Headcount Experts | Practical Headcount FInance ft. Eric Lin

Headcount planning looks different from the finance seat. In episode 22 of the Headcount Experts Podcast, Eric Guidice and Chris Mannion sit down with Eric Lin, head of finance at Roku, whose career spans KPMG, PG&E, Netflix, and Google. Eric shares the three questions behind every headcount decision, why a headcount plan creates implied promises, and how finance leaders should treat variance, AI agents, and long-horizon recruiting investments. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction and Eric Lin's career across business models 2:24 Planning horizons and the quarterly operating cadence at Roku 3:28 The three questions behind every headcount decision 5:34 Is an AI agent a headcount? 7:13 What energy and aerospace teach tech about workforce planning 14:47 How finance evaluates long-term recruiting investments 18:51 The implied promises hidden in every headcount plan 20:08 Variance tracking and the real cost of under-hiring 24:39 Live reactions: finance engineers, org design, and the manager squeeze Learn how headcount365 gives finance, talent, and systems teams one source of truth for headcount at https://headcount365.com