How CFOs at Chevron, ServiceNow and Nasdaq decide which AI bets create value

Good morning. AI projects must earn their share of corporate budgets.

“It doesn’t get a free pass just because it’s got AI on the front of the opportunity,” Eimear Bonner, CFO of Chevron, said during a panel session I moderated at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in Santa Barbara on Tuesday.

 “It’s got to compete for capital.” Bonner’s test: a clear path to value, a transformative target and results that show up on the bottom line. “It can’t be a science experiment,” she said.

Gina Mastantuono, president and CFO of ServiceNow noted that the way CFOs calculate ROI is moving beyond just measuring potential gains in revenue and profitability. Finance chiefs must also weigh the cost of inaction: falling behind competitors that adopt AI, with long-term competitiveness at stake, Mastantuono said. 

ServiceNow funds projects that strengthen competitive differentiation, solve a customer problem and deliver measurable value on a clear timeline, she explained. “I don’t think the winners in AI are going to be the ones that spend the most,” she said. 

Mastantuono urged measuring outcomes, not........

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