CEAT Ltd, a leading tyre manufacturer in India, announced that its Executive Director and CFO, Kumar Subbiah, has been recognized among the Leading CFOs of the year by CII at the 2nd edition of the CFO Excellence Awards in 2022. The award recognized his work in business partnering, capital allocation, and driving operational excellence. Under his guidance, CEAT has implemented several systems and processes to enhance corporate governance standards and compliances, making the finance team a true partner to the business.
CEAT Ltd, a leading Indian tyre manufacturer, has announced that its Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer, Kumar Subbiah, has been recognised as one of the Leading CFOs of the year by CII at the 2nd edition of the CFO Excellence Awards in 2022. Subbiah was recognised in the Auto Category for his outstanding work in business partnering, capital allocation, and driving operational excellence at the company. Under Subbiah’s leadership, CEAT has implemented several systems and processes that have helped to enhance corporate governance standards and compliances. The Finance team has emerged as a true partner to the business, achieving the optimal balance between growth and leverage to help the organisation meet its strategic objectives.
During the past few years, the efforts of the Finance team to bring efficiencies in working capital have helped to make Rs 750 crores of cash available to invest in businesses. The company has also taken several other initiatives, including sourcing raw materials efficiently and competitively through strategic sourcing and tie-ups with partners. Initiatives in driving efficiencies in cashflows and funding helped in bringing down interest costs. The company has upgraded its SAP to SAP HANA and automated various operational activities through the deployment of RPAs and blockchain. This has seen it commended as one of the best in digital adoption in finance by the industry. CEAT was one of the first 30 companies in India to adopt integrated reporting in its annual report.
One of the key initiatives that has helped CEAT bridge the margin gap has been leveraging cross-functional teams to identify large cost-saving opportunities through a structured zero-based approach to costs. What started off as a pilot during the pandemic has now become a practice at CEAT to identify a few large programs every year to drive large cost savings, leveraging technology and a structured Quality Based Management (QBM) approach.
Kumar Subbiah, ED & CFO, CEAT, said, “I am thrilled to be recognised by CII as one of the leading CFOs of the year. I believe this award is a recognition of all that we have been doing as a company to drive business excellence using a Quality Based Management (QBM) approach that has delivered results for the business. We hope that this award marks another milestone in our journey as we set new benchmarks in the industry in delivering a safe, sustainable, and smarter future.”
The CFO Excellence Awards, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), recognises and acknowledges outstanding capabilities and achievements in the Finance function. Over the years, the Awards have become the chief flag bearer of Corporate Transparency, Governance, and Financial Leadership. They recognise and acknowledge exemplary achievements and professional contributions of CFOs and build a strong CFO forum to facilitate sharing of best practices.
