Sharks of DigitalOcean: Apple Li, Director of Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A)

Meet Apple Li, our Director of Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) in New York City. Apple and her team are the architects behind aligning our financial vision with company goals, driving sustainable growth. Dive into this spotlight to discover Apple’s inspiring journey, her passion for DO’s mission, and the impact she and her team make every day.

What inspired you to join DigitalOcean?

I studied finance in college and started my career as an equity research analyst working for an asset management company. I wanted to work for a fast-growing and innovative company where I could make an impact. So, I switched careers and joined Digitalocean in 2019. There’s a lot of growth potential for this company, driven by digital transformation and companies moving to the cloud.

What do you enjoy about working at DigitalOcean?

I like DigitalOcean for its mission to simplify cloud computing and better help developers and businesses. We have a great team that truly cares about our customers and is working on products and technologies that will add value.

What does your day look like?

I help the Product & Technology org with budget planning and management. I do financial analysis for new product launches and new data centers and help the business understand the return on investment of our products and projects. I help to track financial metrics and create reporting materials for internal and external stakeholders. I have monthly meetings with budget owners to review and update budget forecasts. I also have ad hoc meetings with product and engineering leaders on pricing and margin analysis. Plus,I run monthly CapEx steering committee meetings to drive decisions on new investments.

What is the role of your team?

Our primary goal is to help translate company initiatives and strategies into our financial plans. We also help the business understand the ROI of our products and projects for efficient resource allocation to drive company revenue and customer growth. My team’s qualities include accountability and ownership, DO fast, collaboration, and business partnership. We’re looking for people who are analytical, proactive, trustworthy, detail-oriented, passionate about the cloud space, and have strong financial modeling skills.

What excites you about your work?

My team works on the annual planning process. We get to work cross-functionally with many teams across the organization, and ultimately, we come up with an operational and financial plan for the next year that will help us achieve our financial targets and fulfill our mission.

What DO value do you resonate with the most?

I resonate the most with DO Learning. The company really encourages everyone to have a growth mindset and provides resources and tools to help people learn and grow. For example, we have a book program where we get reimbursed for buying books every month. We also get access to all these great materials on LinkedIn Learning.

Dive into the future with DigitalOcean

At DigitalOcean, our customers and community are at the heart of everything we do. We believe in acting like owners, with a bias for action and a relentless drive to simplify cloud computing. If you’re passionate about continuous learning, thinking bold, and being part of a supportive, innovative team, explore our open roles today!