CFO on the Spot: Five minutes with Pierre-Edouard Jumel, CFO of Primer

I started my career as an investment analyst in private equity in Paris back in 2007 or 2008. Then I quickly pivoted into a more operational role as a local CFO in manufacturing during the China boom years in Shanghai for a multinational group.

After that experience, I moved across different sectors including hospitality, nursing homes, biotech, SaaS, fintech, and payments. I also had the chance to work across multiple geographies including China, APAC, Eastern Europe, the US, Latin America, and Europe.

Most of the businesses I worked with were backed by private equity sponsors. I also spent some time doing corporate M&A before moving fully into CFO roles around 2016.

I did not follow the traditional CFO path through audit and financial control. I started early in CFO positions, then moved through M&A, and then moved into CFO roles within scaleup environments.

Judgment, curiosity, attention to detail, and tenacity are all critical. If you work in finance, attention to detail is a must.

You also need tenacity because finance leaders are responsible for working capital management, collecting payments properly, and negotiating terms with vendors. A lot of the role comes down to negotiation.

Beyond that, I think one of the most important skills is the ability to simplify complexity. Most finance leaders do not have perfect dashboards or perfect data. For a finance leader, a lot of the role is knowing what to trust, what to challenge, and where to invest in stronger foundations.

Communication is also critical. You need to tailor your communication depending on the audience and be comfortable operating in boardrooms, with engineers, commercial teams, or manufacturing staff.

Primer is a global company despite still being relatively modest in size, and we are growing fast. Managing a global finance function across multiple markets and cultures is both exciting and challenging.

More recently, Primer has expanded beyond payments into products designed for CFOs. Because I am a CFO myself, I spend time with the product team joining discovery calls with finance leaders from different companies, industries, and geographies to understand the challenges they face in their financial operations.

Those conversations give me a unique window into the realities and challenges other CFOs are dealing with. I learn a lot from them, and those insights help shape what we are building and also influence how I approach my own management decisions.

The biggest challenge right now is volatility. Since the beginning of 2025, the market has become far more unpredictable, with geopolitical events and rapid policy changes creating constant shocks.

For finance leaders, that means we need to be ready to react quickly. It changes how we approach capital allocation, forecasting, and working capital management. FX management has also become extremely important because currency fluctuations can impact margins very quickly.

Traditional annual budgeting is becoming less effective. Finance teams need to operate with more real time planning, constantly revisiting forecasts, stress testing scenarios, and adjusting assumptions as new information emerges.

Real time data and increased automation would make a huge difference.

Within Primer and within the finance team specifically, we are actively working on different AI use cases to automate tedious tasks, surface insights faster, and improve areas like payments, working capital management, and financial analysis.

We are also embedding AI into our products to help customers surface insights and suggest execution plans. AI is improving quickly, and while finance teams can still be cautious because of issues like hallucinations, there are already many valuable use cases.

Early in my career, working in private equity gave me direct exposure to boardrooms, investors, and executive teams. One lesson that stayed with me was to focus on outcomes first.

When speaking with CEOs, investors, or board members, they want to understand the outcome first before diving into details. You need to have the detailed analysis ready, but you should start with the big picture and only zoom in if needed.

More recently, another important lesson has been the importance of staying closely connected to what is happening in the wider world. Finance leaders need to understand not only their own business but also the broader macroeconomic environment so they can react quickly when conditions change.

I would recommend Valuation by Tim Koller.

It teaches readers how to think about value creation and company valuation in a very rigorous and systematic way. It is not only useful for investment bankers. It is also very valuable for CFOs because it treats valuation as a management system rather than just a finance exercise.

A CFO’s role is about allocating capital, explaining performance, and shaping strategy, and the book provides a strong framework for doing all three.

I enjoy outdoor sports. I love skiing, kite surfing, and surfing whenever I get the chance.

I spend a lot of time in Paris and London, so those activities are not always easy to do regularly, but I try whenever possible. Otherwise, going to the gym and spending time with my partner helps me disconnect and recharge.

Primer was my first experience working in payments, which is a broad and complex industry, so I had to learn very quickly.

What helped a lot was the company culture. Primer has a very collaborative and low ego environment, which made it easier for me to ramp up quickly and contribute.

One of my proudest achievements has been helping the company transition from the zero interest rate era into a more sustainable growth model while still maintaining strong growth. We have built a durable engine with a clear path to profitability without sacrificing momentum.

I also helped raise financial literacy across the company.

I have wanted to work in finance since I was a teenager, so I still see myself working in finance in some capacity.

What interests me now is the idea of becoming an operating partner for venture capital or private equity firms, helping portfolio companies scale or manage specific initiatives. Given the range of experiences I have had across industries and geographies, I think that kind of role could be a good fit in the future.

I listen to a lot of podcasts, but one that stands out for finance leaders is Exchanges from Goldman Sachs.

I like it because it is very fact based and analytical. It provides thoughtful perspectives on markets and the future without relying on sweeping statements or hype.

I also read the Financial Times and Raconteur daily to stay informed about what is happening in the market.