Musk taps Morgan Stanley, DOGE alum for xAI finance chief: reports

This story was originally published on CFO Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily CFO Dive newsletter.

Former Morgan Stanley dealmaker and long-time Elon Musk advisor Anthony Armstrong has been appointed CFO for both xAI, as well as social media site X, according to a report by the Financial Times citing people familiar with the matter. He will oversee the finance function for both the AI company and social media platform, the FT reported — replacing Mahmoud Reza Banki as X’s finance chief and stepping up as CFO for xAI following the departure of previous CFO Mike Liberatore to rival company OpenAI’s top finance seat, CFO Dive previously reported.

The move comes shortly after Musk in March announced xAI had acquired social media site X in an all-stock transaction, a deal which valued the combined entity at approximately $113 billion, according to an X post by the tech billionaire. The futures of both platforms are “intertwined,” Musk said in the post, noting the combination “will unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach.”

The choice of Armstrong as CFO points to “near-term monetization and cost discipline at X, and a sustained capital raise for xAI,” Shawn Cole, president of boutique executive search firm Cowen Partners told CFO Dive in an email. With the appointment, “expect a heavy finance agenda: large-scale fundraising, balance-sheet cleanup at X, and aggressive capex for AI infrastructure,” Cole said. “It’s also worth noting that Musk is not shy about using leverage to buy and scale his companies, which makes an investment-banking CFO an even more logical choice.”

Armstrong’s appointment “fits a familiar Musk pattern of elevating trusted dealmakers form his network into pivotal operating roles, especially those who’ve already executed for him,” Cole told CFO Dive. “From a recruiting standpoint, this is smart because he needs people who can operate at his pace within his ecosphere, and he has a deep bench across his entities to draw talent from.”

At Morgan Stanley — where Armstrong was global head of technology M&A beginning in 2015 — he advised Musk during his 2022 acquisition of Twitter, now X. When Musk led the Department of Government Efficiency, Armstrong served as senior advisor to the Office of Personnel Management, a critical government department overseeing the federal workforce, Time Magazine reported.