CONPRW26: Professional Women’s Conference

Paige Cocke, CPA, Is the Founder of Realize Success LLC, where she advises owners and executive teams on financial strategy, governance readiness, and leadership execution and is a Partner and Fractional CFO at Rankin McKenzie. Over the past two decades, she has operated at every level of the finance function — from SEC reporting and IPO consolidation to divisional CFO and enterprise strategy leadership.

She has led organizations through high-growth expansion, multi-state complexity, and successful acquisition. Paige has shortened close cycles from 30 days to 5, renegotiated restrictive lending structures to unlock operational flexibility, built driver-based forecasting models for executive decision-making, and prepared companies for audit readiness and sale. Earlier in her career, she played a lead role in the $10B IPO spin of Genworth Financial from GE and presented quarterly forecasts and operating results directly to CEO, CFO and Investor community.

Her session, Controller to CFO, addresses the real transition most finance professionals underestimate. Moving from technical expert to enterprise leader requires more than stronger financial reporting. It demands expanded business acumen beyond the numbers, the ability to analyze issues strategically, sharper communication that influences decision-makers, and the confidence to manage conflict while engaging and inspiring cross-functional teams.
In this session, Paige distills key elements from her executive development framework into a practical roadmap. Participants will examine the gap between their current operating level and true CFO leadership including strategic thinking, customer-focused financial insight, forecasting and modeling capability, and executive presence. Attendees will leave with a clear “GAP Map” to identify development priorities and concrete next steps to accelerate or intentionally redefine their path forward.

In Beyond the Numbers: Turning Analysis into Action, Paige addresses a pat

Jamie Ousterout has built her career at the intersection of client success, operational excellence, and organizational growth. As the founder of Stabilimenta, she has advised hundreds of C-suite leaders across professional services, healthcare, technology, financial services, nonprofits, and academia—helping organizations translate strategy into sustained performance. Jamie graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Arts in English and history and has also served on nonprofit boards in the Raleigh community. She was previously named a Triangle Business Journal “40 Under 40” leader.

Kari is a finance leader, coach, and speaker who helps CPAs and finance professionals move from invisible to influential. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience across public accounting, corporate finance, treasury, leadership development, and talent strategy, Kari understands firsthand how often highly capable professionals are overlooked simply because their visibility does not match the value they bring.

Through her writing, coaching, and speaking, Kari helps finance leaders position their expertise more strategically so it creates greater opportunity, influence, and career growth. Her insights on leadership, visibility, and professional positioning have been shared with audiences at national conferences, leadership development programs, and professional associations across the country.

Kari is a Maxwell Leadership Certified Coach, Speaker, and Trainer, a Fascinate Certified Advisor, and a graduate of HeartCore Leadership’s Transformational Leadership program. She currently serves as Director of Treasury & Cash Management at Crete United while building a platform dedicated to helping finance professionals step out from behind the numbers and into the conversations where influence happens.

Paige Cocke, CPA, Is the Founder of Realize Success LLC, where she advises owners and executive teams on financial strategy, governance readiness, and leadership execution and is a Partner and Fractional CFO at Rankin McKenzie. Over the past two decades, she has operated at every level of the finance function — from SEC reporting and IPO consolidation to divisional CFO and enterprise strategy leadership.

She has led organizations through high-growth expansion, multi-state complexity, and successful acquisition. Paige has shortened close cycles from 30 days to 5, renegotiated restrictive lending structures to unlock operational flexibility, built driver-based forecasting models for executive decision-making, and prepared companies for audit readiness and sale. Earlier in her career, she played a lead role in the $10B IPO spin of Genworth Financial from GE and presented quarterly forecasts and operating results directly to CEO, CFO and Investor community.

Her session, Controller to CFO, addresses the real transition most finance professionals underestimate. Moving from technical expert to enterprise leader requires more than stronger financial reporting. It demands expanded business acumen beyond the numbers, the ability to analyze issues strategically, sharper communication that influences decision-makers, and the confidence to manage conflict while engaging and inspiring cross-functional teams.
In this session, Paige distills key elements from her executive development framework into a practical roadmap. Participants will examine the gap between their current operating level and true CFO leadership including strategic thinking, customer-focused financial insight, forecasting and modeling capability, and executive presence. Attendees will leave with a clear “GAP Map” to identify development priorities and concrete next steps to accelerate or intentionally redefine their path forward.

In Beyond the Numbers: Turning Analysis into Action, Paige addresses a pat