How to Build a Cost-Aware Culture in the Age of AI - Henrique Amorim from Crayon
What if the biggest mistake new FinOps teams make isn’t missing savings, but executing them too soon?
In this episode of FinOps in Action, I sit down with Henrique Amorim, Business Analyst and FinOps Specialist at Crayon. He shares an honest look at what it really takes to build a successful FinOps practice. From resisting the urge to immediately slash costs to navigating engineering relationships and preparing for the AI-driven future of cloud spend, this conversation goes far beyond surface-level optimization tips.
Henrique breaks down why FinOps isn’t about being the “cost police”. It’s about building influence, trust, and a culture of cost awareness across engineering, finance, and leadership. If you’re working in cloud cost optimization, FinOps, or AI cost management, this episode will challenge how you think about leverage, execution, and long-term impact.
Here’s what we talked about:
Why you should treat early cloud savings as strategic leverage
The difference between theoretical savings and truly actionable optimizations
How AI is reshaping the FinOps function
The importance of building dashboards, processes, and visibility before scaling savings
Why some “cost inefficiencies” are actually architectural features
The role of community in accelerating your FinOps maturity
Managing up: how to communicate FinOps impact to executives
Quote of the Show:
“Identify those savings and keep them as an ace up your sleeve while using that as leverage to get your roots in the system.” - Henrique Amorim
Connect with Henrique:
Website: https://www.crayon.com/us/
In this episode of FinOps in Action, Henrique Amorim shares why cloud cost optimization is less about slashing spend and more about building trust, influence, and long-term leverage inside your organization. He explains how to treat early savings as strategic capital, why some “inefficiencies” are actually intentional engineering decisions, and how curiosity beats confrontation every time. The conversation also dives into AI’s growing impact on cloud cost management and why the future of FinOps will belong to practitioners who can bridge engineering, finance, and executive strategy. If you care about sustainable cloud efficiency, not just quick wins, this one’s worth your time.