Navan has named Amy Butte as its CFO in what could be a sign the company is getting closer to its long-awaited initial public offering.
Butte joined the board of directors for Navan, the former TripActions, in April as audit committee chair, and she is stepping into the CFO position this month, according to the company. She has worked in the financial industry for more than 25 years, including serving as CFO for the New York Stock Exchange during its 2006 IPO. In its announcement, Navan noted that she has taken companies public in various roles, including as a banker, analyst and board director as well as CFO.
“After meeting Amy, we quickly decided that she was the right person to take Navan into its next stage of growth,” Navan CEO and cofounder Ariel Cohen said in a statement. “Amy’s eye for transformative companies is a reflection of her deep experience, knowledge and passion, and we’re confident that she will best position us for future success.”
Navan’s IPO plans have been a longstanding topic of discussion in the industry, with the company having reportedly filed confidential paperwork for an IPO in 2022. A Navan spokesperson said there is no update on IPO plans; in an interview with CNBC in recent weeks, Cohen said an announcement was not far off with the company expected to achieve profitability for the first time this year but added that no date has been set.
In a post on Navan’s blog, Butte said she decided to take the position as “an advocate for forward-thinking, innovation and the public markets.”
“Is Navan a candidate for the public markets?” Butte said in the blog post. “To my mind, becoming a public company means setting the bar higher and increasing focus. It means access to capital to invest in new avenues for growth.”
