Good morning. After nearly a decade helping steer Charter Communications’ cable and broadband business, CFO Jessica Fischer is leaving for a Blackstone- and Google-backed venture investing billions to meet soaring demand for AI computing capacity.
The move puts an experienced Fortune 500 finance chief at the center of one of corporate America’s biggest investment booms. It also reflects how the AI infrastructure buildout is pulling capital and senior talent from established industries as companies race to add computing capacity.
“I’m embarking on an exciting new opportunity in the AI infrastructure space, joining the newly formed joint venture between Blackstone and Google in October,” Fischer wrote on LinkedIn Monday. A Blackstone spokesperson confirmed to CFO Daily that Fischer will become CFO of the venture.
Blackstone and Google announced the venture in May, with plans to build a U.S.-based company providing computing infrastructure for AI models and applications. Blackstone is committing an initial $5 billion in equity. The company is targeting 500 megawatts of capacity by 2027 and plans to expand substantially beyond that. Google will provide its AI chips and related technology, while longtime Google infrastructure executive Benjamin Treynor Sloss will serve as CEO.
Fischer will step down from Charter on Oct. 15. Kevin Howard, a Charter veteran and its EVP, chief accounting officer, and controller, was appointed interim CFO on Monday. Charter will search for a permanent finance chief.
Fischer, age 41, joined Charter as corporate treasurer in 2017, later becoming EVP of finance and CFO in 2021. Before Charter, she was a partner in EY’s national tax department. Charter CEO Chris Winfrey called Fischer a key member of the executive team and credited her with helping build Spectrum into the country’s largest broadband and video provider.
Her departure comes as Charter, No. 85 on the Fortune 500, grapples with steeper-than-expected broadband subscriber losses amid intensifying competition from fixed-wireless providers. Charter said in an SEC filing that Fischer’s resignation did not stem from a disagreement with the company and was unrelated to its operations or financial reporting.
Fischer is moving between two capital-intensive industries at very different points in their growth. Charter is competing for subscribers in a mature connectivity market. Her new employer is preparing to spend billions building computing capacity as demand for AI infrastructure accelerates.
That environment also raises the stakes for the CFO. Building AI infrastructure requires huge upfront investments and decisions about how quickly to add capacity when future demand and returns remain uncertain. Fischer brings experience overseeing finance at a large public company accustomed to making long-term infrastructure investments.
Her move reflects a broader shift in where corporate capital and executive talent are flowing. As billions pour into the infrastructure behind AI, finance chiefs with experience managing large investment programs are becoming central to how quickly the industry can grow and whether those investments ultimately pay off.
SherylEstrada
Sheryl.Estrada@fortune.com
Leaderboard
Fortune 500 Power Moves
Dave Hulays was promoted to CFO at The Hershey Company (No.377), effective Sept. 2, succeeding Steve Voskuil, who has led Hershey’s finance organization for the past seven years. Voskuil announced his intent to retire in early 2027. He will move into the role of SVP of strategic projects, focused on initiatives for the CEO and board during a transition period.
Hulays, who most recently served as SVP of finance, brings nearly 30 years of financial leadership experience to the role. Since joining Hershey in 2012 as VP finance, Canada, he has taken on progressively broader financial leadership responsibilities across the company, including the U.S. and international businesses, global supply chain, the growth office, M&A, corporate FP&A and finance strategy, global tax and treasury, and enterprise transformation. Before joining Hershey, he spent 15 years at Procter & Gamble.
The weekly Fortune 500 Power Moves column tracks Fortune 500 company C-suite shifts—see the most recent edition.
More notable moves:
Aric Chang was appointed CFO of American Healthcare REIT, Inc. (NYSE: AHR), effective Oct. 1. Chang succeeds Brian Peay, who is retiring after 10 years as CFO. Peay will continue to serve in the role through Sept. 30. Chang joins AHR from Public Storage, where he serves as CFO of real estate. His career includes senior roles across New York Stock Exchange-listed REITs, real estate private equity, and REIT research, underscoring the breadth of expertise he brings to AHR.
Akash Raj was appointed CFO of Mission Critical Group, a provider of integrated electrical infrastructure solutions. Raj brings more than 20 years of finance and operational leadership experience across high-growth and Fortune 500 companies. Raj most recently served as CFO of RealPage, where he led the company’s financial strategy and operations. He previously served as CFO of WellSky and held senior leadership roles at Motorola Solutions and General Motors across operational finance, M&A, capital markets, and corporate restructuring.
Big Deal
A new Bank of America Institute analysis finds that consumer subscription spending is outpacing overall card spending, rising 7.7% year-over-year in July 2026 with more than 1.5 percentage points ahead of overall spending growth over the past two years. Entertainment and retail subscriptions now account for roughly 43% of total subscription outlays.
Generational patterns diverge sharply: Gen Z posted the fastest subscription growth at nearly 14% year-over-year, though Gen X remains the biggest overall spender, with older Millennials close behind. The standout trend is reading and information subscriptions—a category that includes AI-related services.
Going deeper
The Dutch central bank quietly moved 86 tons of gold out of New York and Ottawa to London between March and August, citing “increasing geopolitical unrest,” Fortune’s Eleanor Pringle reports. The situation wasn’t lost on economists, Pringle notes, given that a series of actions by the U.S. Treasury has—intentionally or not—drawn attention to rising risk premiums in the Treasury market. Read more here.
Overheard
“Gloria’s greatest gift was her ability to listen to others, to make others feel seen and heard.”
—Gloria Steinem, the celebrated author, activist, and co-founder of Ms. Magazine, died Wednesday at her home in New York City at age 92, according to her foundation’s social media posts.
