Good morning. More CFOs are stepping into the CEO role. But it’s not always a direct path. And sometimes, CFOs may even have to pitch themselves as fit for the chief executive seat.
That was the case for John Fieldly, CEO, and chairman of Celsius Holdings, an energy drink company founded in 2004. “When I took over Celsius as the CEO, we did $36 million in total revenue for the year,” Fieldly told Fortune’s Audience Team in a recent video interview. “And just now in 2023, we did $1.3 billion.”
Celsius is a caffeine-fueled energy drink that is said to burn calories—up to 140 calories per bottle consumed, the company claims. Celsius has over a 10% share of the energy-drink category and is growing, Fieldly said. Over just the past year-and-a-half, the business has doubled in size. And in the past five years, shares are up 6,290%.
He joined Celsius as CFO in 2012 to work with Gerry David, CEO at the time. “It was risky to get a job as a CFO when I was 32 years old,” Fieldly recalled. “I had to go for it. Those opportunities only come once in a blue moon.”
In 2017, when David decided to retire, Fieldly began serving in the dual role of interim CEO and CFO. While working in both roles, Celsius went public on NASDAQ under the ticker CELH.
“The company was looking for a CEO at the time,” Fieldly explained. “They actually went through a variety of interviews. I was, I guess, younger than who they were looking for. But with hard work, drive and passion, I really rallied around the team and continued to grow the business.”
After the company’s third attempt for a CEO hire, “I told Gerry I wanted in on the interview process, and I could run this company,” he said. The board included Fieldly in the interview process, and he was ultimately selected as CEO in 2018.
Fieldly shared his pitch to be considered for the CEO role: “Performance, drive, passion, execution. Look at what was accomplished over a year and a half—it was pretty much flawless execution. You couldn’t deny what was built when I was CEO and CFO. Uplisted in NASDAQ. Made all the investors whole, on the original thesis that I joined the company on. And I knew I could take this company even further.”
What did his CEO job interview look like? He told Fortune: “I did a whole presentation on PowerPoint. I talked about the targeted consumer, and how we’re going to tactically approach them to create daily loyalty and connect with them throughout their daily lifestyle.”
Fieldly advises that if you’re a CFO with goals for the CEO seat, you have to be proactive. “I think you’ve always got to be selling yourself, each and every day,” he said. “The opportunity was there. I had to jump on it.”
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
