T-Mobile CFO Osvaldik, Former Costco CFO Galanti Win 2024 CFO Leadership Awards

headshot of Peter Osvaldik and Rich Galanti
CFO of the Year Peter Osvaldik of T-Mobile and Lifetime Achievement awardee Richard Galanti to be honored at program on December 9.

StrategicCFO360 and the CFO Leadership Council, both part of Chief Executive Group, announced the winners of the 2nd Annual CFO Leadership Awards, recognizing the finance chiefs setting new standards for excellence in one of the most demanding, vital and fast-changing roles in business.

A selection committee comprising the CFOs of Bank of America, Humana, Oracle, Starbucks, Marriott International and other renowned companies chose Peter Osvaldik (at right in above photo), CFO and EVP of T-Mobile, as CFO of the Year, and former Costco CFO Richard Galanti as the winner of 2024’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

StrategicCFO360 and the CFO Leadership Council also named the three winners of the new “Rising Stars” award, which showcases dynamic CFOs earlier in their financial leadership careers.

All the awards will be presented live on December 9, 2024, in New York, as part of a half-day educational and networking program for CFOs. (For more event details and to register, visit StrategicCFO360.com/awards.)

T-Mobile’s Osvaldik is being honored as CFO of the Year for “steering the wireless carrier to new heights” in overseeing the T-Mobile-Sprint merger that has delivered a more than $70 billion in shareholder value since 2020. The committee of his peers also noted Osvaldik’s success in T-Mobile’s financial strategy during unprecedented growth and transformation. Osvaldik joined T-Mobile in 2016 as senior vice president and chief accounting officer.

Richard Galanti, the former CFO of Costco who retired last March, is being honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, bestowed on CFOs who have (1) created a strong legacy in their contributions to a company’s growth and profitability and (2) have positively impacted the larger community of finance executives

Galanti was CFO of retail giant Costco for more than 30 years. His financial acumen built an empire of sustainable growth, with a 93% membership renewal rate and 17% annual stock growth. Galanti’s approach to financial discipline, efficiency and strategic expansion have been instrumental to Costco’s sustained success, said the selection committee.

Joe Shalleck, partner & managing director, AlixPartners, who acts as a special adviser to the judges throughout the CFO Leadership Award process, said: “Faced with so many truly strategic challenges—from technology to talent—this year’s honorees showcase the essential, painstaking work of CFOs, which goes well beyond the numbers. They have never been more central to the outperformance of truly great companies.”

On The Ascent

The CFO Rising Stars awards, also to be presented on December 9, are given to CFOs who have demonstrated tangible innovation, adaptability, initiative and strategic leadership .

This year’s three honorees are

  • Sandra Beaver, CFO, of Evolus, for “working tirelessly to drive Evolus’ rapid growth” and positively impacting the beauty company’s mission through “her strong leadership and guiding critical processes to drive smart strategic decisions,” according to the nomination
  • Bill Blankemeier, CFO of High Brew Coffee/Be-liv USA, for playing “a pivotal role in strategic planning and distilling high-level market insights to guide the company’s direction and investments” and navigating the successful sale of High Brew to an international acquirer in 2023.
  • Jessica Elizabeth McClain, CFO, Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital, for boosting the organization’s top and bottom lines by introducing changes to operational and financial processes, automating manual accounting work and developing and launching training programs for the finance team and management.

“The role of the CFO has changed in recent years, and they have emerged as a true strategic partner to the CEO and leaders across the entire organization,” said Jack McCullough, president and founder of the CFO Leadership Council. “We felt that the contributions to their companies, and therefore to the global economy, needed to be recognized. It is our honor to be able to do so.”

The Rising Stars award a steering committee narrowed the list of nominations down to 10 finalists, from which CFO Leadership Council members (including 2,500 across the U.S.) voted for their top three.

About The CFO of the Year And Lifetime Achievement Awards

The 2024 CFO Leadership Awards Selection Committee includes: Alastair Borthwick, CFO, Bank of America; Susan Diamond, CFO, Humana; Jeff Epstein, Leader, Bessemer Venture Partners CFO Council; Gary Millerchip, EVP and CFO, Costco; Leeny Oberg, EVP and CFO, Marriott International; Richard Puccio, EVP, Finance and CFO, Analog Devices; Rachel Ruggeri, CFO, Starbucks; Aradhana Sarin, Executive Director and CFO, AstraZeneca; and Tracey Travis, EVP and CFO, The Estée Lauder Companies.

About The CFO Leadership Council
The CFO Leadership Council is a professional association whose mission is to empower senior financial executives to realize success in their careers, as well as for the people and companies they lead. Our members realize this success through the collaborative and energetic community we foster, which helps them build a professional network of their peers, as well as involves them in engaging discussions that deliver pragmatic and tangible insights on business and leadership issues. The CFOLC has a global community of over 2,000 members and hosts more than 300 events per year.

About Chief Executive Group
Chief Executive Group, the leading community for U.S. business leaders, publishes Chief Executive magazine, ChiefExecutive.net, Corporate Board Member magazine, BoardMember.com, StrategicCFO360.com, StrategicCIO360.com and StrategicCHRO360.com, and produces conferences and roundtables that enable C-Suite leaders to discuss key subjects and share their experiences with their peers. CEG also convenes numerous peer networks including Chief Executive Network, the CFO Leadership Council and Corporate Board Member Network. Visit ChiefExecutiveGroup.com for details.

About AlixPartners
For more than forty years, AlixPartners has helped businesses around the world respond quickly and decisively to their most critical challenges—circumstances as diverse as urgent performance improvement, accelerated transformation, complex restructuring and risk mitigation. These are the moments when everything is on the line—a sudden shift in the market, an unexpected performance decline, a time-sensitive deal, a fork-in-the-road decision. But it’s not what we do that makes a difference, it’s how we do it. Tackling situations when time is of the essence is part of our DNA—so we adopt an action-oriented approach at all times. We work in small, highly qualified teams with specific industry and functional expertise, and we operate at pace, moving quickly from analysis to implementation. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients until the job is done, and only measure our success in terms of the results we deliver. Our approach enables us to help our clients confront and overcome truly future-defining challenges. We partner with you to make the right decisions and take the right actions. And we are right by your side. When it really matters.


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