Catalina Serna-Valencia Ushers in a Fintech Revolution at Goodwill Industries

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The money was great, but Catalina Serna-Valencia knew she wasn’t where she belonged. Early in her career, the current CFO at Goodwill Industries International was sought out by Marriott International, where she served as a cash management analyst for nearly two years. Everything about the job was something she should have been happy about, but something just wasn’t right.

Serna-Valencia had been lured to the for-profit sector once already, and it hadn’t worked out. The CFO wants to be involved in her community; she wants to create change on a fundamental level, and she demands it to be her life’s work.

The Colombian native says she grew up with family who were always working with vulnerable populations. Serna-Valencia says that as a woman and as a Latina, she has had the opportunity to grow and develop into her own career, and she wants to do all she can to support others in having those same opportunities.

“It’s all about opportunities,” Serna-Valencia says. “It could be money, education, culture, language, but regardless, sometimes you need that door opened for you just a little bit. You need that hope. My work today involves so many different populations, from children to seniors, and they can all benefit from the possibilities of opportunities, and the hope that comes along with it.”

That love of service is only matched by the executive’s deep financial know-how, as evidenced in the massive reorganization and redefinition of Goodwill’s financial functions. She knew early on in her interview process that, if hired, she’d need to tackle a thoroughly outdated accounting system, a fragmented finance team that had seen numerous leadership transitions, and a strong need for organizational alignment.

In her first ninety days, Serna-Valencia conducted a thorough assessment of her team’s skills, identifying opportunities for internal advancement and bringing in outside talent to fill gaps.

“I made it a fair and transparent process while also working hard to get to know each person on the team,” Serna-Valencia explains. “I wanted them to have opportunities to get new experiences, and if there were areas we needed help in, we sought outside expertise.”

At the same time Serna-Valencia was learning about her people, she was doing a deep dive on the technology behind the finance function. The CFO spearheaded a comprehensive overhaul of Goodwill’s financial technology infrastructure. In partnership with Goodwill’s chief technology officer, Serna-Valencia ensured that the new systems would be fully integrated with the organization’s broader technological landscape, a critical step for scalability and efficiency.

Serna-Valencia, a “lover of data,” has embraced AI and digital transformation on a massive scale. That transformation includes AI automating routine transactions, flagging anomalies in journal entries, and streamlining reporting. These efforts free up time for staff to focus on higher-level analytical work.

Goodwill’s financial ecosystem now includes integrations and partnerships with Sage, Microsoft, Google, ADP, and SAP Concur, enabling seamless data flow, robust contract management, and advanced budgeting and planning capabilities.

The CFO has also worked to ensure her team feels empowered to use the new technology by providing comprehensive AI training for all finance staff. Access to tools like Microsoft Copilot is contingent on completing the training, ensuring that AI is being deployed and used wisely and efficiently.

Serna-Valencia is determined to further evolve Goodwill’s finance function from a traditional back-office role to a more strategic business partner for the entire business. The CFO fully intends to continue to lean into advanced AI integration and also shift her team away from transactional work to more strategic analysis.

“My work today involves so many different populations, from children to seniors, and they can all benefit from the possibilities of opportunities, and the hope that comes along with it.”

Catalina Serna-Valencia

The leader hopes that the transformation happening within the broader parent organization can make its way to local Goodwill branches, ensuring locations to share best practices in system modernization, AI adoption, and financial management.

“I hope people at the stores have seen how much we’ve modernized in the last three years,” the CFO says. “We want your local Goodwill to be operating in the same capacity. Our goal now is to support that kind of innovation at the local level and help those branches evolve as we have.”

Serna-Valencia remains active in local Goodwill organizations because she understands that every dollar that is freed up flows back into the community. The more Goodwill grows in revenue, the more their communities will flourish, and the more locations can be launched to widen that mission.

Whenever the CFO takes part in a Goodwill town hall, the meetings always start with a “Mission Moment” video that spotlights a community member who transformed their lives with the help of Goodwill, an opportunity to remember all of the good that comes from Goodwill’s efforts. It reminds Serna-Valencia of the end goal of her digital transformation. It reminds her of the reason she just never remained at a for-profit-sector job for very long. And it reminds her of the family that raised her to look after her community’s most vulnerable members.

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