Gina Mastantuono grew up determined never to rely on anyone. As the first in her family to attend college, she chose accounting for its stability after a friend described it as recession-proof. This pragmatic decision became the foundation for a career defined by financial mastery and a sharp eye for talent.
While her early years in accounting were a key learning ground, Mastantuono says, she quickly recognized that limiting herself to that field would constrain her career ambitions. She deliberately pursued roles that stretched her skills across finance, moving from Ernst & Young to IAC and then to Revlon during a turnaround when the stock was trading at just one dollar. She later transitioned to Ingram Micro, a technology distributor generating $40 billion in revenue but operating on razor-thin margins. Each move broadened her expertise in finance, operations, and strategy, preparing her for a top-tier corporate leadership role, she says now.
Despite her financial chops, she insists that building great teams is as critical as mastering the numbers. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who was CFO at IAC when he hired her, offered advice she still follows: “Hire the people [who] can do your job in two to three years, so you can continue to grow and learn and develop into more.” That mandate drives her to recruit ambitious, high-potential performers and provide them with opportunities to grow. As such, Mastantuono says she prizes curiosity, emotional intelligence, and the ability to connect dots across an enterprise—what she calls the “new power skills”—particularly in the context of the AI economy.
Now approaching her sixth year at ServiceNow, Mastantuono is candid about what’s next. Although she clarifies that she is not in a rush to reach the corner office, it is a role she can envision for herself. “I would love to lead a company to new heights,” she admits. “For me, it’s all about impact.”
