GrowCFO Show
The GrowCFO Show is the podcast produced for finance leaders by finance leaders
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Becoming a CFO by 33 takes far more than technical finance skills; it demands strategic breadth, deep business exposure, and the confidence to operate at board level. In this GrowCFO Show episode, Kevin Appleby talks with Audrey Lagresle, CFO of Automobile On Direct, about how she reached the CFO seat so early in her career and why today’s CFO must be a value creator and change leader, not just a chief accountant.
Audrey shares her journey from growing up in an entrepreneurial family in France, to driving global finance transformation at Bombardier, and then building the FP&A and finance business partnering function from scratch in a fast‑growing Canadian automotive business. She explains how she now leads a 19‑person finance team, focuses on strategy and decision support, shapes the company’s AI agenda, and applies lessons from ERP transformation and a volatile used‑car market. Along the way, she reflects on imposter syndrome, the role of the GrowCFO program, and how non‑traditional routes can successfully lead to the modern CFO role.
About Audrey Lagresle
Audrey Lagresle is the Chief Financial Officer of Automobile en Direct, Quebec’s leading used‑car retailer. At 35, she oversees strategy, governance, and major transformation initiatives for a fast‑growing, 400‑employee organization. Audrey joined the company six years ago to build its FP&A function and was promoted to CFO in 2024.
Born into a family of entrepreneurs in France, she developed an early understanding of how businesses operate and a lasting affinity for small and medium‑sized companies. She immigrated to Montreal at 18 to study at HEC Montréal, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Corporate Finance, a Master’s degree in Strategy, and competing as an elite student‑athlete.
Audrey built a non‑traditional CFO path through eight years at Bombardier, gaining experience in accounting, financial modeling, finance transformation, corporate strategy, and M&A. She later joined Automobile en Direct, where she led FP&A, strategic planning, corporate governance, a multi‑bank loan syndication, a divestment plan, and major innovation projects including ERP replacement and the launch of an internal AI Committee.
Key topics covered:
- Audrey’s journey from growing up in an entrepreneurial family in France to becoming CFO of a leading Canadian used‑car retailer by age 33.
- How global finance transformation work at Bombardier—shared services, FP&A systems, and post‑merger integration—equipped her with change, people, and risk management skills vital for the CFO seat.
- Why she left a multinational for a fast‑growing medium‑sized business and how she built FP&A, budgeting, cash flow planning, and monthly performance reviews from the ground up.
- Audrey’s view of the modern CFO as a value creator and strategic partner to the CEO and COO, rather than a traditional “chief accountant,” and how the GrowCFO program reinforced her readiness for the role.
- Lessons from navigating the post‑COVID used‑car downturn, executing a divestment plan, and still opening new branches while maintaining financial discipline .
- How she is leading the company’s AI and technology agenda—creating an internal AI committee, adding a Director of Technology and Innovation, and using AI to enhance decisions without cutting headcount.
Links
Timestamps:
- 0:00:01 – Introduction to Audrey Lagrell and Automobile On Direct; overview of the used‑car business model and scale (14,000+ cars per year, #1 used‑car retailer in Canada focused solely on used cars)
- 0:02:04 – Audrey’s early exposure to entrepreneurship in her family’s furniture business and how living “inside the business” shaped her holistic understanding of how companies operate
- 0:04:20 – Bombardier finance transformation: building shared service centers in Costa Rica, Romania, and the Philippines; project management, process mapping, and large‑scale change management in a 60,000‑employee multinational.
- 0:09:18 – Standardizing finance across multiple plants and learning from major divestments and post‑merger integrations, including work with Airbus on carve‑outs and integration activities.
- 0:14:10 – Transition from multinational to a growing medium‑sized automotive business; building FP&A, budgets, cash flow, treasury policies, and monthly financial reviews from scratch.
- 0:16:46 – The GrowCFO program, evolving expectations of the CFO role by 2030, and why Audrey believes the CFO’s primary mission is to create value and help the CEO make better decisions—not just close the books.
- 0:21:01 – Imposter syndrome, stepping into the CFO role at 33, and realizing she was already operating as a strategic influencer before the title formally changed.
- 0:25:25 – Audrey’s finance team structure: strong corporate controller, dedicated FP&A, and treasury support that free her to focus on growth, strategy, and partnerships with the CEO and COO.
- 0:28:40 – How she is leading AI in the business: internal AI committee, evaluating use cases across marketing, finance, and reconditioning, and insisting on clear ROI and risk management.
- 0:33:39 – Lessons from a major ERP replacement to Microsoft Business Central and why the CFO must stay close to tech projects to ensure they genuinely create business value.
Find out more about GrowCFO
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You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net
The Next 100 Days
The Next 100 Days Podcast is a leading UK business show. Through this podcast, Kevin and Graham reveal strategies you can use to improve your business and take it to the next level. In addition to featuring their own advice, Kevin and Graham host amazing guests from across the business world. Often the guests are successful, but lesser-known business owners and entrepreneurs, enabling the show to bring fresh content and stand out from many of the US based business shows.
Graham and Kevin believe that business change comes about when a business owner focusses on just one thing that will make a real difference to his business. That might be product development, a new product launch or a marketing campaign. Focussing for less than 100 days, or focussing on too many things generally won’t deliver the results you need, Equally, its difficult to maintain effective focus for much longer than 100 days without re-assessing priorities.
The Next 100 Days Podcast is your source to learn how to move your business forward, with practical advice and guidance that you can put into action and make a difference in your own organisation within the next 100 days.
You’ll remember that Selling on Whatnot guest Stephen joined The Next 100 Days a while back to talk about building an Amazon business from scratch.
Since then, things have moved on quite a bit. Stephen’s been deep into a newer side of the business, live selling on Whatnot. The team has been selling trading cards (Pokemon, specifically) and pulling in over $400,000 in the last seven months alone, teaching complete beginners with zero collectibles background to do the same.
This podcast features a discussion with Stephen Somers and his evolution from Amazon to the Whatnot live-selling platform.
Summary of the Podcast
Key Takeaways
- Business Model Shift: Stephen’s company, Marketplace Superheroes, evolved from importing from China to a brand-direct wholesale model on Amazon and a live-selling strategy on Whatnot.
- Whatnot’s Live-Selling Model: The platform combines live video with rapid auctions, creating an interactive, social shopping experience.
- Pokemon Card Strategy: The company’s Whatnot success comes from selling foreign-language Pokemon cards to adult collectors (avg. age 33–38) who view them as an investment.
- Platform Economics: Whatnot charges shipping directly to the buyer and offers same-day payouts after a seller makes 1,000 sales, significantly improving seller cash flow.
Business Evolution: Amazon to Selling on Whatnot
- Amazon Strategy: Evolved from importing from China to a brand-direct wholesale model.
- Process: Partner with smaller brands → improve their Amazon marketing → buy wholesale from them.
- Rationale: As brand sales grow, wholesale orders increase, creating a mutually beneficial relationship.
- COVID-19 Challenge: A freight company venture faced an 8x increase in shipping costs, creating a $1.1M problem.
- Resolution: The profitable training business offset the losses, providing a critical lesson in risk management.
- Whatnot Expansion: The company’s first expansion beyond Amazon in 12 years, driven by the belief that live social commerce is a major trend.
Whatnot: The Live-Selling Platform
- Platform Concept: A hybrid of QVC, Instagram, and Tinder, focused on live, interactive auctions.
- Core Functionality:
- Live Streams: Sellers host live video shows to auction items.
- Rapid Auctions: Bids are placed via a “swipe right” feature during short (e.g., 5-second) auctions.
- Buy-It-Now: An option for immediate purchases is also available.
- Growth & Competition:
- Revenue: ~$8–11B globally in 2025.
- Competitors: TikTok (with a new auction platform) and eBay (with eBay Live).
Whatnot Case Study: Pokemon Cards
- Niche: Foreign-language Pokemon cards, chosen for their high value and appeal to adult collectors.
- Auction Process:
- A sealed booster pack is shown live.
- Viewers bid on the pack.
- The pack is opened live to reveal the cards.
- The winner receives all cards from the pack.
- Key Metrics:
- Sales: >£400k since Oct 2025.
- Profit Margin: 25–35%.
- Orders: >60,000 with zero returns, as buyers see the exact product they win.
- High-Value Finds: One card pulled was worth £800, increasing to >£1,000 after professional grading.
Getting Started on Whatnot
- Investment: £500–£1,000 for initial stock and setup.
- Seller Account: Free to create.
- New Seller Bonus: Whatnot offers cash matches on first-week sales (e.g., £150 bonus for £150 in sales) to attract streamers.
- Recommended Approach: Use a company entity for Amazon to appear professional to brands; a sole trader is sufficient for Whatnot initially.
Next Steps
- Listeners: Visit marketplacesuperheroes.com for free training on the Amazon and Whatnot models.
The Next 100 Days Podcast Co-Hosts
Graham Arrowsmith
Graham founded Finely Fettled in 2014 to provide data from The UK High Net Worth Database to marketers targeting affluent and high-net-worth customers. He’s the founder of MicroYES, a Partner for MeclabsAI, creating lead generation AI Agents & Workflows and introducing the MeclabsAI Platform. Graham is an inCruises Independent Partner, and is building up interest from people around the world in the World’s Largest Travel Membership – inCruises. You can sign up and access 21,000+ cruises, hotels and tours by clicking HERE
Kevin Appleby
Kevin specialises in finance transformation and implementing business change. He’s the COO of GrowCFO, which provides both community and CPD-accredited training designed to grow the next generation of finance leaders. You can find Kevin on LinkedIn and at kevinappleby.com