How Catherine Thinks Like a Fractional CFO, Investor, and Global Learner Sheena speaks with Catherine, a fractional CFO and advisor who also invests, about how seeing both the operator and investor sides makes her more pragmatic, commercially sharp, and better able to read the room. They also dig into career transitions, cultural adaptation, confidence building, and why finance professionals need to evolve into multifaceted advisors. Key topics Catherine introduces herself as a fractional CFO, advisor, and investor, with experience supporting founders while also evaluating deals from the investing side.She shares her path from a small town in Indonesia to Australia, then London, and back to Australia, calling herself a global nomad and lifelong learner.Catherine explains that her biggest professional strength is pragmatism, shaped by working with founders, operators, and investors across different contexts.The conversation covers how the CFO role has changed—not just finance and compliance, but also commercial judgment, strategy, and future-facing thinking, especially with AI accelerating change.Catherine describes her daily reading habit and how she keeps up with bond yields, markets, governance, and AI through morning summaries and CFO practitioner groups.She breaks down bond yields simply, explaining how central bank rate changes ripple into mortgage rates, business loans, equity markets, and personal wealth.She talks about being an unofficial financial advisor to friends and family, especially in WhatsApp groups where people ask her to translate market moves into everyday impact.She reflects on the cultural and language barriers she faced early in her career as an international student in Australia, and how confidence grew through persistence and adaptation.Catherine emphasises that confidence comes from action, not just courses public speaking, leading meetings, and other uncomfortable situations improve with repetition.She shares her current work with startups, a niche membership community across Asia Pacific, and a career transition project focused on safe, practical peer learning.The episode closes with advice to people in their twenties: take opportunities, stay curious, build your network early, and focus on what value you can bring to others.Timestamps 00:00 - Opening and Catherine's role as a fractional CFO 00:47 - Catherine's multi-hat career: CFO, advisor, and investor 01:31 - From Indonesia to Australia, London, and back again 02:37 - Why her LinkedIn looks serious but her personality is relaxed 03:31 - Finding Sydney's art scene in Surry Hills 04:18 - Gallery recommendations: Brett Whiteley Studio and White Rabbit Gallery 05:51 - Why pragmatism makes her sharper in finance and investing 06:58 - Using curiosity and judgment to evaluate founders and deals 09:03 - Why the modern CFO needs to be a Swiss Army knife 10:36 - How Catherine tracks markets, governance, and AI every day 12:22 - Daily reading as a habit built through work in global finance 13:56 - Bond yields explained simply 14:43 - How rate moves affect mortgages, business loans, and equity markets 17:01 - Becoming the unofficial economics lecturer in WhatsApp groups 19:20 - The cultural barrier that shaped her early career 21:12 - Speaking three languages and mentoring Asian-background students 23:08 - Advice for building confidence in English and Australian workplace culture 26:13 - Language, culture, and how adaptation works both ways 27:18 - Why confidence comes from practice, not just courses 28:54 - Working with fund managers as a connector when needed 29:23 - What Catherine is building next: startup support and career transition content 32:20 - Why career transitions are really life transitions now 33:39 - Advice for people in their twenties: take opportunities and build networks early 35:28 - Closing reflections and workshop plans Key frameworks Pragmatic operator mindset - Balance growth, commercial thinking, and compliance.Swiss Army knife CFO - A modern finance leader who can run finance, advise leadership, and anticipate change.Action builds confidence - Repeated exposure to uncomfortable situations creates real progress.Network capital compounds over time - Relationships are built early and pay off later.Read the room - Especially important for cross-cultural communication and decision-making.Action items Build a daily habit of reading market and business news, even if only through a quick skim.Seek out practitioner communities, not just general networking, to compare real-world challenges and tactics.Practice public speaking, meeting leadership, and other uncomfortable skills consistently rather than waiting to feel ready.If moving to a new country or workplace, deliberately expand beyond your immediate social group to learn the culture faster.In your twenties, prioritise curiosity, consistency, and relationship-building over trying to have everything figured out. Get in touch with Catherine here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherinehermanto/ Reach out to us! 💌 Support the show sheena@fireyfemmes.com