Apollo.io's new Chief Financial Officer Phil Moon told CFO Dive that he views the structure of the finance function as a pyramid: at the base are systems and data, which support accounting, which in turn builds financial planning and analysis, and at the apex is strategic finance.

"I think the biggest focus right now is making sure the base of the pyramid is solid enough, ensuring we have scalable systems, data, and processes," Moon said of his early work as CFO at the San Francisco-based marketing platform. Apollo is an "AI-native" platform that provides a B2B contact database for sales, revenue, and marketing teams. According to a May 27 press release, the company appointed Moon as its top finance executive last month to drive further expansion of the enterprise business.

Building a solid base means "looking ahead: we know the product roadmap is moving in a certain direction, so can our systems and processes handle it?" he said. "Do we need to reconfigure them in some way to support the business?"

Laying the groundwork

In some ways, Moon sees his "primary task" as the new finance chief at Apollo as simple: "It's essentially a capital allocation exercise." That is, using company resources—"some combination of people, time, and cash on the balance sheet"—and maximizing the return on investment of those resources.

For Apollo, the challenge of this balance is not a lack of opportunities, but too many business options. Because the platform is embedded in customers' daily workflows, "we can take the business in many different directions," Moon said, whether that's going deeper into the AI tech stack or potentially building a content management system.

However, before capitalizing on any potential opportunities, a solid foundation remains crucial. Apollo has expanded rapidly over the past few years—enterprise customers grew 400% in the last 12 months, according to the press release announcing Moon's arrival.

The company has 4 million global users, and revenue has grown fivefold since it completed its most recent funding round—a $100 million Series D led by Bain Capital in 2023, which valued the company at $1.6 billion.

Moon noted that ensuring the systems and tools in use keep pace with business expansion is particularly challenging for high-growth companies.

Before joining Apollo, Moon served as CFO for two years at Homebase, an employee management software provider, helping the company navigate a period of high growth, including a $60 million Series D round in 2024, as TechCrunch reported at the time.

He also helped consumer goods manufacturer Grove Collaborative complete its public listing in 2021, a SPAC merger that valued the entity at $1.5 billion, Reuters reported then.

For slower-growing companies, the urgency to build scalable systems and data "is less pronounced," he said. But if a company's revenue is growing quickly, "you have to build these systems rapidly, and in fact, if you haven't started early, you're already behind."

Moving up the pyramid

Moon is still in the early stages of his CFO tenure at Apollo, and he foresees a time when his focus will shift away from data readiness. Once the systems backbone is established, the finance function can "move higher up the pyramid," more effectively focusing on strategic finance and driving key business outcomes, Moon said.

For now, as the finance chief, "I think the most value I can add is focusing our energy on what matters most in the near term and positioning ourselves best for the long term," he said.

In addition to ensuring scalability and capital efficiency—Moon noted that Apollo is "somewhat rare" in that it has resisted the temptation to raise too much capital when interest rates were low while continuing to expand—the CFO also focuses on leaving room for the finance team itself to broaden its horizons.

"My advice to the team has always been that I want you to have a very broad view of your role," he said. "I don't want you to see yourselves merely as financial analysts, but rather as people with financial acumen, strong analytical skills, and a strong work ethic."