the appointment of Experian veteran Brian Herb as Chief Financial Officer, succeeding Jennifer Biry. Herb will report to President and CEO Craig Boundy. Biry announced her departure after four years in the role. Herb previously served as CFO and Chief Administrative Officer at CCC Intelligent Solutions and spent twenty years at Experian.
Alphabet promotes senior finance executive internally to chief accounting officer
Alphabet, in a securities filing on Friday, announced the appointment of Marsida Saraci, who has been with the company for about 15 years, as chief accounting officer, effective immediately. Saraci, 47, previously served as vice president of finance and deputy controller, and worked at KPMG for over eight years before joining the company in 2011. The appointment comes about two months after Amie Thuener O'Toole stepped down from the role to become Broadcom's head of finance.
AI accelerates identity impersonation attacks, and enterprise protection preparedness is clearly insufficient
The cybersecurity industry is highly focused on how AI helps hackers quickly analyze vulnerabilities and write malware, but Outtake's latest report points out that AI's realistic imitation of corporate leadership also poses a major threat. The survey shows that 53% of enterprises have already encountered impersonation attacks targeting executives or ordinary employees this year, while 75% of surveyed enterprises only conduct limited impersonation monitoring or respond passively after attacks occur.
AI remains the top reason for layoffs in the US for three consecutive months, with May layoffs hitting a record
Artificial intelligence has been the leading cause of layoffs at US companies for the third consecutive month. In May, AI-related layoffs reached 38,579, the highest since the firm began tracking this category in 2023, representing 40% of all layoff announcements that month. Year-to-date, total AI-related layoffs have already surpassed the full-year total for last year.
EY Forecasts 8% Growth in U.S. M&A Deal Volume in 2026
EY-Parthenon released its mid-year M&A outlook, projecting an 8% increase in U.S. M&A deals valued over $100 million in 2026, with the corporate sector up 11% and private equity flat. AI demand is a key driver, yet geopolitical and economic headwinds are prompting investors to be more prudent.
BlackBerry CFO says company transformation complete, now in 'growth enterprise' stage
BlackBerry CFO Tim Foote announced at the Baird Global Consumer, Technology & Services Conference on Tuesday that the company has completed its transformation and is now a growth enterprise. He specifically highlighted the growth potential of the QNX software business in the 'physical AI' field and revealed that the division has achieved GAAP net profit for eight consecutive quarters, with QNX quarterly revenue hitting a record $78.7 million, up 20% year-over-year.
Coca-Cola leverages AI to optimize marketing spending decisions
Coca-Cola is using artificial intelligence and scenario modeling tools to optimize marketing and commercial investment decisions as part of its financial transformation. At the Gartner 2026 Finance Symposium/Xpo, company executives revealed that fragmented analysis had previously caused slow decision-making, and through its proprietary platform Fuel Light 360, the decision cycle has been shortened from two weeks to one hour.
CFOs Face a Dilemma: AI Investment Leads, Return Measurement Lags
AI is rapidly becoming one of the most difficult investment categories for CFOs to evaluate. Boards demand AI roadmaps, executive teams seek productivity gains, and business units are experimenting with automation and analytics tools. However, the early financial picture is uneven: many projects remain in experimental stages, productivity gains are difficult to isolate, adoption rates vary by team, and the distance from pilot to measurable enterprise impact often exceeds expectations. For software and SaaS companies, the answer may lie not in chasing every AI use case, but in examining the operating model behind revenue—how customers buy, renew, expand, and receive support.
Workday launches AI tools aimed at simplifying financial planning and analysis processes
Workday announced on Wednesday the launch of a new artificial intelligence feature, Adaptive Decision Intelligence, aimed at simplifying financial planning and analysis (FP&A) workflows. The feature extends the Adaptive Planning platform, allowing teams to ask questions in natural language and complete scenario analysis within minutes, while integrating data from multiple enterprise systems. Ben Pierce, General Manager of Workday Adaptive Planning, stated that the goal is to make users more efficient, focusing on strategic work rather than data organization. The tool is currently in an early adopter program and is expected to become more widely available later this year.
Nvidia CEO urges Supermicro to strengthen export compliance controls
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang publicly urged Supermicro to strengthen export compliance controls after Taiwan detained three individuals over false declarations of AI servers. Supermicro responded that an industry-wide solution is needed and emphasized its own compliance framework. The incident follows the indictment of Supermicro's co-founder and others for smuggling chips to China, with attention also on the company's internal control remediation and CFO hiring issues.