Startup Finance 30 recognises 30 finance leaders driving growth at the world's most ambitious startups. This page sets out how the list is built: who qualifies, how honorees are assessed, who decides, and what are the commitments that keep it fair.
We've published the method in full because a recognition is only as good as the process behind it. Earning a spot on the list is entirely merit-based. There are no fees to participate.
What Startup Finance 30 is
Startup Finance 30 is a global recognition of the finance leaders behind the most ambitious startups. Finance is one of the most under-leveraged growth levers a company has, and the people doing this work at scale rarely get named for it. This is the list built to change that. It runs annually, with 2026 as the first edition.
Airwallex publishes Startup Finance 30 and convenes the committee. Selection sits with the committee.
Who qualifies
Every nominee is screened against a fixed set of criteria before they're assessed. To qualify, a finance leader must:
Lead the finance function. A CFO, VP or Head of Finance. Where a company has no CFO yet, a founder or COO who owns finance can qualify.
Be at a venture- or growth-backed private company. Roughly Series A through pre-IPO. Not public companies, not pre-revenue.
Have a track record. Around a year or more in the role, between Jan 2022 and Aug 2026.
Meet an integrity floor. No unresolved fraud, governance, or regulatory issues.
How honourees are assessed
Impact on growth trajectory. Did their financial leadership materially change the company's path? Capital strategy that opened new options, a decisive runway extension, a margin turnaround, M&A, IPO-readiness.
Strategic breadth beyond the ledger. Scope beyond core finance: strategy, data and business operations, pricing, board leadership, organisational design.
Building the function and systems. Building team, controls, and infrastructure from a low base rather than inheriting a working machine. Evaluated on the reach and difficulty of constructing a system that scales smoothly.
AI and technological leverage. How they use AI, automation, and data as a force multiplier. Compressing close cycles, sharpening forecasting, and extending what lean finance teams can accomplish. We weigh judgment and results over tool adoption by evaluating what was built, what it replaced, and what changed.
Trajectory and ecosystem influence. How they shape the way peers think about growth-stage finance, and the signal they carry in the wider ecosystem.
Each criterion is scored on its own before any overall view is formed, which guards against a single strong reputation colouring the rest.
What you'll be asked
Most of the entry form is quick – your role, company, and funding stage. A handful of questions reward a little preparation, and they map directly to the five metrics above:
How has your financial leadership changed what the company can do? Put a number on it where you can.
Beyond core finance (FP&A, accounting, tax), where does your ownership extend — and where have you had the most impact?
What have you built from the ground up: the systems, processes, and capabilities behind the finance function?
How have you used AI and technology to transform finance at your company?
Where does your work show up beyond your own company?
Which links or materials best evidence your work?
The selection committee
The final 30 are selected by an independent committee of finance leaders. They review the shortlist, score them against the five metrics, and ratify the final list.
Rama Katkar – Notion, CFO
Marten Abrahamsen – Vercel, CFO
Joe Kauffman – Deel, President & CFO
Pranav Sood – Airwallex, CFO
Independence and integrity
Four commitments to hold the process honest.
An editorial firewall. Startup Finance 30 is run as an editorial process. The committee reviews and ratifies the list on its own judgment.
Customer-agnostic. Information about whether a finance leader uses Airwallex is never collected and is never shared with the editorial team or the committee.
No pay-to-play. No fee to participate. No paid placements. No sponsors.
Recusal on conflicts. No committee member scores, deliberates on, or receives the submission details of any candidate with whom they have a conflict of interest. Conflicts of interest include candidates who compete with the member’s own company or lead a company in which the member has invested, serves on the board, or advises. Conflicted candidates are removed from a member's review queue.
Before the list is published, every honoree is verified against public records.
Startup Finance 30 is published by Airwallex. We work with globally ambitious companies every day, which is why we think the finance leaders behind that growth deserve more recognition than they get.
Lead the finance function yourself, or know someone who fits this profile? Find out more.
The material presented here is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, regulatory, taxation, or investment advice. Readers should engage their own advisors or counsel for advice unique to their circumstances.
The Airwallex Editorial Team
Airwallex’s Editorial Team is a global collective of business finance and fintech writers based in Australia, Asia, North America, and Europe. With deep expertise spanning finance, technology, payments, startups, and SMEs, the team collaborates closely with experts, including the Airwallex Product team and industry leaders to produce this content.
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