Chris Afarian is a strategic Chief Financial Officer and enterprise finance leader whose career reflects more than two decades of disciplined execution, thoughtful capital stewardship, and transformative value creation. Across public companies, private equity backed organizations, and growth stage enterprises, he has consistently operated at the intersection of strategy and finance, helping leadership teams navigate inflection points including IPOs, take private transactions, complex refinancings, and large scale capital allocation decisions. His work is defined by a steady hand in moments of transition and an unwavering focus on long term enterprise value.
Currently serving as Chief Financial Officer of KoBre Companies, Chris leads the enterprise- wide finance organization for a diversified portfolio serving the self- storage industry. The platform includes site ownership and operations, a high growth SaaS business, and a tenant protection line of business. In this role, he oversees FP&A, Accounting, Treasury, Tax, Payroll, Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable, building financial infrastructure designed for scalability and performance discipline. Partnering closely with the CEO, he aligns capital allocation, liquidity strategy, and operational priorities to support expansion, profitability, and long term value creation across multiple business units.
Chris’s leadership at KoBre reflects the culmination of a career built on integrating capital strategy with operational rigor. He focuses not only on financial performance but also on ensuring that systems, processes, and teams are structured to support sustainable growth. By harmonizing capital structure decisions with operational execution, he enables the organization to move confidently in competitive and evolving markets.
Prior to KoBre, Chris served as Vice President of Finance and Treasurer at SurveyMonkey, guiding the company through some of the most defining chapters in its history. During his tenure, the company completed its IPO and then later transitioned to private equity ownership. Chris partnered closely with the executive team and Board throughout both transitions, helping reshape the capital structure and financial operating model to meet new ownership and market expectations.
At SurveyMonkey, he led Treasury, Tax, Procurement, and Corporate FP&A, and at various points also oversaw Accounts Payable and Payroll. He refinanced a 220 million dollar term loan B and a 75 million dollar revolving credit facility, executed the company’s first stock repurchase program, and led financial diligence and integration for two SaaS acquisitions. Working in close collaboration with the private equity sponsor, he implemented disciplined forecasting processes, strengthened liquidity management, and transformed Procurement into a strategic sourcing function that delivered sustainable cost savings. Beyond financial metrics, he led a coalition of 23 companies focused on advancing supplier diversity and inclusion, directing meaningful business opportunities to minority owned enterprises.
Earlier in his career, Chris spent nearly two decades at NetApp, ultimately serving as Treasurer of the global public technology company. Over the course of his tenure, he progressed through increasingly senior treasury leadership roles, gaining comprehensive experience across capital markets, global treasury operations, and corporate finance. As Treasurer, he led all global capital markets activity, securing and maintaining investment grade credit ratings from major agencies and overseeing more than 2.3 billion dollars in public debt offerings.
He structured a 1 billion dollar commercial paper program as part of a comprehensive asset liability management framework and syndicated a 1 billion dollar revolving credit facility with a top tier bank group. He successfully navigated the issuance of 1.3 billion dollars in convertible notes and related call spread transactions, demonstrating both technical sophistication and strategic foresight. Chris also partnered with Corporate Development on acquisition financing and integration (including ownership of the acquisition deal modeling), ensuring that capital decisions aligned with broader growth initiatives.
Beyond transactions, Chris drove enterprise wide working capital transformation initiatives that materially improved the cash conversion cycle and strengthened free cash flow generation. He oversaw treasury operations across more than 45 countries, managing liquidity, foreign exchange risk mitigation through cash flow and balance sheet hedging strategies, the company’s global investment portfolio which approached 7 billion, and corporate insurance programs. His leadership blended macro level capital markets expertise with operational precision at the country and subsidiary level.
Chris’s early career at Silicon Graphics provided foundational experience in treasury operations and worldwide field finance, grounding him in the mechanics of financial management before he stepped into larger corporate finance and capital markets responsibilities. This combination of operational detail and strategic breadth has remained a hallmark of his leadership style.
Throughout his career, Chris has been a trusted advisor to Boards of Directors, private equity sponsors, rating agencies, lenders, and institutional investors. He is a frequent presenter on capital allocation, liquidity strategy, debt financing, and enterprise risk. He partners closely with Human Resources and Investor Relations on equity governance and proxy considerations, bringing clarity and discipline to complex governance environments across both public and private ownership structures.
Recognized multiple times in his career as a Treasury and Risk Management Magazine Forty Under Forty honoree and featured in a cover story for his industry impact, Chris has continued to shape the finance function as a strategic enterprise partner rather than a back office operator. He is a former member of the NeuGroup Tech 20 and High Growth Treasurer Peer Group, reflecting his standing among top finance leaders in the technology sector.
Chris holds both a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Santa Clara University. His education, combined with decades of practical experience, underpins a leadership approach rooted in discipline, transparency, and long term value creation. Whether navigating billions in capital markets transactions or building high performing global teams, Chris Afarian consistently demonstrates that thoughtful financial leadership can be a powerful engine for growth, resilience, and sustained shareholder returns.
Character: Chris leads with integrity and accountability, consistently balancing the interests of shareholders, employees, and partners with disciplined stewardship of capital. He remains steady and principled during periods of market volatility and organizational change, earning trust at every level of the enterprise.
Knowledge: With deep expertise in capital markets, treasury operations, M&A, and enterprise financial planning, he brings both technical mastery and broad business insight to complex decisions. His experience across public and private equity environments enables him to anticipate challenges and structure solutions with confidence and precision.
Strategic: Chris excels at aligning capital structure, liquidity, and operational priorities to support long term growth and resilience. He connects financial strategy to enterprise objectives, ensuring that every transaction and allocation decision reinforces sustainable value creation.
Communication: A clear and trusted communicator, he translates complex financial concepts into actionable insights for Boards, investors, and executive teams. His collaborative approach fosters alignment, strengthens governance, and drives disciplined execution across global organizations.
