In recent times, the role of a CFO in an organization has undergone vast changes. A CFO is not only just a financial authority but a strategic partner to the CEO, supporting in the crucial decision-making and application of strategic methods in the company. Besides making responsible decisions about investment, CFOs today are expected to remain updated with the latest technologies. At present, Indian companies are gearing up for global competition and their outlook is extremely futuristic. With this outlook in hand, the role of CFOs is even more significant. India is one of the best countries in Asia in terms of its Geography, culture, and heritage. In the business sector, it has improved significantly over time. Listed down are the top 20 CFOs in India based on their performance, credibility, and talent.
- Prateek Aggarwal-HCL Technologies
Preteen Aggarwal is the CFO of HCL technologies. He was the IIM Calcutta topper in his batch. He has an experience of more than 25 years in the finance and operations sector. He played the CFO role in various business sectors over the last fifteen years, yielding successful results. He currently works in the strategic value creation sector. His areas of specialization include- deal negotiations, financial planning, and analysis, legal and company secretarial matters, treasury and forex, corporate governance, insurance, etc. He finished his bachelor’s from Ram College, Delhi. He undoubtedly is an inspiration.
2. – R&J Jeyamurugan
Mr. Jeyamurugan is currently the Chief financial officer and secretary at Asian Paints Ltd. He was previously the Vice President of the company. He is an associate member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and an Associate Member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. He played a significant role in Asian paints during the GST protocol, making sure that the company is ready for GST. He is an extremely efficient person, truly an asset to any company.
3. Ramakant Baheti
Ramakant Baheti is the Chief Financial officer of Avenue Supermarts. He is a graduate of the ICAI-Institute of Chartered Accountants in India. His skills include management, team management, forecasting, budgets, management, budgets, strategic planning, financial analysis, and retail. He has been the CFO of Avenue Supermarts since 2000.
5. Supratim Dutta
Supratim Dutta is the Chief Financial Officer of the Company with effect from 5th September 2020. Before this, he held the position of Corporate Financial Controller of the Company responsible for Accounts, Taxation, and finance operations, and prior to that, he was Executive Vice President – Corporate Finance in charge of the Corporate Treasury, Strategic Planning, and Corporate Planning functions of the Company.
Dutta joined the Company in November 1990 soon after qualifying as a Chartered Accountant and Cost Accountant. He has wide-ranging experience in the Company for nearly 30 years, spanning various senior roles in business finance operations and corporate. He has handled all aspects of finance including Planning, Treasury, M&A, Accounting, Taxation, IT, Investor Relations, and business strategy. He has also held important positions in various industry bodies including Chairperson – Finance and Banking Committee of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
6. S.N Subramanyam
S N Subrahmanyan is the CEO & MD of Larsen & Toubro and serves on the board of directors of this multi-billion dollar conglomerate.SNS, as he is popularly known, is also Vice Chairman on the boards of LTI, L&T Technology Services & Mindtree, Chairman of L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Limited, and Director and Chairperson of L&T Finance Holdings Ltd. Prior to taking over the reins as CEO & MD in July 2017, SNS in his capacity as Deputy MD & President led L&T’s infrastructure business to its position as the country’s largest construction organization and 14th in the world. He is now responsible for leading the breadth and width of L&T’s considerable business interests to new growth levels, riding on the enormous benefits of digitalization, big data, and predictive analysis that he drives internally with exceptional zeal. He places a premium on innovation, project management, and talent development, particularly in leadership roles.
7. Ajay Seth-Maruti Suzuki
Ajay Seth is the Chief financial officer of Maruti Suzuki. Mr. Ajay Seth is a graduate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in India. He is an experienced professional whose work is appreciated by all, in the financial sector.
8. Ashok Santhalia Titan Company Limited
AshokSanthalia is the Chief financial officer of Titan Company Limited. He has nearly 30 years of experience in areas of strategic financial planning, business development, M&A, treasury, finance & accounts in diverse industry verticals in a multicultural multinational environment. He specializes in Strategic Financial Planning, Structuring, M&A, Treasury – Fundraising, Financial Risk management, Project evaluation & Financing, Performance analysis and review, Driving major improvement initiatives, negotiation, and strategic tie-ups. He has held managerial positions for companies such as LTI, L&T, Tata chemicals, etc. He is an ICAI graduate as well as an XLRI graduate. He did his Master’s in Business Management from the European Centre of Executive Development (CEDEP), France.
9. Puneet Sharma
Puneet Sharma is the Chief Financial officer of Axis bank. He has more than two decades of experience in banks, the financial sector, and consulting. In his previous stint, he was with Tata Capital Limited for 12 years, as a senior management functionary interacting extensively with the Board. He served as the Chief Financial Officer of Tata Capital Limited and Tata Capital Financial Services Limited since 2014 and was accountable for financial control, financial planning, procurement, and taxation. Prior to that, at Citibank N.A. his roles covered structured cash solutions, treasury operations, risk monitoring, and reporting on fixed income securities. He started his career at Bharat S Raut & Co. and has also worked as a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group working with clients in financial services across many topics encompassing strategy, transformation, and process improvement.
10. Deepak Maheshwari Adani Ports and SEZ limited
Currently, Deepak Maheshwari holds the position of Chief Financial Officer of Adani Ports Special Economic Zone Ltd. and Chief Financial Officer of Essar Energy Ltd. He is also on the board of Essar Oil (UK) Ltd. He previously was the CFO of Reliance power Ltd. He received an MBA from Xavier Labour relations Institute India and an MBA from London Business School.
11. Koushik Chatterjee
Mr. Koushik Chatterjee is the Chief Financial Officer, executive officer, and Board member at Tata Steel. His skills include the application of effective business strategies, business development, and planning. He has volunteered at various esteemed places such as International Integrated Reporting Council, International Accounting Standard Board, and TCFD.
12. Niraj Shah-HDFC Life
Niraj Shah is the CEO of HDFC Life. Prior to this, he was the CFO at HDFC Life from February 2019. He was the chief financial officer and director of PNB Metlife India Insurance for nearly three years. Prior to this, he was the Senior Vice president at ICICI Prudential Life insurance Company Limited. He was also a manager at BNP Paribas Investment Banking. He studied for his bachelor’s at H.R College of commerce, Bombay and he also graduated from ICAI. He did a PGDBM from IIM, Bangalore.
13. Sunil Burde- Pidilite
Sunil Burde is the chief financial officer of Pidilite. He has been with the company for a long time and has given it a new shape. He undoubtedly is one of the best financial officers we have in the country.
14. Anil rander-Larson and Toubro Infotech
Anil Rander is the Chief Financial Officer of Larson and Toubro Infotech. He is an established and experienced finance professional having experience in the fields of business strategy, corporate accounting, development of financial accounting systems, fiscal management, financial reporting, risk management, business transfer, taxation, and more. He has held managerial positions at various prestigious companies such as tech Mahindra business services, Hutchison max telecom, and Alpic finance. He is a graduate of ICAI, the Institute of Cost Accountants in India, and also Institute of Company Secretaries in India.
15. Ajay Goel-Vedanta
Ajay Goel is the CFO of Vedanta. He did his Batchelor’s of Commerce from St Xavier’s College after which he enrolled himself in the Institute of Company Secretaries in India. Then he graduated from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in India. Prior to being the CFO at Vedanta, he was the Executive VP at Diageo. He has also remained the CFO and VP of a company called GE. Also, he has been the lead finance manager at Coca-Cola. His skills include- financial analysis, business strategy, managerial finance, financial audits, financial modeling, strategic financial planning, working capital management, financial reporting, and internal controls.
16. Sushil Agarwal-Aditya Birla Group
Mr. Sushil Agarwal is currently the Group’s Chief Financial Officer. He serves as a Director on the Board of several Group companies including Aditya Birla Capital Ltd. and Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. and is also a member of the Business Review Council of the Group. He has remained with the Group for nearly 30 years and has the distinction of working closely with the former Chairman Late Mr. Aditya Vikram Birla and current Chairman Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla. He has highly contributed to many Restructurings and Mergers and Acquisitions of the Group with his widely acknowledged financial acumen and analytical skills.
17. Sandeep Kumar Gupta-Indian Oil Corporation
Mr. Sandeep Kumar Gupta is the CFO of Indian Oil Corporation. He has remained the CFO of the company since 2019. Prior to this, he was the Chief Risk Officer of the company and the Chief Risk Officer. He is also the Chairman of IOC Middle East FZE. He is a graduate of ICAI. he did his Batchelor’s from Christ Church College, Kanpur, and schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya in Bokaro Steel City.
18. Praveen Kumar-Hindalco Ind( Aditya Birla Group)
Mr. Praveen Kumar is the CFO and Director of Hindalco Industries. Mr. Maheshwari did his Engineering at IIT, Benaras Hindu University. He also earned a certificate of training in Bacancy Training Institute. Later, he did his executive course in Leadership training at the Wharton School. He hails from Uttar Pradesh and speaks three languages- English, Hindi, and Punjabi.
19. Mohit Malhotra (Dabur)
Mr. Mohit Malhotra is a Management Graduate from Pune University and holds an Executive Masters in International Business from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi. He joined Dabur in 1994 and handled key assignments in Marketing and Sales. In 2001 he took over as the Business Head of the European Union. In 2004 he moved into Dabur’s International Business as Head of Marketing, based in Dubai, and took over the reins as Chief Executive Officer of Dabur International in 2008. Mr. Mohit Malhotra is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the $1.2 Billion Dabur India Ltd. and is driving the Company’s agenda to popularise and contemporize Ayurveda while focusing on Dabur’s motto of being “Dedicated to the Health & Well-Being of every household”. Mr. Malhotra possesses a strong leadership record and has a deep understanding of the consumer and business landscape across geographies. His achievements in business have earned recognition at the global level. He has been ranked in Forbes Middle East’s list of Arab World’s leading Indian Executives, consecutively for 4 years in a row from 2014, besides being named the NRI Professional of the Year 2016.
20. Manoj Bhat-Mahindra and Mahindra ltd
Manoj Bhat is the current Chief financial officer of Mahindra and Mahindra ltd which nearly has 260K employees altogether. Mahindra is a company that specializes in vehicle manufacturing. Prior to this, Manoj was the Board member of Volva car center, Uddevalla. Manoj is an IIM Mumbai graduate. He did his Engineering and technology at Pune University. Before becoming the CFO at Tech Mahindra, he was Deputy CFO for five years. Before that, he was the Head, M@A, Corporate Planning from the year 2013. He is an extremely efficient person, and undoubtedly one of the best CFOs.
