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.Now serving as president and CFO of ServiceNow, Mastantuono’s choices seem to have paid off. Since her arrival in 2020, the enterprise software company’s market cap has surged from about $50 billion to more than $200 billion, and it made its debut on the Fortune 500 list in 2023. Last year, Mastantuono earned a coveted place on Fortune’s inaugural Next to Lead list, spotlighting executives likely to ascend to the CEO chair.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.”This interview kicks off the Fortune Next to Lead video series, featuring fast-rising C-suite executives who already think like CEOs as they share their career climb, hard-won leadership lessons, and insights on what it truly takes to reach the top of corporate America. Watch the full conversation here.Ruth Umohruth.umoh@fortune.comThis story was originally featured on Fortune.com