Pfizer promotes its first female CFO as women’s share of top finance jobs slips

Pfizer announced on Tuesday that Guegan was named executive vice president and CFO, effective Nov. 1. As CFO, she will oversee corporate finance functions, operations planning and analysis. She brings more than 25 years of pharmaceutical finance experience.

Guegan joined Pfizer through its 2009 acquisition of Wyeth, where she served as CFO for the Asia Pacific and EMEA/Canada businesses. Most recently, she was senior vice president of finance for Pfizer’s Global Biopharmaceuticals business.

Guegan’s appointment comes as women account for a shrinking share of new CFOs globally, while fewer companies are promoting finance chiefs from within.

According to Russell Reynolds Associates’ latest Global CFO Turnover Index, women accounted for 20% of global CFO appointments in the first three quarters of 2026, down from 24% a year earlier and below the eight-year average of 22%. The trend varied by region. In the Americas, women’s share of CFO appointments rose to 21% from 18%, while EMEA held steady at about 26%. The global decline was concentrated in Asia-Pacific.

Meanwhile, CFO turnover reached its highest Q1-Q3 rate in the index’s eight-year history, rising to 15% from 14% a year earlier. The report also found that fewer companies are filling CFO roles internally, making Guegan’s promotion notable on another front.

Health care fared slightly better, with women accounting for 24% of CFO appointments, just above the sector’s eight-year average of 23%.

Sheryl Estrada
Sheryl.Estrada@fortune.com

Leaderboard

James Kehoe will step down as CFO of FIS (NYSE: FIS), a financial technology company, effective Nov. 5. Kehoe will serve as a non-executive senior advisor through March. FIS has appointed Alexandra Brooks, EVP and chief accounting officer, as interim CFO. Brooks will continue to serve as chief accounting officer and will work closely with Stephanie Ferris, FIS chief executive officer and president. The company has initiated a search for a permanent CFO, which will consider both internal and external candidates.

Ryan Steines was appointed CFO of Patterson Companies, Inc., a distributor of medical supplies and business solutions, effective Nov. 3. Steines joins Patterson with more than 25 years of finance leadership experience. Before joining Patterson, Steines spent more than two decades at Medtronic in finance leadership roles, where he most recently served as segment CFO for the cardiovascular portfolio, the company’s largest business portfolio. In that role, he helped lead a portfolio-wide turnaround focused on accelerating growth and supporting the consolidation of multiple operating units. 

Big Deal

The CFA Institute Systemic Risk Council’s new report ranks the biggest threats to financial stability. The council, a nonpartisan group of former government officials and financial and legal experts, ranked 13 risks in three tiers based on how immediate they are, how fast they could spread, and whether their damage could be permanent. 

The top tier, made up of risks that “can paralyze global critical infrastructure or freeze international capital markets within a matter of hours,” includes geopolitical shocks, AI-driven cyberattacks, sudden extreme climate events, and AI-driven investment concentration. On that last risk, the council warns that if AI productivity doesn’t meet “massive market expectations,” it could set off a wave of credit and equity defaults “much like the serious market disruptions of the dot-com era.”  

Going deeper

Thirty-nine of the 100 companies on the 2026 Fortune Best Companies to Work For Southeast Asia list are first-time entrants, the most change in the list’s lineup so far. DHL Group is No. 1 for the second year in a row and is the only company on the list certified in all 10 Southeast Asian markets.

Several newcomers ranked high, including McDonald’s Philippines operator Golden Arches Development at No. 7 and fellow McDonald’s operator McThai at No. 11. In all, 16 first-time entrants made the top 50, and most newcomers came from Vietnam and the Philippines. Some returning companies climbed sharply too—Coca-Cola rose 72 places to No. 20. See the full list here.

Overheard

“By tying public incentives for AI investment and data-center build-out to measurable entry-level hiring and apprenticeship commitments, AI will create efficiency and jobs.”

—Mark Minevich, founder and president of Going Global Ventures, writes in a Fortune opinion piece. Minevich is also a senior advisor at AlixPartners focused on digital infrastructure.