After more than 30 years of working with senior leaders, I’ve seen a consistent pattern. As leaders advance into VP-level and enterprise roles, strong performance in their first language - operations, marketing, technology, product, customer experience, or people strategy - is no longer enough.

At that stage, executive conversations increasingly rely on a second language: the financial logic leaders use to evaluate priorities, tradeoffs, performance, and value creation. Leaders are expected not only to deliver results, but to explain why those results matter financially and how decisions connect to enterprise outcomes.

Yet many accomplished leaders were never formally taught this second language. They’ve learned pieces of it over time, but without the full operating logic senior executives expect, their insights can land with less clarity, credibility, or impact than they deserve.

That gap is exactly why I created Finance as a Second Language® (FSL®).

Beginning February 12, I’m excited to partner with HEC to offer Finance as a Second Language® for Senior Leaders, a six-part executive webinar series designed to help experienced leaders think, speak, and lead fluently in this second language - so their insights land with confidence and authority at the executive level.

This is not a finance course.

It is the executive operating logic senior leaders are expected to use.

What Participants Will Learn
This program is designed to equip senior leaders to:

1. ALIGN  -  See the Business Through an Enterprise Lens
   Connect priorities directly to profit, cash flow, and enterprise value, and clearly articulate how your area drives results executives care about.
2. ANALYZE  -  Make Decisions Using ROI Logic
   Quantify benefits, evaluate tradeoffs, and defend recommendations with disciplined financial reasoning - not intuition alone.
3. PLAN  -  Translate Strategy into Financial Commitments
   Build budgets and forecasts that demonstrate accountability, control, and command of outcomes.
4. EXECUTE  -  Run Your Area with P&L Discipline
   Actively manage the revenue, cost, and working-capital levers that drive enterprise performance.
5. REPORT  -  Communicate Results That Build Trust
   Deliver concise, credible updates that answer what changed, why it matters, and what happens next.
6. PERFORM  -  Sustain Financial Accountability
   Track commitments, deliver results, and reinforce trust through transparency and follow-through.

What Past Participants Say

“Toshi’s program made it clear that I have a direct impact on enterprise value. I now use the language of finance with confidence and connect my leadership decisions to what matters most at the executive level.”
Maribel Wadsworth, SVP, Strategic Initiatives, USA Today (Promoted to President following the FSL program)

“FSL is a game changer. Toshi turns intimidating financial conversations into clear, relatable language. I now contribute with confidence and support strategic discussions in a meaningful way.”
Nikki Battad, Director of Human Resources, HC&D

“The logical structure of FSL made financial concepts clear and practical. I now understand how my role contributes to value creation and can communicate confidently across all levels of leadership. Every manager would benefit from this program.”
Kaitlyn Ikehara, SVP, Enterprise Risk Director, American Savings Bank

Why Finance as a Second Language®

For more than three decades, Finance as a Second Language® has helped senior non-financial leaders become fluent in the financial language executives use to align, decide, and lead. I’ve watched many participants advance into broader P&L and enterprise leadership roles - not by becoming finance experts, but by becoming financially fluent leaders.

FSL equips leaders with the tools, logic, and confidence to translate their first language of execution into the second language of enterprise value.

Program Details

Start Date: February 12, 2026
Format: Six live, interactive executive webinars
Audience: Senior leaders and high-potential executives without formal financial training

If your role now requires financial credibility, enterprise thinking, and disciplined decision logic, this program is designed for you.

Learn more and register here.

About the Instructor

For more than 34 years, I’ve trained thousands of senior leaders across six continents and 22 countries for organizations including GE, Siemens, Longs Drugs, Hawaiian Electric, Servco, HC&D, and American Savings Bank.

I’ve served on the faculties of Stanford, Berkeley, Columbia, and Chicago business schools, and on the global faculty of General Electric’s Financial Management and Executive Development programs.

Born and raised on Maui and a graduate of Baldwin High School, I earned my PhD from Stanford Graduate School of Business and my MBA from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.