Navan CFO Aurélien Nolf on Resource Allocation, IR, and AI in Finance

In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Aurélien Nolf, CFO of Navan, to unpack how to pre-align before budgeting, how to think about portfolio construction inside a company, when to fund or kill internal bets, how IR is becoming more connected to FP&A, and where AI actually works inside finance teams.—SPONSORS:Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to replace NetSuite and close faster. With revenue recognition, close management, multi-entity support, and native Stripe and Salesforce integrations, Rillet helps scaling companies run their finance stack in one place. Hundreds of teams, including Windsurf and Mercor, use Rillet to make the zero-day close real. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cjEY works with high-growth tech companies to navigate the messy realities of scaling—from regulatory requirements to IPO readiness. By helping teams get it right early and often, EY lets founders stay focused on building while reducing risk as they grow. Learn more at https://www.ey.com/techstartupsSpendHound is a SaaS spend management platform built for finance and procurement teams that want visibility and leverage in every deal. By tracking all your software, benchmarking pricing across thousands of vendors, and surfacing contracts and renewals, SpendHound helps you stop overpaying and negotiate with confidence. Trusted by teams at ZoomInfo and Hootsuite. Get started at https://www.spendhound.com/cjBrex is an intelligent finance platform that combines corporate cards, built-in expense management, and AI agents to eliminate manual finance work. By automating expense reviews and reconciliations, Brex gives CFOs more time for the high-impact work that drives growth. Join 35,000+ companies like Anthropic, Coinbase, and DoorDash at https://www.brex.com/metricsAleph is a modern FP&A platform built for teams that want more than another planning tool. By connecting your ERP, CRM, and other systems into one trusted data layer with AI workflows, Aleph helps you move faster with real-time insights. Get a personalized demo at https://www.getaleph.com/runRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for teams that have outgrown spreadsheets and billing tool workarounds. It handles high-volume subscriptions, usage-based contracts, and mid-cycle upgrades, so you can scale without scrambling at month-end. For RevRec that keeps your books clean, visit https://www.rightrev.com/CJ—LINKS: Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsNGuest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aureliennolf5b716412/Company: https://navan.com/CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Preview and intro1:21 Welcome and guest intro3:06 100-mile ultramarathon at Lake Tahoe4:47 Resource allocation lessons from EA6:41 Bucketing bets: proven, intuition, moonshots7:43 Pre-alignment before budgeting9:58 The 70/20/10 framework10:35 Sponsors — Rillet | EY | SpendHound13:51 The common trap: chasing everything16:16 Lyft: $1B burning to $1B profitable18:11 Killing projects without crushing morale19:24 TAM as the planning foundation20:57 Navan's TAM: managed vs. unmanaged22:15 Sponsors — Brex | Aleph | RightRev25:48 Why go after the unmanaged segment28:24 Not all TAM dollars are equal29:26 How IR is evolving30:45 Why FP&A and IR belong together31:54 Metrics: disclose vs. guide34:04 Use internal metrics externally35:12 Communicating bad news to the market39:22 Earnings prep: the black book40:04 AI in finance: can't vibe code compliance41:31 Ava handles 55% of interactions43:08 AI ROI: same framework as anything else44:02 Why finance hasn't had its AI moment44:46 Lightning round44:56 Screwed up: wrong investor meeting45:23 Sunday planning ritual46:42 Advice to younger self47:29 Finance software stack48:34 Craziest expense: curtains at the hotel laundry49:17 Credits