The purpose of this research was to explore the factors that contribute to a chief financial officer's (CFO) success and demise within a higher education setting. Relatively little attention has been given to the study of leadership in educational institutions (Vroom, 1983). Leadership defines what the future should look like, aligns people with that vision, and inspires them to make it happen despite the obstacles (Kotter, 1996). Successful CFOs always play to their strengths (Dergel, 2014). They know their strengths and focus on improving them. A CFO's ability to organize and lead the finance function is the true key to success; gaps in a CFO's financial expertise can be filled by recruiting team members with complementary skills (Karaian, 2014). CFOs use their strengths to the advantage of the company they work for, the people that work for them, and ultimately, themselves (Dergel, 2014). The true test of the CFO is in the quality of decisions made on topics that impact a company's finances (Bragg, 2007). The challenge for the CFO is adapting to the culture, having the right finance team, and learning the business (Dergel, 2014). CFOs need to take the time to understand the people, how decisions are made, and how to adjust their ways of getting things done to fit the culture. CFOs also have to understand the strengths of the people on their team. As a result, some CFOs have to make significant if not drastic changes to the finance team (Dergel, 2014). Because universities are stable and continuing organizations slow to change, their leadership is always in a state of gradual modification (Lombardi, 2013). CFOs need to add value to the company as a whole as it goes about its mission. Therefore, understanding the business well is critical to helping the CFO meet this objective (Dergel, 2014). [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]