Cyber insurance industry veteran John Botros has joined insurtech company Cowbell as its new CFO to help guide the company in its next phase of strategic growth.

Botros, previously finance chief at Resilience, joins Cowbell at a time when the cyber insurance market is in a “soft” period characterized by increased competition and declining rates. Cyber insurance rates fell 7% globally and 3% in the US in Q4 2025, according to insurance broker Marsh’s latest global and US insurance market indices.

CFO Brew recently spoke with Botros to hear more about how he’ll help Cowbell achieve its growth goals. He also offered his perspective on the current state of cybersecurity and the cyber insurance market.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

It sounds like Cowbell is focusing on some key growth areas. How are you tracking your growth strategy objectives?

As you look at the mid-market, that’s the next space [for Cowbell to grow]. There’s a lot of dollars there because of the fact that digital transformation is happening very quickly. What that means is, now you’re taking a lot of assets [and] creating them to be digital. That means a lot of value is stored there. You’re no longer having houses and properties, you’re having digital assets. And now the value’s there, thus the risk is there, thus, you need a cyber [policy] as well.

Does the current soft market add a challenge to growth plans?

It certainly does. With a soft market, not only are you seeing added capacity, but you see prices come down and it’s hard to grow by a dollar value when rates are dropping. If your rates are dropping by 20% or 30%, you have to add 20% or 30% more policies just to get where you were before. Now, that doesn’t mean you can’t grow from a policy holder or policy count perspective, which is where I think a lot of folks are focusing now. The nature of insurance is cyclical, but especially in cyber, it might be a little bit more quick to adopt and to change, especially with the addition of AI.

Keep reading.—AZ

CFO turnover reached a seven-year high in 2025, and finance chiefs are increasingly going from supporting performance to lead actor: CFO to CEO promotions reached their highest level in a decade in 2025, according to data from Crist Kolder Associates.

While good news for those elevated, the increase in turnover contributed to a volatile year for the CFO seat.

Data from Crist Kolder’s 2025 Volatility Report and Russell Reynolds’ latest CFO turnover index show 2025 was a record year for CFO turnover.

According to Russell Reynolds, globally, 2025 saw 316 incoming CFOs, a 10% increase from 2024 and 12% above the seven-year average of 281.

“This continued upward trajectory is a clear signal that elevated CFO churn is now a persistent feature of today’s governance landscape,” stated the Russell Reynolds index report.

Keep reading.—JK

If the AI boom needs fuel, the bond market is holding the gas can.

Alphabet proved that this week, raising nearly $32 billion in under a day after selling record-breaking sterling and Swiss franc bonds. It even sold a rare 100-year note, a first for a tech company since the 1990s, with demand for that century-long debt nearly 10 times the $1.4 billion offered.

The frenzy follows Oracle’s own blockbuster deal earlier this month, when the company pulled in $25 billion to bankroll its AI ambitions after investors placed roughly $129 billion in orders.

In aggregate, UBS calculates that companies tied to tech and AI raised about $710 billion in debt last year, and could raise nearly $1 trillion in 2026.

Keep reading on Brew Markets.—SY