Dell's CFO built a 27-year career without leaving the company. Here's how he kept moving up

Good morning. David Kennedy has spent more than 27 years at Dell Technologies—an almost unimaginable tenure in an era when many Gen Z workers see changing companies as the surest path to advancement.

Kennedy took a different path. He built his career by continuously changing roles within one company. In November 2025, that path culminated in his appointment as CFO. His path wasn’t linear, but it was deliberate, Kennedy said. He joined Dell as an intern in Limerick, Ireland, after graduating from the University of Limerick. Early on, Kennedy set a goal to rotate through different finance functions every 18 to 21 months. “I’ve done a tour of duty in every finance function you can think of,” he told me.

He also pushed beyond finance, taking assignments in sales, business unit leadership, and international postings in India, and, now, the U.S.

At a time when younger workers often feel pressure to switch employers in order to gain diverse experience and move up, Kennedy’s career offers a counterpoint: breadth, reinvention, and advancement can also come from moving intentionally within one company.

According to Deloitte’s 2025 Gen Z and Millennial Survey, younger workers are highly focused on advancement but less drawn to traditional leadership tracks. Yet Kennedy’s trajectory suggests that even in a corporate landscape defined by job-hopping, the conventional route of building range and credibility at a single employer remains a viable one for younger workers.

Kennedy made his ambitions known and pursued opportunities as they arose, even when they were not obvious fits. Those experiences stretched him. “I said, ‘I’m looking to learn new things,’” Kennedy explained. “And then you lean on the mentors you have, and then they say, ‘Okay, go over here and do this job.’”

That openness to experimentation also changed how he viewed his career. Kennedy always knew he wanted to be an accountant. “But I started to get the bug for the story within the numbers,” he said.

Cross-functional roles, particularly those working alongside sales, supply chain, and services leaders, became a turning point. These positions gave him a broader business perspective and valuable context on the company’s activities, which he said was a critical part of his development.

Kennedy went on to serve as senior vice president and chief financial officer of the client solutions group, chief operating officer of global sales, and senior vice president of global business operations and finance.

“It’s one thing knowing the numbers,” he said. “It’s knowing the context of the numbers and the risks and opportunities in those numbers. That’s the extra secret sauce.”

That perspective helped prepare him for the top finance job. And while Kennedy’s 27-year run at one company may be unusual today, the underlying lesson is that meaningful career growth comes from continually expanding one’s range, deepening judgment, and seeking out stretch opportunities—whether that happens within one company or across several.

Have a good weekend.

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

Leaderboard

Fortune 500 Power Moves:

Amie Thuener was appointed CFO of Broadcom Inc. (No. 88), a semiconductor and infrastructure software provider, effective June 12. This appointment follows the retirement of Kirsten M. Spears as CFO, who will continue in her role until that time and will serve as an advisor for nine months. Thuener, an experienced technology executive, joins Broadcom from Alphabet Inc., where she has served as VP, corporate controller and chief accounting officer since 2018. She held several leadership positions at Alphabet and has experience overseeing global external reporting and financial operations. Before Alphabet, Thuener was at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and served as a managing director in transaction and accounting advisory services.

Every Friday morning, the weekly Fortune 500 Power Moves column tracks Fortune 500 company C-suite shifts—see the most recent edition.

More notable moves this week:

Wadih J. Khayat was appointed CFO of Driscoll’s, a fresh berry company. Khayat joins Driscoll’s from The Coca-Cola Co., where he spent more than two decades leading major finance organizations worldwide. Most recently, he served as senior vice president and CFO for Coca-Cola’s Europe business. He previously held senior leadership roles within Coca-Cola, including CFO for the Asia Pacific Group, and CFO and head of strategy for Coca-Cola Global Ventures.

Linda S. Huber was appointed CFO of Accelerant (NYSE: ARX), a risk exchange platform. Her appointment follows a previously announced CFO transition. She brings nearly two decades of experience as a public company CFO. Huber previously served as EVP and CFO of FactSet. Before that, she served as CFO and treasurer of MSCI, and EVP and CFO of Moody's Corporation. Earlier in her career, she held a series of increasingly senior roles in financial services.

Michael Dixon was appointed CFO of Zaxbys, a fast-casual chain that specializes in chicken, beginning March 30. Dixon brings over 30 years of financial leadership experience across restaurant, retail and entertainment companies. Most recently, he served as CFO of GoTo Foods. Before that, Dixon spent multiple years serving as a financial leader at organizations across the restaurant and QSR industries. His experience includes Ignite Restaurant Group, Pinkberry, and Cheesecake Factory, where he served nearly a decade.

Hagit Ynon was appointed CFO of Pentera, a cybersecurity company. Ynon brings over 25 years of financial leadership to Pentera. Most recently, she served as CFO of WalkMe, where she was instrumental in leading the company's IPO on the Nasdaq and its subsequent acquisition by SAP. Before WalkMe, Ynon spent nearly two decades at NICE, rising to VP of finance. In her new role, she will be responsible for Pentera's finance, IT, legal, and revenue operations.

R. Brent Jones, EVP and CFO of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE: AVTR), a provider of life science tools, will leave the company on or before June 21. Steve Eck, SVP and chief accounting officer at Avantor since 2019, will serve as interim CFO upon Jones' departure. Avantor has initiated a search for the next CFO.

Peter Kuipers is stepping down as the CFO of Clover Health Investments, Corp. (Nasdaq: CLOV), a physician enablement company, effective March 30. Kuiper's will remain as an advisor through April 24. Clay Thornton, the current CFO of Clover's insurance plan, was appointed interim CFO, effective immediately.

Big Deal

E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley’s monthly analysis finds the three most-bought sectors in March were consumer staples (+5.80%), industrials (+4%), and financials (+2.88%)—the first two being among the weakest performers last month. The sectors with the highest net-selling were energy (-8.86%), utilities (-2.14%), and communication services (-0.91%). The data reflects net buy/sell activity in S&P 500 sectors on the platform.

March saw the S&P 500 post its biggest monthly decline in a year, but E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley clients were net buyers in six of 11 sectors, Chris Larkin, managing director of trading and investing, said in a statement. "In some cases, clients appeared to be buying relative weakness and selling relative strength," Larkin said.