Meet Craig Mestel, Webflow’s first CFO

Craig joins us at an exciting time of growth as we expand Webflow’s product portfolio to allow marketing teams of all sizes to more efficiently create incredible website experiences and optimize their marketing performance. With his arrival, we’re excited to continue the momentum from our recent acquisition of Intellimize and key additions to our executive team — with Rachel Wolan joining us as Chief Product Officer earlier this year, and Allan Leinwand joining us as our Chief Technology Officer in 2023. 

Craig is a seasoned leader with more than 20 years of experience in finance, engineering, operations, and marketing and private and public high-growth companies. 

Most recently at GitLab, he led financial planning and analysis, data and IT, and played a key role in scaling the go-to-market teams and driving profitable growth. He also served as the acting Chief Marketing Officer leading up to GitLab’s public offering. Previously, Craig held executive finance roles at Upwork, including leading investor relations for their public offering. Prior to that, he served in a variety of operations leadership roles at Google.

Our team sat down with Craig to chat about his breadth of experience in building multi-product businesses, what excites him about the future of Webflow, and his goals and vision for the finance team. 

Here’s what he had to say. 

To get started, we’d love to hear more about your background and career. 

My career has been defined by working at the intersection of business and technology. Before working in finance, I started my career in engineering and then moved into analytics and operations. I love understanding how businesses work and how technology and data can help drive growth. I’ve been really fortunate in my career to have the opportunity to lead two IPOs as a VP of Finance, first at Upwork in 2018 and then at GitLab in 2021. 

One of the unique things about my time at GitLab was the chance to serve as acting CMO. It gave me the opportunity to really get close to the customers, an experience that gives me a holistic perspective as I step into my role as CFO. 

One thing I’m super passionate about has been working with customers of all sizes. From empowering freelancers in finding jobs and establishing careers at Upwork to helping build out the enterprise go-to-market motion at GitLab, I have a deep understanding of what it means to lead finance at companies that are selling to single individuals, to SMBs, all the way up to Fortune 500 companies.

You have such a unique background — can you share more about how it’s shaped how you approach your role? 

My background in operations has had a huge influence on who I am as a leader – both generally and in finance. My experience allows me to respect and understand the challenges my peers on the leadership team are facing. By allowing me to collaborate more effectively and drive better company-wide decision making, I can be a stronger leader for everyone involved.

I get involved in all parts of the company and use that proximity to identify not only how we’re going to measure success but also how we can improve and grow the business. The CFO organization should help drive the improvements in the business, not just report the actuals. 

What was your first experience with Webflow? 

Deeply understanding the product was my top priority even before I joined. Some resources that I tapped into during the interview process included the Webflow Masterclass from Flux Academy and Webflow University. 

When stepping into a finance leadership role, it’s easy to focus only on the accounting, numbers, and spreadsheets. While those aspendats are critical, I’ve found that really learning the product, getting to know and understand the customer base and community, and understanding the value of what we’re selling is so much more impactful in the long run. 

When I tried Webflow for the first time, even though I’m not a web designer, I instantly saw the potential of the product. Web development has come so far from when I was building websites in college.

In my time as CMO, I’ve seen first-hand how marketers have so many great ideas on how to get the message out. And yet, I experienced the challenges of making those changes come to life: between the volume of edits required on the website, how to measure the impact of those changes, and then driving toward business goals. Using Webflow showed me how powerful the visual-first approach is for building and launching a site, and more importantly, the depth of functionality it brings.  

When I completed Webflow 101 and clicked the publish button on my site, it really was this magical moment that drove home the immense value we can bring to our customers — both agencies and marketing teams alike.  

Why Webflow and what set it apart for you? 

First, I see Webflow as a product that levels the playing field for businesses of all sizes. Second, I see a large addressable market for Webflow. Finally, I was really attracted to the people at the company. Webflow has an awesome leadership team and culture and I knew I could make an impact. For me, it’s a long-term, generational company that will be here for years to come, and it’s something I wanted to make sure I was a part of. 

Finally, what are some of the things you’re looking forward to in your role as CFO?

There’s a lot that excites me with this role at Webflow. I love companies at this stage of growth. I think about it as organized chaos. It’s an opportunity to build the team and improve the processes and systems to support the company’s expansion and growth. 

Vlad, Sergie, Bryant and the whole team have big ambitions for Webflow. They have done a great job thus far achieving those goals with disciplined and responsible growth. I’m looking forward to helping Webflow adapt to this next phase of growth and fulfill the company vision of bringing development superpowers to everyone. 

I’m thrilled to be here, to be a part of the team, and most importantly, to be a part of the journey.