The CFO Who
Built It, Sold It,
and Now Helps You Do the Same.
Bill Shenkin is not a consultant who studied your challenges from the outside. He's a CPA, founder, and board member who spent 40 years inside the room where the hardest financial decisions get made — including guiding companies through multi-billion-dollar acquisitions and helping secure Denver's MLB franchise. He brings that record into every boardroom, every keynote, and every advisory engagement.
40
Years in C-Suite
$2B+
Transactions Guided
7x
Ironman Finisher
38
Years in C-Suite
$2B+
Transactions Guided
3x
Ironman Finisher
Treasurer
USA Triathlon Foundation
A career built on outcomes, not theory
CeFO
Founded, built, and sold a premier national financial advisory firm
MLB
Designed the financial model that secured Denver's Colorado Rockies franchise
CPA · CITP
Master's in Accounting. Ernst & Young trained. Four decades of fiduciary leadership.
IMAX
Served as interim CFO for a National Geographic IMAX company across international subsidiaries
How Bill Can Help
One Career.
Three Ways to Engage.
Whether you need a keynote voice that commands a room, a seasoned board
member who has lived the deals, or a trusted advisor who speaks CFO as a
first language — Bill brings the same depth of experience to every
engagement.
For PE Sponsors & Family Offices
Board Governance
Bill brings an uncommon credential to the boardroom: he has been the CFO, the founder, the seller, and the advisor — all at once. His board contributions go far beyond financial oversight. He translates complex financial realities into strategic clarity for management, shareholders, and deal teams.
Ideal for: PE portfolio companies, family businesses, high-growth companies, nonprofit organizations.
For Business Owners & Executives
Strategic Advisory
What would it look like if your most trusted advisor had built a company, sold it, advised on billion-dollar deals, and brought the discipline of an elite athlete to every engagement? That's what working with Bill delivers. CeFO-level strategic counsel, available without the full-time overhead.
Ideal for: Growth-stage companies, founder-led businesses, pre-exit planning, fractional CFO engagements.
For Event Organizers
Keynote Speaking
Bill's keynotes aren't frameworks borrowed from business books. They're built from 40 years of boardroom decisions, founder psychology, and the rare discipline of someone who trains for triathlons and acquires companies in the same decade. Your audience will leave with perspectives they haven't heard before — and won't forget.
Ideal for: CFO conferences, PE summits, leadership forums, financial services events, entrepreneurship stages.
Board Availability — 2026
Now considering two to three paid board engagements.
For PE sponsors, family offices, and search firms seeking an independent director with founder, CFO, and seller experience in a single seat.
Meet Bill Shenkin
The Advisor Who Has
Actually Done It.
There is a short list of people who can credibly advise on a company's financial strategy from both sides of the table. Bill Shenkin is on that list. As the founder and 2000-2024 2024-present, President of CeFO, LLC, a Numera Company, he built one of the country's most respected financial advisory firms — and then sold it. That experience fundamentally changed how he advises every client.
Before CeFO, Bill was a national partner at a firm that made history as the first to merge with Century Business Services (CBIZ). Before that, he was at Ernst & Young. His career spans family offices, startup CFOs, multi-billion-dollar public companies, professional sports franchises, international operations, and 40 tax seasons — all navigated with the same disciplined systems thinking he brings to his training as a competitive Ironman triathlete.
After all at once, Bill has been on numerous boards including public companies, private companies, and non-profits. He currently services as Treasurer of the USA Triathlon Foundation and is a board member of NSBA (National Small Business Association with 65,000 members), where his fiscal oversight and governance expertise have guided the organization through significant growth. His forthcoming book, The CEO's Guide to Financial Success, reflects decades of pattern recognition turned into actionable frameworks for business leaders.
CPA + CITP with Master's in Accounting from FAU
Guided companies from startup to multi-billion-dollar acquisition
Played a key role in securing the Colorado Rockies MLB franchise
Founder who built and sold his own firm
Board member, USA Triathlon Foundation
Ironman triathlete — discipline that extends beyond the boardroom
Bill's Core Perspectives
The Ideas
That Drive
Every Engagement.
Every keynote, every advisory session, and every piece of content Bill produces connects back to a set of deeply-held, rigorously tested beliefs about what separates great financial leaders from the rest. These aren't theories. They're the lessons from 40 years at the intersection of finance, governance, and entrepreneurship — and the ones that will be in the book.
1
Financial Leadership
The CFO as Chief Architect
The CFO role has evolved beyond scorekeeping into strategic architecture. Yet most organizations still treat their financial leadership like a compliance function. Bill reframes what the modern CFO can — and should — do to drive enterprise value.
11
The Founder Journey
Building for Exit, Not Just Profit
Bill built CeFO and sold it. That lived experience is rare — and it fundamentally changes the advice he gives. He speaks candidly about the financial decisions that increase acquirability, the metrics sophisticated buyers actually examine, and what founders get wrong in the final mile.
111
Performance & Discipline
Triathletes and Great CFOs Train for Races No One Else Can See
The overlap between elite athletic performance and elite financial leadership is not a metaphor Bill uses lightly. It's a framework he lives. Long-horizon thinking, systems design, recovery from volatility — the disciplines are identical. This is the content that gets shared.
PROOF THAT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF
What They Say After
Working With Bill
From boardrooms to conference stages to portfolio companies navigating a sale.
Bill came on board as acting chief financial officer for our company, which was experiencing tremendous growth. Our controller was overwhelmed, and we needed someone who could manage the complexity and position us for what came next. He did exactly that — and ultimately helped us complete a purchase by a multi-billion-dollar public company.
Chief Executive
High-Growth Portfolio Company
Bill was treasurer of our nonprofit when I started two years ago, and blessedly agreed to serve another term. Amid under-resourced finance and foundation teams, his fiscal oversight, specialized expertise, and broad organizational acumen guided our rapidly growing operation through the most challenging waters I've encountered.
Executive Director
USA Triathlon Foundation
Bill's presentation to our CEO group enlightened them on important ways to look at their business to increase efficiency and ensure good accounting practices. He brought real stories — companies he personally helped rescue from destructive financial habits — and the room was riveted.
Event Organizer
CEO Peer Group
The Shenkin Letter
Straight Talk on Finance,
Governance, and
The Long Game.
Every other Tuesday, Bill sends one big idea from the intersection of financial leadership, board governance, and the discipline of building things that last. No fluff. No pitches. Just the kind of perspective that takes 40 years to earn.
The Big Idea — one insight, written the way Bill talks: direct, credible, occasionally sharp
One Number — a financial stat or data point with Bill's interpretation
What I'm Thinking About — a market trend, governance topic, or performance angle
Office Hours — a direct invitation to reply or book a 15-minute conversation
35%+
Open rate target
Delivered
Every other
Tuesday, 7am MT
600–900
Words. Under 5 min.
Join the List
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Joining over 500 CFOs, founders, and PE professionals. No spam, even
What's Your Next Step?
Let's Find Out
If We're a Fit.
Whether you're exploring a board seat conversation, booking a speaker, or need the kind of CFO-level counsel that only comes with having lived it — the right next move is a conversation.
📅
Book a 15-Minute
Strategy Call
No pitch. No sales deck. Just a direct conversation to understand what you're working on and whether Bill is the right fit. These slots are limited — Bill prioritizes them for PE sponsors, family office principals, and conference organizers.
📄
Download the
Speaker Information Kit
Everything a meeting planner, speaker bureau, or conference organizer needs in one document: program descriptions, topic summaries, audience fit, booking process, and testimonials. Designed to make the decision easy.
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