Most people who look at spreadsheets see a jumble of numbers. But Frank Choy sees stories.

Frank, the 168th person I’ve met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, is a virtual CFO. Businesses call him in when they can’t understand their finances.

Frank does more than put the numbers in order. He uses those numbers to tell stories about the business – about its strengths and weaknesses; about where it is going and where it should be going.

This provides tremendous clarity for the leaders of the business. Suddenly, their business makes sense to them.

Frank grew up in rural Fiji, the son of immigrants who had fled China after the communists came to power. He moved to Auckland to study commerce and law, stayed on to work, and rose to CFO level while he was still in his twenties. Other senior roles followed, first in Auckland and then in Sydney. 

Despite building a successful career, Frank wanted a new challenge. So, in 2008, he launched his virtual CFO business, Capstone Consulting.

While Frank is a business and finance expert, there’s a lot more to him than numbers. He’s very well-read, he’s fascinated by psychology and he’s got a sharp sense of humour.