The CFO's stamina problem

Being a CFO today demands the stamina of an elite athlete, yet many corporate leaders ignore what athletes know: recovery is essential to sustained performance.

Mastantuono's message on overwork

Gina Mastantuono, president and CFO of ServiceNow, a Fortune five hundred company, challenges the idea that fourteen-hour days and four hours of sleep show commitment.

“That is such a terrible example for the people around us.”

The panel at Fortune summit

Mastantuono spoke at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit with Olympic champion Janet Evans and Alicia Hatch, Deloitte's U.S. sports chief commercial officer.

Recovery as performance tool

For Mastantuono, recovery is not a distraction from high performance but a prerequisite for it, just as bodies need rest to recover from exercise.

Personal benefits of prioritizing rest

Prioritizing recovery has helped Mastantuono improve her work-life balance, listen more thoughtfully, and remain composed under pressure in her leadership role.

Better leaders through self-care

When leaders focus on taking care of themselves, they become better bosses, colleagues and parents, Mastantuono said, extending benefits beyond the individual.

“When we do focus on taking care of ourselves, then we are much better bosses, much better colleagues, much better parents.”

Athletes' decision-making under pressure

Athletes learn to make decisions under pressure, adapt to changing circumstances, and keep moving toward goals despite uncertainty, skills that translate to leadership.

Female executives and sports backgrounds

Ninety-four percent of female C-suite executives played sports growing up, teaching confidence, teamwork, resilience and decision-making under pressure, Hatch said.

“94% of female C-suite executives played sports growing up. And there's a reason for that.”

Evans and the LA28 Olympics pivot

Olympic champion Janet Evans joined LA28 in two thousand fifteen to bring the Olympics to Los Angeles, but shifted focus to securing the two thousand twenty-eight Games when Paris emerged as likely winner.

Women's sports growth and leadership lessons

Global revenues from women's sports are projected to reach at least three billion dollars in two thousand twenty-six, a three hundred forty percent increase over four years, making athletic leadership lessons increasingly relevant.