Podcast #197 | Jeff Epstein (Bessemer Venture Partners): Why Effective Boards Spend Time on Decisions Not Yet Made

Episode #197 of the Boardroom Governance Podcast features Jeff Epstein, Operating Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, former CFO of Oracle, and a board member and audit committee leader across public and private companies.

The conversation spans Jeff’s full arc, from investment banking to a 25-year CFO career in media and tech, and now venture capital and board leadership.

The conversation includes the following topics:
• Public vs. private market growth and ownership structures
• The evolving role of the CFO in the age of AI
• CEO–CFO dynamics across startups and public companies
• Board composition and audit committee leadership
• Navigating shareholder activism, including lessons from Twilio
• Stay private vs go public dynamics
• What effective boards actually do differently in meetings

You can listen to the episode directly in the Boardroom Governance Podcast website (where you can find all the show notes), or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts such as in: Apple or Spotify. You can also subscribe to the Boardroom Governance Newsletter at evanepstein.substack.com

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Pacifica Global was founded in San Francisco to serve as a leading corporate governance advisory firm. The mission of Pacifica Global is to help founders, executives, directors and investors solve some of their most complex corporate governance conflicts and challenges.