The latest merry-go-round of executive changes at firms has been centered around the critical chief financial officer position. Since the start of the new year, Caleres, Genesco, On and Designer Brands have all announced moves that will impact their operations in the year ahead.

Some of the incumbent step-downs were due to the pursuit of a new job; in other cases, fresh initiatives dictated change.

At Shoe Carnival Inc., W. Kerry Jackson last September was named executive vice president and CFO. The CFO post wasn’t new to Jackson, a position — along with the role of treasurer — that he retired from in May 2023.

The two-year break turned out to be a sabbatical as Jackson returned to Shoe Carnival in June 2025 as senior vice president, new business development. In that role, Jackson was spearheading merger and acquisitions activities, integration of acquired businesses and synergy capture initiatives to further the shoe chain’s goal to become the nation’s leading family footwear retailer.

When the promotion was announced, Shoe Carnival’s president and CEO Mark Worden said: “With Kerry already leading out business development efforts and his deep knowledge of our business, this is the natural time for his return to the CFO role as we executive our strategic plan.”

One component of Shoe Carnival’s plan is to have over 215 doors as part of its growing store base by July 2026.

At Designer Brands Inc. (DBI), Jared Poff in October departed from his combined position of executive vice president and CFO and chief administrative officer. He went on to become CFO at Family Dollar, according to his LinkedIn account. On Wednesday, the parent of the DSW shoe chain named Sheamus Toal as its new executive vice president, principal financial officer and CFO.

Toal was most recently chief operating officer and CFO at The Children’s Place. He also was previously CFO and later CEO of the publicly-traded retailer New York & Co. DBI CEO Doug Howe said in a statement that Toal brings to the company an “exceptional blend of financial expertise and operational leadership, with a strong track record of navigating complexity and building resilient, high-performing organizations.”

Toal’s hire follows a round of layoffs at DBI at the end of January. A spokeswoman for the DSW parent said the layoffs were part of a move to “simplify and organization structure” and improve speed and accountability.

CEO changes can also set the stage for other changes in the C-suite. That was the case at On Holding in April 2025 when co-CEO Marc Maurer elected to leave the company to do other things after 12 years. With his departure, he turned over the reins to Martin Hoffman, co-CEO and CFO.

Last month, On said it named Frank Sluis its new CFO beginning on May 1. That will frees up Hoffman to focus on CEO responsibilities. Hoffman said the brand is “executing with a level of precision” that drives record results, and that Sluis is complementary to the team because of his experience at a scale “significantly larger than where we are today.”

CFO exits give companies a chance to zero in on what the strategies are for long term growth and what type of executives can help with the execution of those plans. The skillset required of CFOs today is more than just an understanding of dollars and cents. That’s in part a reflection of the evolving business needs of a company.

Shoe Carnival’s Jackson has the financial chops, but in his evolved CFO role, he also has business development skills plus a mergers and acquisitions eye from his recent experience after rejoining the retailer last June. And in the case of DBI, Toal’s background includes not just the expected CFO skill set, but also an understanding of operations and even some strategic analytical experience from his stint as a former CEO.

At Crocs Inc., which is eyeing international growth, the shoe firm named Patraic Reagan its new CFO starting Sept. 22, following the resignation of Susan Healy. Reagan’s background include roles at Nike where he once was CFO for Asia Pacific and Latin America, along with a stint as vice president of global business planning. Crocs CEO Andrew Rees said Reagan’s “robust financial experience in the footwear industry and his international expertise” would complement Crocs’ leadership team.

In the aftermath of the COVID pandemic, C-suite executives including CFOs now need a working knowledge of sourcing and supply chain networks.

And with all the talk about how AI is evolving the work front, it shouldn’t be a surprise that CFOs might need to pick up more AI skills in the months and years ahead.

In an Executive Insights report from PwC, some of the trends shaping the evolution of finance leaders include fueling growth through strategic capital allocation, making finance the engine of the operation’s transformation. AI is also being embedded into financial delivery in the areas of compliance, shifting how work gets done and in powering real-time scenario planning.

Those areas will be top of mind for Caleres Inc., which said CFO Jack Calandra was exiting the company to pursue other opportunities. It has since named Dan Karpel as interim CFO. Karpel rejoined Caleres in October 2025 and is the company’s senior vice president and chief accounting officer. While Caleres is evaluating the impact on it from Saks Global bankruptcy on fourth-quarter results, Karpel’s familiarity with Caleres and his financial expertise is expected result in a “smooth transition” into the interim CFO role.

Genesco also disclosed last month that its CFO Cassandra “Sandra” Harris will exit in March to pursue other opportunities. Meanwhile, CEO Mimi Vaughn will assume the interim CFO role until a replacement is found. Vaughn served as the company’s CFO from 2015 to 2019. Genesco’s key focus is on female consumers — young Gen Z and older Gen-Alpha — within its Journeys banner.