Top 50 CFOs in Asia [2026]

Asia’s corporate arena has evolved from a regional growth story into a central pillar of global commerce. Today, boardrooms from Tokyo to Bengaluru steward nearly half of the world’s largest companies, with Greater China alone fielding 133 names on the Fortune Global 500—just six short of the combined total for every nation in Europe. The region’s dynamism is no longer confined to China, Japan, or South Korea: a discrete Fortune Southeast Asia 500 ranking charts how energy giants, universal banks, and rising EV players in Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam are reshaping supply chains and capital flows. From semiconductor foundries and super-apps to sovereign-backed energy titans, Asian corporates now influence everything from AI deployment to the price of oil, making the continent a barometer for global demand, innovation, and sustainable-finance experimentation.

Amid this complexity, the Chief Financial Officer has become Asia’s strategic fulcrum. Whether securing multi-billion-dollar green bonds, guiding once-in-a-generation IPOs, or digitising risk dashboards in real time, modern CFOs are the architects of resilience and stewards of long-term value. Their remit spans far beyond closing the books: they orchestrate cross-border M&A, hedge commodity shocks, navigate shifting regulations, and embed ESG metrics into every funding decision. To capture this pivotal influence, our compilation of the “Top 50 CFOs in Asia” spotlights those finance leaders who currently drive the numbers—and the narrative—inside the continent’s most prominent companies. Ranked by the visibility of both executive and enterprise, the list traverses sectors from high-tech and pharmaceuticals to infrastructure and consumer brands, offering a timely lens on the financial talent powering Asia’s ongoing corporate ascent.

 

Top 50 CFOs in Asia [2026]

S.No.	Name	Current Role, Company	Highest Qualification	Notable Contributions
1	John Lo	CFO – Tencent Holdings (Hong Kong)	MBA – Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern Univ.)	Transformed Tencent’s global financial strategy, supporting its evolution into a social media & gaming giant.
2	Toby Xu	CFO – Alibaba Group (China)	B.A. Accounting – Fudan University (CICPA certified)	Financial leadership helped Alibaba maintain e-commerce dominance; guided it through IPO and global expansion.
3	Lin Tao	CFO – Sony Group Corp. (Japan)	(MBA; Sony executive in Corporate Strategy)	First female CFO at Sony; long-time PlayStation finance exec now steering Sony’s finances amid entertainment & tech growth.
4	Arthur Lang	Group CFO – Singtel (Singapore)	B.A. Economics & MBA – Harvard University	Oversees Singtel’s finance, including treasury & investor relations; critical in funding international telecom expansion.
5	Pattaralada Sa-ngasang	CFO – PTT Plc (Thailand)	MBA – Thammasat University	Succeeded a long-time CFO in 2024; implemented innovative financial strategies to fuel the state oil & gas group’s growth.
6	Stephen Ma	CFO – Nissan Motor Co. (Japan)	B.S. & M.S. – University of California/USC	Leads Nissan’s global finance and investor relations; his financial management has been a cornerstone of Nissan’s worldwide operations.
7	P.B. Balaji	Group CFO – Tata Motors (India)	B.Tech. – IIT Madras; MBA – IIM Calcutta	Over 25 years in finance; pivotal in Tata Motors’ domestic & international expansion, improving profitability and global reach.
8	Kah Shen Lai	CFO – Fraser & Neave Ltd. (Thailand/Singapore)	B.Sc. – University of London	Strong financial management helped F&N thrive in competitive F&B markets, supporting strategic growth and diversification.
9	Park Soon-cheol	CFO – Samsung Electronics (South Korea)	(MBA; career Samsung executive)	Long-time Samsung manager who replaced predecessor in 2024; provides robust financial leadership, bolstering Samsung’s market-leading position.
10	Nilanjan Roy	CFO – Infosys Ltd. (India)	Chartered Accountant – ICAI (India)	Chartered Accountant who modernized Infosys’ financial operations; contributions have driven strong global performance in IT services.
11	Peter Oey	CFO – Grab Holdings (Singapore)	B.Com. – University of Sydney	Integral in Grab’s financial strategy, helping fund its “super-app” expansion across Southeast Asia (rideshare, delivery, fintech).
12	Meng Wanzhou (Sabrina Meng)	CFO – Huawei Technologies (China)	M.S. – Huazhong Univ. of Science & Tech.	Company founder’s daughter; played a significant role in Huawei’s growth and financial stability amid global challenges.
13	V. Srikanth (Venkatachari)	Joint CFO – Reliance Industries (India)	B.Tech. – IIT; MBA – IIM Ahmedabad	Strategized financing for Reliance’s diversification (energy to telecom); his vision helped propel India’s largest company’s expansion.
14	Bryan Villanueva	CFO – San Miguel Corp. (Philippines)	B.A. Economics – (Univ. of Philippines)	Succeeded a 50-year veteran CFO in 2024; brings international banking experience (Goldman Sachs) to drive the conglomerate’s financial strategy.
15	Eiji Fujimura	CFO – Honda Motor Co. (Japan)	(Finance degree – Japan)	Long-time Honda finance executive; instrumental in steering Honda’s financial strategy, fueling R&D innovation and global operations.
16	Paisan Chirakitcharern	CFO – Charoen Pokphand Group (Thailand)	MBA – NIDA (Thailand)	“Best CFO in Thailand 2020” awardee; his prudent fiscal management has been vital in CP Group’s worldwide expansion in agri-food and retail.
17	Yoshimitsu Goto	CFO – SoftBank Group (Japan)	B.A. – Tokyo Univ. of Science (CPA)	Masayoshi Son’s longtime finance guru; engineered SoftBank’s complex Vision Fund finances and debt restructuring, stabilizing the tech investment giant.
18	Wendell Huang	CFO – TSMC (Taiwan)	B.B.A. – Nat’l Chengchi Univ.; MBA – Cornell Univ.	20+ years at TSMC; led major finance projects (e.g. acquisitions of fabs) and maintains the chipmaker’s healthy capital structure in the global semiconductor supply chain.
19	Yoichi Miyazaki	EVP & CFO – Toyota Motor Corp. (Japan)	B.A. – Kanagawa University (Japan)	Veteran Toyota executive overseeing finance at the world’s largest automaker; balancing financial discipline with bold investments in EV and mobility initiatives.
20	Ziad Al-Murshed	CFO – Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia)	B.S. Chem. Eng. – Arizona State; MBA – MIT Sloan	27-year Aramco veteran; leads finances of the world’s most valuable oil company, executing multi-billion-dollar bond deals and investments amid energy transition.
21	Julie Gao (Zhan)	CFO – ByteDance (China)	J.D. – Harvard Law School	Former top IPO lawyer hired as TikTok-owner’s CFO; advised on key acquisitions (Musical.ly, Moonton) and now oversees the $300B startup’s global finances.
22	Jugeshinder “Robbie” Singh	Group CFO – Adani Group (India)	Chartered Accountant – ICAI (India)	Key architect of Adani’s aggressive infrastructure growth; managed complex project financings and rebutted short-seller allegations to restore investor confidence.
23	Alain Lam	VP & CFO – Xiaomi Corp. (China)	B.A. – Cambridge University (UK)	Ex–Credit Suisse tech banker who since 2020 has strengthened Xiaomi’s financial footing, supporting its global smartphone and AIoT expansion.
24	Tianyu “Tony” Hou	CFO – Sea Ltd. (Singapore)	B.S. – Fudan University (China)	Joined Sea in 2010 and became CFO in 2013; oversaw funding for Shopee and Garena, driving Southeast Asia’s leading e-commerce and gaming firm’s growth.
25	Samir Seksaria	CFO – TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) (India)	B.Com. – Narsee Monjee College; CA – ICAI (India)	Two-decade TCS veteran; improved profitability of the $29B IT giant, focusing on efficiency and agility while spearheading finance transformation projects.
26	Winston Cheng	SVP & CFO – Lenovo Group (Hong Kong/China)	B.S. – UC Berkeley (USA)	Third CFO in Lenovo’s 40-year history; ex-investment banker who helped negotiate Lenovo’s big acquisitions (IBM servers, Motorola), now steering the PC leader’s finances through diversification.
27	Ramesh Swaminathan	Global CFO – Lupin Ltd. (India)	CA, CS, ICWA – India; Sr. Mgmt Program – INSEAD	30+ years experience across industries; has won multiple “CFO of the Year” awards. Modernized Lupin’s finance & IT, and drives sustainability in the pharma sector.
28	Shou Donghua	CFO – Sinopec Corp. (China)	MBA – (China)	Veteran accountant who became Sinopec’s CFO in 2020; ensures financial stability for Asia’s largest oil refiner, enabling its strategic investments in petrochemicals and green energy.
29	Zhou Ya-Lin	SVP & CFO – BYD Co. (China)	B.A. Accounting – Jiangxi Univ. of Finance & Econ.	CFO since 2019; under her financial stewardship, EV maker BYD has scaled to challenge global automakers, with record revenue and aggressive battery and EV expansion.
30	Rebecca Sharpe	Group CFO – Cathay Pacific Airways (Hong Kong)	MBA – Stanford Graduate School of Business	Cathay’s first female CFO, appointed 2021, who helped navigate the airline through pandemic losses to recovery, while steering cost restructuring and sustainable financing.
31	Simon Ho	Group CFO – GoTo (Indonesia)	B.A. Economics – University of Cambridge (UK)	Seasoned finance executive with 25+ years at Citi & ABN AMRO; joined GoTo in 2024 to drive the Gojek-Tokopedia tech merger’s profitability and path to breakeven.
32	Fu Xin	CFO – Ping An Insurance Group (China)	Ph.D. Economics – Renmin University of China	Appointed CFO in 2025 at China’s largest insurer; brings extensive risk management experience to sustain Ping An’s growth in banking, insurance and tech, after her predecessor’s decade-long tenure.
33	Soumen Ray	CFO – Bharti Airtel (India)	Chartered Accountant – ICAI (India)	A “Top 10 CFO in India 2023” honoree; has steered Airtel’s finances since 2021, overseeing debt reduction and 5G investments for India’s second-largest telecom.
34	Srinivasan Vaidyanathan	Group CFO – HDFC Bank (India)	Chartered Accountant – ICAI (India)	Awarded CFO of the Year 2024 in India; has maintained HDFC Bank’s asset quality and guided its seamless merger with HDFC Ltd., underpinning the bank’s record profits.
35	Michael Doersam	CFO & Group Services Officer – Emirates Group (UAE)	MBA – University of Cologne (Germany)	Oversees Emirates’ finance, strategy and procurement; optimized cost structure during COVID-19 downturn and arranged funding for the airline’s fleet modernization and expansion.
36	Chen Shaohui	SVP & CFO – Meituan (China)	MBA – Cheung Kong Graduate Business School (China)	CFO since 2018; brought venture investment savvy from Tencent to Meituan, guiding the “super-app” through successful IPO and profitability in food delivery and travel bookings.
37	Shiv Walia	CFO – HCLTech (India)	B.Com. – SRCC Delhi; CA (India & Australia)	30-year HCL veteran who became CFO in 2024; played key roles across geographies and cycles, now leading financial strategy for the $12B IT services firm’s next phase of growth.
38	Chng Sok Hui	CFO – DBS Bank (Singapore)	B.Acc. – National University of Singapore	CFO since 2008; under her financial stewardship, DBS has become Asia’s most valuable bank. She’s navigated Basel reforms and digitization, and served as a board member of SGX.
39	Charles Loo Cheau Leong	Dep. COO & CFO – Wilmar International (Singapore)	ACCA (UK) – Chartered Certified Accountant	Promoted to CFO in 2020; leads finances of Asia’s agribusiness giant (palm oil, commodities), enforcing cost discipline and sustainable financing to weather commodity cycles.
40	Prapakon Thongtheppairot	Group CFO – ThaiBev (Thailand)	MBA – Sasin/Chulalongkorn University (Thailand)	Became Group CFO in 2018; orchestrated ThaiBev’s balance sheet strengthening and regional acquisitions (Vietnam’s Sabeco brewery), supporting its rise as a top Asian beverage company.
41	Clement Pinto	CFO – Godrej Industries (India)	MBA – SP Jain Institute (India); Chartered Accountant	Three decades at Godrej; as CFO he has driven financial strategy for the conglomerate’s chemicals and consumer goods arms, ensuring prudent capital allocation and profit growth in a diversified group.
42	N. Venkataraman	CFO & ED – Britannia Industries (India)	Chartered Accountant – ICAI (India)	Finance veteran with 35+ years experience; took over as Britannia CFO in 2021. Has improved margins for India’s leading FMCG (biscuits & dairy) player through cost efficiencies and new product investment.
43	Nakul Sehgal	Co-CFO – True Corporation (Thailand)	ACA – Institute of Chartered Accountants (India)	Former Airtel finance chief, now co-CFO of the merged True-DTAC telco (Thailand’s largest). Focuses on post-merger integration and 5G rollout financing, jointly steering True Corp’s financial strategy.
44	Shahrul Azham Sukaiman	CFO – Petronas Gas Berhad (Malaysia)	B.B.A. – Universiti Teknologi MARA (Malaysia); ACCA	20-year Petronas veteran promoted to CFO in 2021; improved the gas utility’s cash flows and guided major pipeline & LNG terminal investments, ensuring steady returns and credit ratings.
45	Cha Jin-seok	CFO – SK Hynix (South Korea)	MBA – Seoul National University (South Korea)	Leads finances at the world’s #2 memory chipmaker; structured the $9B Intel NAND acquisition in 2020 and confirmed SK Hynix’s capacity to fund big deals without straining resources, while maintaining a prudent capex strategy.
46	Kim Chang-tae	CFO & CRO – LG Electronics (South Korea)	MBA – Korea University (South Korea)	Appointed CFO in 2024 to spearhead financial planning for LG’s global electronics business. Focused on profitability in smart TVs, appliances and EV components, he oversees corporate risk and financial stability in a highly competitive tech market.
47	Jo-Ann Tan	CFO – Singapore Airlines (Singapore)	B.Acc. (Hons) – Nanyang Technological Univ. (Singapore)	SIA’s first-ever female CFO, appointed 2021. She restructured SIA’s debt and raised >$10B during COVID-19, helping the flag carrier survive the crisis and return to profitability as travel rebounded.
48	Huang Tzu-Hsiung (David Huang)	CFO – Hon Hai Precision (Foxconn) (Taiwan)	MBA – National Taiwan University	A key financial strategist behind Foxconn’s global manufacturing empire – from iPhone assembly to electric cars. Orchestrated Foxconn’s major investments (like Sharp Electronics acquisition) and manages a vast supply chain’s finances, enabling stable margins despite razor-thin electronics manufacturing profits.
49	Anindya Banerjee	Group CFO – ICICI Bank (India)	B.Econ. – University of Delhi; MBA – IIM Bangalore	Took charge as ICICI’s CFO in 2022 after a stint heading Investor Relations. Strengthened capital ratios and asset quality for India’s second-largest private bank, and leveraged digital initiatives to cut costs – contributing to record profits and stock performance.
50	Ian Su Shan	CFO – JD.com Inc. (China)	LLM – University of Warwick; LLB – China Univ. of Political Science & Law	Took the helm in May 2023 after serving as CFO of JD Logistics; is driving cost-and-efficiency programmes that lifted JD’s margins and cash flow, expanded the 3P-merchant base to ~1 million, and sharpened capital allocation for buybacks & dividends

 

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1. John Lo – CFO of Tencent (Hong Kong)

John Lo is the Chief Financial Officer of Tencent Holdings, one of the world’s largest tech companies. A graduate of Curtin University with an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School, he has over three decades of experience. Lo became Tencent’s CFO in 2012 and has been pivotal in transforming Tencent’s global financial strategy. He oversaw the company’s funding for strategic moves – from early investments in gaming (like Epic Games) to the landmark IPO of Tencent’s fintech spinoff. Under his stewardship, Tencent’s revenues soared, and the firm maintained a strong balance sheet with prudent cash management despite heavy investments in cloud computing and international expansion. Lo’s strategic financial leadership (including multiple bond issues and share buybacks) has supported Tencent’s evolution from a Chinese social media giant into a global tech powerhouse spanning social networks, gaming, fintech, and cloud services.

 

2. Toby Hong Xu – CFO of Alibaba Group (China)

Toby Xu is the Chief Financial Officer of Alibaba Group, China’s e-commerce titan. A graduate of Fudan University and a certified public accountant, Xu stepped into the CFO role in 2022 after serving as Deputy CFO. He has demonstrated remarkable financial acumen and leadership, helping Alibaba sustain its dominant position in e-commerce. Xu played a key role in Alibaba’s successful transition to a holding company structure and the potential spinoffs of its business units. He has guided Alibaba’s finances through challenging times, including increased regulation and global market volatility, ensuring solid profitability and cash flows. Notably, Xu helped execute Alibaba’s massive share buyback programs and drove cost efficiencies in new initiatives (like Alibaba Cloud), keeping the group’s growth balanced with fiscal discipline. His strategic insight continues to reassure investors as the company expands into cloud computing, logistics, and overseas markets.

 

3. Lin Tao – CFO of Sony Group (Japan)

Lin Tao is the Chief Financial Officer of Sony Group Corporation and, notably, the first woman to hold the CFO position at Sony. With a background in finance and corporate strategy at Sony Interactive Entertainment (the PlayStation division), Lin Tao took over as CFO in April 2025. She brings deep expertise in tech and entertainment finance, having overseen finance, corporate development, and strategy for PlayStation’s global business. Now, as group CFO, Lin Tao is steering Sony’s finances through a period of robust growth in gaming, music, and electronics. She is known for her analytical rigor and international experience – educated with an MBA and having worked in the US and Asia. Her immediate focus includes managing large-scale investments in semiconductor and streaming businesses while maintaining Sony’s strong balance sheet. Lin Tao’s appointment reflects Sony’s commitment to diverse leadership and signals confidence in her ability to balance creative industry dynamics with financial discipline.

 

4. Arthur Lang – Group CFO of Singtel (Singapore)

Arthur Lang serves as Group Chief Financial Officer of Singtel, one of Asia’s largest telecommunications companies. He is a Harvard-educated banker turned CFO, holding both an economics degree and an MBA from Harvard. Since joining Singtel in 2017, Lang has overseen the organization’s financial strategy, including treasury, tax, and investor relations, and has been critical in Singtel’s international growth. He helped orchestrate major investments and divestments (such as the regional expansion of Singtel’s associate telcos and the strategic monetization of its tower infrastructure) to optimize the group’s capital allocation. Lang’s influence is evident in Singtel’s strengthened balance sheet and credit ratings; he spearheaded cost management initiatives and digital bank investments that position Singtel for future tech-oriented revenue streams. Having previously led Singtel’s digital life ventures, Lang blends strategic insight with financial prudence. His leadership was instrumental when Singtel navigated intense competition and 5G rollout costs, ensuring sustainable returns for shareholders while funding innovation and growth.

 

5. Pattaralada Sa-ngasang – CFO of PTT Plc (Thailand)

Pattaralada Sa-ngasang is the Chief Financial Officer of PTT Public Company Limited, Thailand’s state-owned oil & gas conglomerate (and one of Asia’s largest energy companies). She was appointed CFO on October 1, 2024, succeeding a predecessor who served for over a decade. Pattaralada holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from Thammasat University and has decades of experience within the PTT group. Known for her strategic mindset, she previously led finance at PTT’s petrochemical subsidiaries. As CFO, Pattaralada has implemented innovative financial strategies integral to PTT’s steady growth and expansion. She focuses on maintaining PTT’s strong credit profile – balancing capital expenditures in gas pipelines, LNG terminals, and renewable energy with healthy cash flows. She has also championed “green finance” initiatives, such as PTT’s green bonds for reforestation projects, aligning financial management with sustainability goals.

 

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6. P.B. Balaji – Group CFO of Tata Motors (India)

P.B. Balaji is the Group Chief Financial Officer of Tata Motors, India’s largest automobile manufacturer (part of the Tata Group). An alumnus of IIT Madras and IIM Calcutta, Balaji is a seasoned finance professional with prior stints at Unilever. He joined Tata Motors in 2017 and has played a significant role in the company’s domestic and international expansion. Balaji oversaw the financial turnaround of Jaguar Land Rover (Tata’s UK luxury auto subsidiary) by driving cost reductions and cash generation programs, returning JLR to profit. He was instrumental in deleveraging Tata Motors’ balance sheet – through rights issues, asset sales, and improved working capital – which led to credit rating upgrades. Balaji also enabled Tata Motors to make bold bets in electric vehicles: under his watch, Tata raised capital for its EV unit at a $9 billion valuation, fueling Tata’s EV leadership in India. Known for blending strategic vision with fiscal prudence, Balaji has helped Tata Motors weather industry downturns (like the 2019 auto slump) and emerge stronger, positioning the company for long-term sustainable growth across passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and electric mobility.

 

7. Hark Kyu Park (Park Soon-cheol) – CFO of Samsung Electronics (South Korea)

(Mr. Park Hark-kyu was Samsung Electronics’ CFO until late 2024, when he transitioned to a new role. He was succeeded as CFO by Park Soon-cheol.)

Park Soon-cheol is the new Chief Financial Officer of Samsung Electronics, South Korea’s most valuable company and the world’s leading electronics maker. A veteran of Samsung’s finance team, Park Soon-cheol took over in December 2024 from his predecessor (who moved to head a corporate strategy task force). He brings decades of experience within the Samsung group, including roles in the corporate management office. Park provides strong financial leadership that contributes to Samsung’s prominent market position. He is responsible for allocating capital across Samsung’s vast business units – semiconductors, smartphones, appliances, and display panels – to ensure sustained innovation while maintaining profitability. Park Soon-cheol continues Samsung’s conservative financial practices, including a sizable cash reserve and low debt, which have helped it weather cyclical downturns in memory chips. He also oversees a $50+ billion annual capital expenditure budget and shareholder returns (dividends and buybacks).

 

8. Peter Oey – CFO of Grab Holdings (Singapore)

Peter Oey is the Chief Financial Officer of Grab Holdings, Southeast Asia’s leading super-app company. An alumnus of the University of Sydney, Oey has extensive international experience, having served as CFO at legal tech firm Leap and Moley before joining Grab in 2020. At Grab, he has played an integral part in the company’s financial strategy, driving Grab’s ambitious expansion throughout Southeast Asia. Oey guided Grab through its landmark Nasdaq listing via SPAC in 2021, helping raise billions to fund growth. He has been instrumental in balancing Grab’s aggressive expansion in ride-hailing, food delivery, and fintech with a clear path to profitability. Peter Oey implemented rigorous cost optimization measures – for example, rationalizing Grab’s promotions and improving efficiency in its driver incentive spending – which significantly reduced losses. He also oversaw Grab’s acquisitions and investments (such as buying Indonesia’s OVO e-wallet stake), structuring deals that strengthen the ecosystem. With investors, Oey is candid and transparent, detailing Grab’s progress toward positive EBITDA. His efforts have started to pay off, as Grab reported its first adjusted operating profit in certain segments.

 

9. Meng Wanzhou (Sabrina Meng) – CFO of Huawei Technologies (China)

Meng Wanzhou is the Chief Financial Officer of Huawei Technologies, the world’s largest telecom equipment maker and a leading smartphone brand. She is the daughter of Huawei’s founder, Ren Zhengfei, and is often known by her English name, Sabrina Meng. Meng holds a master’s degree from Huazhong University of Science and Technology and has been Huawei’s CFO since 2011. She has played a significant role in Huawei’s continuous growth and financial stability amidst a fast-evolving telecommunications industry. Meng Wanzhou led efforts to secure financing for Huawei’s global expansion, including arranging sizable credit lines from Chinese banks that fueled R&D spending. Her prudent financial management helped Huawei weather the 2008 global crisis and later US sanctions by building a cash war-chest and diversifying funding. Notably, she championed an internal resolution to increase investment in Huawei’s own semiconductor and software capabilities, as access to US tech was restricted. Beyond finance, Meng took on a public role as Rotating Chairwoman in 2023, signaling her broader leadership. Her high-profile detainment in Canada (2018–2021) over US extradition requests brought global attention. Upon resolving that case, she returned to Huawei’s CFO office, where she now navigates the company through geopolitical challenges.

 

10. V. Srikanth (Venkatachari Srikanth) – CFO of Reliance Industries (India)

V. Srikanth (also known as Srikanth Venkatachari) is the Joint Chief Financial Officer of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), India’s largest company by market value. A graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology and IIM Ahmedabad, Srikanth has co-led Reliance’s finance function since 2013 (initially alongside another joint CFO). He has significantly contributed to the growth and diversification of Reliance across petrochemicals, telecom, and retail. Srikanth was instrumental in raising an unprecedented $20 billion in 2020 by selling stakes in Jio Platforms (Reliance’s digital arm) to global investors like Facebook and Google – a move that deleveraged the conglomerate and funded Jio’s nationwide 4G rollout. He also oversaw major bond issuances and India’s largest rights issue to bolster equity. Managing risk carefully, Srikanth has helped maintain Reliance’s investment-grade credit ratings while the company undertook massive capex in new sectors. He played a key role in securing strategic partnerships for Reliance Retail as well, bringing in foreign investment to fuel expansion. Internally, he drives cost discipline and the use of tech in finance (such as blockchain trade finance). Srikanth’s vision for Reliance’s finances – focus on growth with controlled leverage – has enabled the once oil-centric company to morph into a digital and consumer giant.

 

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11. Stephen Ma – Former CFO of Nissan Motor Co. (Japan)

Stephen Ma is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Nissan Motor Co., Japan’s renowned automaker. He holds a bachelor’s from the University of California and a master’s from USC. A Chinese-Canadian national, Ma joined Nissan in 2018 and took on the CFO role in late 2019 amid a challenging period for the company. He has since been responsible for driving Nissan’s financial turnaround and overseeing global investor relations and financial operations. Ma’s financial management skills have been a cornerstone of Nissan’s stabilization and return to profitability. He implemented rigorous cost controls under the Nissan Next revival plan, optimizing manufacturing expenses and R&D spending. He also restructured debt and secured funding for Nissan’s electrification initiatives, all while improving transparency with the market. Ma’s steady guidance helped Nissan weather the pandemic and the Carlos Ghosn governance crisis. Now, as Nissan forges deeper alliances (like with Renault) and invests heavily in electric vehicles, Ma ensures that the company’s finances remain solid, balancing investment needs with shareholder returns.

 

12. Kah Shen Lai – Former CFO of Fraser & Neave (Thailand/Singapore)

Kah Shen Lai is the Chief Financial Officer of Fraser and Neave, Limited (F&N), a leading food & beverage and publishing conglomerate in Southeast Asia. He earned his degree in the UK and is a qualified accountant. As CFO, Lai has a strong grasp of financial management that has been crucial to F&N’s success in highly competitive consumer markets. He oversees F&N’s finances across its diverse portfolio – from soft drinks and dairies to real estate holdings – ensuring profitable growth and efficient capital use. Lai has driven cost optimization in manufacturing and distribution, helping F&N defend its market share against multinational competitors. He was also deeply involved in F&N’s strategic partnership with Thailand’s TCC Group, guiding cross-border financial integration after ThaiBev acquired a major stake in F&N. Furthermore, Kah Shen Lai’s prudent forex and treasury management safeguarded F&N’s earnings amid currency fluctuations. His steady financial leadership supports F&N’s innovation investments (such as new product development in plant-based beverages) while consistently delivering healthy dividends, underpinning the group’s reputation as a stable consumer goods giant in Asia.

 

13. Bryan U. Villanueva – CFO of San Miguel Corporation (Philippines)

Bryan Villanueva is the Chief Financial Officer of San Miguel Corporation (SMC), the largest and most diversified conglomerate in the Philippines. He assumed the CFO post in February 2024, succeeding Ferdinand Constantino, who served as CFO for over 30 years. Villanueva brings over a decade of international finance experience, including investment banking roles at Goldman Sachs and Standard Chartered, and has been with San Miguel in senior finance positions since 2019. As CFO, Bryan Villanueva is tasked with driving SMC’s financial strategies amid its expansion into new industries. He hit the ground running – within months, he led SMC’s successful issuance of peso bonds to fund its massive infrastructure projects (such as new airports and tollways). He also oversees the financing of SMC’s energy ventures, including transitioning some operations to cleaner LNG and renewables. Known for a modern approach, Villanueva is implementing advanced analytics in SMC’s treasury and risk management. He is committed to maintaining San Miguel’s investment-grade credit through prudent capital structure management, even as the company undertakes record capital expenditures. As an advisor to SMC’s board, Villanueva provides fresh perspectives on portfolio optimization, including potential IPOs of units, to unlock value.

 

14. Eiji Fujimura – CFO of Honda Motor Co. (Japan)

Eiji Fujimura is the Chief Financial Officer and Senior Managing Director of Honda Motor Co., one of Japan’s “Big Three” automakers and a global mobility company. A career Honda executive, Fujimura took on the CFO role in 2020, bringing with him extensive experience from Honda’s finance and strategy units. He has been instrumental in steering Honda’s financial strategy, fueling its innovative capabilities and global operations. Under Fujimura’s financial leadership, Honda has navigated major industry shifts: he ensured the company maintained a robust balance sheet through the COVID-19 downturn by optimizing costs and inventory. Fujimura has reallocated resources to fund Honda’s aggressive push into electric vehicles (EVs) and autonomous technology, including strategic alliances (like with GM for EV development) – all while preserving Honda’s traditionally strong R&D spending. He oversees Honda’s global treasury operations across numerous markets, expertly managing currency fluctuations (especially the yen-dollar rate) to protect profits. Colleagues credit Fujimura’s prudent forecasting and risk management for Honda’s ability to keep consistent dividends and a high credit rating even amid rising raw material costs. As Honda now outlines plans to go all-electric by 2040, Fujimura’s steady financial hand ensures that the necessary investments in battery factories and supply chains are feasible.

 

15. Paisan Chirakitcharern – CFO of Charoen Pokphand Group (Thailand)

Paisan Chirakitcharern is the Chief Financial Officer of Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group), one of the world’s largest private conglomerates with businesses spanning agribusiness, retail, and telecommunications. Holding an MBA from Thailand’s National Institute of Development Administration, Paisan has served as CP’s CFO since 2017 and has over 25 years at the company. He has earned recognition such as “Asia’s Best CFO (Thailand) 2020” for his work. Paisan’s strategic fiscal management has been vital in CP Group’s global expansion and diversified interests. He oversees the finances of CP’s sprawling empire, which includes CP Foods (one of the world’s largest agro-industrial firms), 7-Eleven Thailand, and True Corporation telecom. Paisan has been instrumental in structuring complex acquisitions – for instance, CP’s $10.6 billion takeover of Tesco’s Asia supermarkets in 2020, where he arranged funding through a mix of debt and equity while maintaining CP’s credit profile. He emphasizes strong cash flow generation from core businesses to fund new investments, a strategy that kept CP robust even during market downturns. Moreover, Paisan implemented advanced risk management practices (like commodity hedging for CP Foods) to protect margins in volatile markets. He also champions sustainability financing; under his tenure, CP issued its first sustainability-linked bonds.

 

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16. Yoshimitsu Goto – CFO of SoftBank Group (Japan)

Yoshimitsu Goto is the Chief Financial Officer of SoftBank Group Corp., the Tokyo-based tech investment conglomerate known for its Vision Fund. He joined SoftBank in 2000 and became CFO in 2018, also holding titles like Senior Managing Executive Officer. Goto is widely regarded as Masayoshi Son’s financial right-hand man, often called the “financial guru” behind SoftBank’s bold moves. He has navigated SoftBank through highly leveraged bets and market turbulence: Goto engineered the landmark $40 billion monetization of SoftBank’s Alibaba stake in 2020 to shore up liquidity, and orchestrated the complex financings and later partial sale of SoftBank’s stake in Sprint and T-Mobile. Under his guidance, SoftBank executed one of Japan’s largest bond programs and multiple asset divestitures (like Arm Ltd., which is now IPO-bound) to reduce debt. Though SoftBank’s Vision Fund saw volatile results, Goto implemented stricter financial discipline post-WeWork’s debacle, slowing new investments and cutting costs, which helped return SoftBank Group to profit. He’s also improved transparency, providing clearer segment reporting and Vision Fund valuations that reassure stakeholders. Yoshimitsu Goto’s deep knowledge of SoftBank’s sprawling portfolio and his risk management acumen have been crucial for balancing Masayoshi Son’s aggressive investment style with the need for financial stability.

 

17. Wendell Huang – CFO of TSMC (Taiwan)

Wendell Jen-Chau Huang is the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker. He joined TSMC in 1999 and became Deputy CFO in 2019, then CFO in 2020. With an MBA from Cornell and a finance background in banking, Huang has led several significant corporate finance projects at TSMC, including major acquisitions and bond issues. He oversaw TSMC’s purchases of smaller competitors (like the 2010s mergers with semiconductor fabs TASMC and WSMC) and managed the sale of Philips’ stake in TSMC years ago, which broadened TSMC’s investor base. Wendell Huang also guided TSMC’s issuance of several multi-billion-dollar bonds from 2010 to 2021, locking in low-interest financing for its aggressive capacity expansion. As CFO, he ensures that TSMC’s colossal capital expenditures (expected to exceed $30 billion annually in advanced chip fabs) are funded through a healthy mix of operating cash flow, debt, and government incentives, all while maintaining a strong AAA-equivalent balance sheet. Huang closely monitors economic and industry cycles – his prudent financial planning was evident when TSMC navigated the 2023 semiconductor downturn by adjusting capex without jeopardizing future technology roadmaps. He also emphasizes currency hedging (given TSMC’s revenue in US dollars vs. costs in NT dollars).

 

18. Nilanjan Roy – Former CFO of Infosys (India)

Nilanjan Roy is the Chief Financial Officer of Infosys, India’s second-largest IT services company. A chartered accountant by training, Roy spent over 13 years at Bharti Airtel before joining Infosys as CFO in 2018. He has since been instrumental in driving Infosys’s global financial performance and expansion. Roy’s financial stewardship has seen Infosys improve its operating margins and cash generation even as it aggressively expands digital service offerings. He instituted rigorous cost controls (like automation in operations) that boosted profitability. Under Roy’s watch, Infosys’s revenue has grown steadily, and the company adopted a more generous dividend/share buyback policy, returning cash to shareholders while still investing in acquisitions and talent. Importantly, Roy oversaw the strengthening of Infosys’s internal financial controls and disclosures, rebuilding investor trust after a turbulent period before his joining. He also championed ESG reporting and sustainability-linked finance at Infosys. Known for his transparency, Nilanjan interacts actively with global investors – his clear articulation of Infosys’s strategy has been credited with helping the company’s market cap more than double during his tenure.

 

19. Yoichi Miyazaki – CFO of Toyota Motor Corporation (Japan)

Yoichi Miyazaki is the Chief Financial Officer and an Executive Vice President at Toyota Motor Corporation, the world’s largest automaker. A veteran at Toyota, Miyazaki has a background in competitive strategy and finance, and took on the CFO role in 2021 as part of a leadership shuffle when Akio Toyoda elevated a new generation of top executives. Miyazaki oversees Toyota’s finances during a transformative era as the company moves toward electric vehicles and connected car technologies. He is known for his balanced approach to financial management – overseeing record R&D spending on future mobility while sustaining Toyota’s famed fiscal prudence. Under Miyazaki, Toyota has kept a fortress-like balance sheet with over $50 billion in cash reserves, which helped the company navigate supply chain disruptions and the semiconductor shortage without severe impact. He has also implemented cost reduction programs (like “Kaizen”, continuous improvement on cost control) across Toyota’s global manufacturing, contributing to resilient profit margins. When Toyota decided to accelerate EV development in 2023, Miyazaki crafted a finance plan that increased investments by billions of dollars, yet pledged to maintain return on equity above 10%, impressing investors. He’s similarly guided Toyota’s strategic investments in startups (like autonomous driving firm Aurora) and alliances (with Subaru and others for EVs) with careful financial oversight. Miyazaki frequently represents Toyota in earnings calls, where his straightforward, data-driven presentations have been praised, for instance, addressing investor questions on FX impacts and shareholder returns.

 

20. Ziad T. Al-Murshed – CFO of Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia)

Ziad Thamer Al-Murshed is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest integrated oil & gas company. He has over 27 years of experience in the energy industry and became Aramco’s CFO in May 2022. Al-Murshed holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Arizona State University and an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School, combining technical and financial expertise. As CFO of Aramco, he is responsible for one of the highest-profit companies on the planet, and he has skillfully managed Aramco’s finances through volatile oil markets and a record-breaking IPO. Ziad Al-Murshed played a key role in Aramco’s historic 2019 IPO on the Tadawul stock exchange – the largest IPO ever – coordinating the company’s financial disclosures and dividend policy that helped attract investor confidence. He has maintained Aramco’s commitment to large shareholder payouts (Aramco pays $75 billion in dividends annually) while also funding massive capital projects (Aramco’s upstream and downstream expansions). For instance, Al-Murshed oversaw the financing of Aramco’s $69 billion acquisition of SABIC in 2020, structuring it in a way that leveraged Aramco’s strong balance sheet without jeopardizing its credit ratings. During the 2020 oil price crash, he swiftly implemented cost cuts and issued international bonds to bolster liquidity, enabling Aramco to weather the downturn with minimal impact. As oil prices rebounded, Aramco under his watch delivered some of the biggest quarterly profits in history, and Al-Murshed has emphasized investing those proceeds into future-proofing the company, such as carbon capture, hydrogen fuel, and downstream diversification.

 

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21. Z. Julie Gao – CFO of ByteDance (China)

Z. Julie Gao is the Chief Financial Officer of ByteDance, the Chinese tech giant best known globally for the social media sensation TikTok. Before joining ByteDance, Gao was a high-profile capital markets attorney – as head of Asia TMT at Skadden, she advised on many Chinese tech IPOs. In 2022, ByteDance appointed Julie Gao as its new CFO, signaling preparations for future listings. Gao brought 20+ years of deal-making experience to one of the world’s largest private companies. She has since been overseeing ByteDance’s monster finances – reportedly $58 billion in 2021 revenue – and positioning the company for sustained growth. Gao’s impact was felt immediately: she reorganized ByteDance’s financial reporting to be on par with public-company standards, increasing transparency internally and to investors. She has been instrumental in advising on acquisitions and integrations, drawing on her background; notably, she advised ByteDance earlier on acquiring Musical.ly (which became TikTok) and gaming studio Moonton, and now, as CFO, ensures these deals yield value. Gao also liaises with global investors and has crafted financial strategies to navigate China’s regulatory tightening on tech firms – for instance, optimizing ByteDance’s corporate structure and cash flow between its China and international businesses. While ByteDance has no immediate IPO plans, Julie Gao is believed to be preparing the company for an eventual public listing, likely in Hong Kong, by instilling rigorous financial discipline and compliance. Balancing immense growth (with TikTok’s surging ad revenues) and scrutiny from regulators, she has one of the most challenging CFO jobs in tech.

 

22. Jugeshinder (“Robbie”) Singh – CFO of Adani Group (India)

Jugeshinder Singh, commonly known as Robbie Singh, is the Group Chief Financial Officer of Adani Group, the Indian multinational conglomerate with interests in ports, power, mining, and more. Born in Punjab and educated in Australia, Singh is a qualified chartered accountant who worked in investment banking (with UBS) before joining Adani in 2012. He has since become the financial architect behind Adani Group’s dramatic expansion in the last decade. Robbie Singh has structured the financing for Adani’s aggressive growth, helping transform it into one of Asia’s largest infrastructure conglomerates. He masterminded multi-billion-dollar debt raisings to fund projects like Adani’s acquisition of ABB’s power grid business and the construction of India’s largest solar farm. Singh isn’t afraid of leverage – under his tenure, Adani Group’s debt grew significantly, but he consistently assured that cash flows from mature assets (like Adani’s ports and transmission lines) support new investments. In 2020–21, he orchestrated Adani’s push into airports and data centers, again using bold financing strategies. However, Singh also faced perhaps his biggest test in early 2023 when a short-seller report alleged high debt and governance issues at Adani. He took charge of the rebuttal, organizing marathon calls with bondholders and releasing credit reports to refute claims. Singh managed to calm markets by prepaying some loans and improving debt transparency. His quick actions (e.g., securing $1.9 investment from GQG Partners in Adani stocks) helped restore some confidence.

 

23. Alain Lam – CFO of Xiaomi Corporation (China)

Alain Lam is the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Xiaomi Corporation, the Beijing-based consumer electronics and smartphone giant. Educated at Cambridge University in the UK, Lam spent over 20 years in investment banking – most notably as Managing Director and Head of Technology for Credit Suisse in Asia – before joining Xiaomi in 2020 as CFO. He was recruited by Xiaomi’s founder, Lei Jun, to help elevate the company’s financial operations and global investor profile. Alain Lam has strengthened Xiaomi’s financial management and investor relations during a period of rapid global expansion. He brought a dealmaker’s savvy: within months on the job, he led Xiaomi’s $4 billion combined equity and debt fundraising in late 2020, capitalizing on bullish markets to fortify Xiaomi’s balance sheet. This war-chest enabled Xiaomi to invest aggressively in 5G, IoT (Internet of Things), and electric vehicles (Xiaomi announced an EV venture in 2021 with $10B planned investment). Lam has also focused on improving Xiaomi’s gross margins by better cost control in the supply chain and expanding higher-margin IoT lifestyle products. He increased transparency by revamping Xiaomi’s financial reporting segments and regularly engaging with analysts, helping Xiaomi gain inclusion in the Hang Seng Index. Under Lam’s watch, Xiaomi navigated global chip shortages and India regulatory hiccups without serious financial strain, thanks to prudent inventory and cash management. He also spearheaded strategic investments (like in Indian fintech and Chinese AI startups) that may unlock future synergies.

 

24. Tianyu “Tony” Hou – CFO of Sea Ltd. (Singapore)

Tianyu “Tony” Hou is the Chief Financial Officer of Sea Limited, the Singapore-headquartered internet company that owns Garena (digital entertainment), Shopee (e-commerce), and SeaMoney (digital payments). A graduate of Fudan University, Tony Hou joined Sea in 2010 and has served as Financial Controller and then CFO since January 2013. He is a key member of the Sea founding team alongside CEO Forrest Li. As CFO, Tony Hou has played a vital role in Sea’s rise from a startup to Southeast Asia’s most valuable public company, valued at over $30 billion. He guided Sea through its NYSE IPO in 2017, raising over $1 billion in what was the first US listing of a Southeast Asian tech startup. Subsequently, Hou managed multiple follow-on equity offerings (notably in 2020 and 2021) during Sea’s high-growth phase, altogether raising several billion dollars to fuel Shopee’s regional expansion. He has balanced aggressive growth with funding needs expertly, even as Sea’s e-commerce arm burned cash entering new markets like Brazil, Hou ensured cash buffers remained ample. In 2022, amidst rising rates and tech sell-off, Tony Hou pivoted Sea’s strategy towards efficiency: he implemented cost cuts and moved Shopee and SeaMoney toward profitability by curbing promotions and exiting non-core markets. These measures, together with Hou’s investor communications emphasizing a “self-sufficiency” plan, helped Sea’s share price recover from lows. Internally, Tony built a solid finance team and strong controls across Sea’s operations in many countries. His prudent cash management (Sea still had around $7 billion in cash by 2023) gives the company runway to innovate in gaming and fintech without needing immediate external funding.

 

25. Samir Seksaria – CFO of Tata Consultancy Services (India)

Samir Seksaria is the Chief Financial Officer of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest IT services and consulting company. A chartered accountant by training, he joined TCS in 1999 and climbed through the ranks over two decades, heading Business Finance before becoming CFO in May 2021. Samir has been part of the leadership that scaled TCS’s revenue to $29 billion with industry-leading profitability. As CFO, he heads all finance operations, planning, and reporting for TCS. A razor-sharp focus on efficiency and agility has marked Samir Seksaria’s tenure. He has championed automation in TCS’s internal processes, reducing the cost of delivery and supporting the company’s steady ~25% operating margins. During the pandemic, Seksaria ensured robust cash flows and even improved debtor days, contributing to TCS’s net cash position. He was instrumental in executing TCS’s share buyback programs (a $2 billion buyback in 2022), which returned capital to shareholders without denting strategic flexibility. Samir also plays a key role in evaluating TCS’s acquisition opportunities and new investments (such as in products and platforms) to ensure they meet TCS’s return criteria. Additionally, he has advanced the sustainability agenda in finance – under his watch, TCS issues integrated annual reports combining financial and ESG metrics, aligning with Tata Group’s ethos.

 

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26. Winston Cheng – CFO of Lenovo Group (Hong Kong/China)

Winston Cheng is the Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Lenovo Group Limited, the world’s largest PC maker. He took on the Group CFO role in 2023, becoming only the third person in Lenovo’s 40-year history to hold that position after long-serving CFO Wai Ming Wong retired. Winston Cheng has a diverse background: he’s a UC Berkeley alum and was an investment banker at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, later leading international investments for JD.com in China, and serving as President of International at LeEco. At Lenovo, Cheng oversees a complex global financial operation spanning PCs, smartphones (Motorola), infrastructure solutions, and services. He has been tasked with driving Lenovo’s continued growth and transformation while maintaining financial discipline. Early in his tenure, Cheng focused on improving Lenovo’s operating cash flow and inventory management amid a post-pandemic PC slowdown, ensuring the company remained cash-positive and agile. He is also prioritizing higher-margin businesses – under Cheng’s financial guidance, Lenovo has ramped up investments in its Solutions & Services Group, which he tracks with separate performance metrics to highlight its double-digit growth and profitability. With his M&A expertise, Winston is likely to play a key part in evaluating strategic acquisitions for Lenovo (for example, in enterprise IT or components) and structuring those deals favorably. He also emphasizes transparency with investors; he’s enhancing Lenovo’s investor relations by more clearly communicating the company’s diversification beyond PCs.

 

27. Ramesh Swaminathan – Global CFO of Lupin Limited (India)

Ramesh Swaminathan is the Executive Director and Global Chief Financial Officer of Lupin Limited, a multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Mumbai. With over 30 years of corporate experience, Ramesh joined Lupin as CFO in 2015 after notable stints at Tata Motors and Vedanta Resources. He is a chartered accountant, cost accountant, and company secretary by qualification and has also completed senior management programs at INSEAD (France) and is a British Chevening Scholar. At Lupin, Ramesh wears multiple hats, also heading the Information Technology and the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) business. He has been recognized with several Best CFO awards for his work in aligning business strategy with financial performance. Swaminathan’s impact on Lupin is significant: he strengthened Lupin’s balance sheet by judiciously managing debt even as the company made strategic acquisitions in the US and Japan. He oversaw the financing of Lupin’s $880 million Gavis acquisition in 2015, yet managed to deleverage quickly through internal accruals and by divesting non-core assets, bringing Lupin’s debt-equity ratio back to comfortable levels. Under his financial leadership, Lupin improved its working capital efficiency substantially – he implemented tight controls on receivables and inventory across Lupin’s 70+ markets. Concurrently, Ramesh championed an ambitious cost optimization program (Project Nikhaar) that yielded hundreds of crores in savings by reengineering processes and sourcing. In recent years, Lupin faced challenges like FDA import alerts and price erosion in generic drugs; Ramesh played a critical role in steering the company through these by reallocating resources to complex generics and novel drugs R&D, while buffering the impact on the bottom line with expense discipline.

 

28. Shou (Sabrina) Donghua – CFO of Sinopec Corp. (China)

Shou Donghua is the Chief Financial Officer of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec Corp.), China’s largest oil refiner and petrochemical producer. She stepped into the role in 2020, becoming one of the few women to serve as CFO in China’s state-owned oil industry. A “professor-level senior accountant” with an MBA, Shou previously led the finance department at Sinopec and brings over 30 years of accounting and financial management experience. As CFO, Shou Donghua is responsible for maintaining the financial stability of the sprawling Sinopec Group while it navigates the ups and downs of global oil markets and transitions to cleaner energy. She has kept Sinopec’s finances on a steady course through significant volatility: during the 2020 oil price crash and pandemic, Sinopec still posted a profit largely due to strict cost control and inventory management that Shou oversaw. She implemented conservative capital spending and cut operating expenses in refineries to preserve cash. When oil demand recovered in 2021–2022, Sinopec achieved record revenues; Shou managed the windfall prudently by paying down debt and funding Sinopec’s refinery upgrades and petrochemical projects without over-leveraging. She also leads Sinopec’s adoption of green finance – under her guidance, Sinopec issued its first sustainability bonds to fund projects like hydrogen fuel stations and biofuels, aligning with China’s carbon peaking goals. Shou has improved Sinopec’s financial transparency, expanding English disclosures and investor communications, which helped Sinopec remain in the Hang Seng Index and MSCI EM indices. Her risk-averse yet forward-looking approach ensures Sinopec has the financial strength to invest in new energies (such as large-scale solar-to-hydrogen plants) while still reliably paying dividends.

 

29. Zhou Ya-Lin – CFO of BYD Company (China)

Zhou Ya-Lin is the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of BYD Company Limited, China’s leading electric vehicle (EV) and battery manufacturer. She has been part of BYD since 2010 and became CFO in 2019. A graduate of Jiangxi University of Finance & Economics and a certified public accountant, Zhou Ya-Lin also serves as CFO of BYD’s listed electronics subsidiary. As CFO, she oversees the finances of BYD’s fast-growing EV empire, which has risen to challenge Tesla in EV sales. Zhou has ensured BYD’s aggressive expansion is backed by solid financial management. She’s credited with securing ample funding for BYD’s capacity ramp-up, including negotiating government subsidies and credit lines from Chinese banks that enabled BYD to build new giga-factories for batteries and EVs rapidly. Under her financial leadership, BYD achieved consistent profitability in its auto segment, something rare among EV startups, by smart cost control and vertical integration (making batteries, chips, etc., in-house to save costs). Zhou Ya-Lin played a significant role in BYD’s decision to repeatedly reinvest earnings into R&D (over 5% of revenue) without compromising the balance sheet. She also guided BYD’s Hong Kong secondary listing in 2021, broadening its investor base. When BYD’s EV sales tripled in 2022 (surpassing 1.8 million units), Zhou adeptly managed working capital, ensuring supply chain financing so that BYD could handle the surge without cash strain. Additionally, she oversaw BYD Electronics’ acquisition of Jabil’s mobility parts business for $2.2B in 2023, structuring it in a financially sound manner.

 

30. Rebecca Sharpe – CFO of Cathay Pacific Airways (Hong Kong)

Rebecca Sharpe is the Group Chief Financial Officer of Cathay Pacific Airways, Hong Kong’s flagship airline. Appointed in January 2021, she became Cathay’s CFO at arguably the toughest period in its history – the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic – and is the first woman to hold the role. An alumna of Cambridge University and Stanford GSB, Sharpe previously held senior finance roles within the Swire Pacific group (Cathay’s largest shareholder). As CFO, she helped lead Cathay through a financial survival and recovery journey. Sharpe moved swiftly to stabilize Cathay’s finances: she was integral to the 2020 HK$39 billion recapitalization (via a government-led bailout and rights issue) that saved the airline. She implemented painful but necessary cash preservation measures – cutting expenditures, deferring new aircraft deliveries, and renegotiating contracts – which reduced the airline’s cash burn from HK$2.5B to <HK$0.5B per month by late 2021. Rebecca Sharpe also oversaw the drawdown of Cathay’s extensive fuel hedging contracts, limiting further losses from prior hedges as fuel demand plunged. As travel gradually resumed, she turned her focus to reshaping Cathay’s cost base permanently: simplifying the fleet, streamlining operations through digitalization, and relocating functions to low-cost hubs, thereby improving Cathay’s unit costs. Under Sharpe’s prudent financial management, Cathay Pacific returned to profitability in the first half of 2023 and has since been rebuilding its balance sheet (e.g., redeeming preference shares issued during the bailout). She’s now orchestrating the financing for Cathay’s fleet modernization – including new fuel-efficient Airbus A321neo and A350s – aligning financing tenors with expected cash flows as passenger demand rebounds.

 

31. Simon Ho – CFO of GoTo Group (Indonesia)

Simon Ho is the Chief Financial Officer of GoTo Group, Indonesia’s largest tech ecosystem formed by the 2021 merger of ride-hailing giant Gojek and e-commerce leader Tokopedia. A seasoned financial executive, Simon Ho has over 25 years’ experience across finance roles in Asia. He previously served as CFO at FinVolution Group (a NYSE-listed fintech in China) and at Maya (a leading digital bank in the Philippines). GoTo appointed him as CFO in mid-2024 to strengthen its leadership as the company accelerates its path to profitability. Simon Ho is a seasoned financial strategist tasked with driving sustainable growth and shareholder value for GoTo. Upon joining, he immediately took charge of GoTo’s cost optimization initiatives: under his guidance, GoTo further rationalized promotions and improved driver-partner commission models, contributing to a significant narrowing of operating losses. He also helped execute difficult but critical decisions (like selective layoffs and divestment of non-core overseas investments) to streamline operations. With his corporate strategy background, Ho plays a key role in integrating the finance functions of Gojek and Tokopedia – he has worked on unifying their payment systems and incentive structures, which is already yielding better cross-platform monetization. Simon Ho is also bolstering GoTo’s investor relations; he brings credibility thanks to his prior NYSE-CFO experience, and communicates clear milestones (e.g., targeted timeline for Group adjusted EBITDA breakeven by end-2024) that have been well-received by analysts. On the capital raising front, he proactively secured a $150 million loan facility from IFC and arranged a convertible bond issue in late 2024, extending GoTo’s cash runway while the company edges toward profitability.

 

32. Fu Xin – CFO of Ping An Insurance Group (China)

Fu Xin is the Chief Financial Officer of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, the country’s largest insurer and one of the world’s biggest financial services companies. She was appointed CFO in March 2025, succeeding longtime CFO Jason Yao. Ms. Fu has a doctorate in economics and has spent her career within Ping An’s finance and risk management units, including serving as financial controller of Ping An Bank. As CFO, Fu Xin oversees the finances of a vast conglomerate with over $200 billion in annual revenues spanning insurance, banking, asset management, and healthcare technology. She is focused on maintaining Ping An’s financial strength and guiding its transition into a more technology-driven integrated finance model. Early into her tenure, Fu Xin announced plans to streamline capital allocation across Ping An’s diverse subsidiaries, ensuring the core insurance business remains well-capitalized (Ping An Life’s solvency margin is robust) while moderating the growth investments in fintech and healthtech to balance profitability. She also initiated an expense optimization program within the insurance operations, leveraging AI to reduce underwriting and claims processing costs. Known for her risk acumen, Fu Xin is enhancing Ping An’s asset-liability management; under her, Ping An has slightly reduced allocations to equities and intensified its focus on longer-duration bonds to match better its insurance liabilities, a prudent move as interest rates and markets fluctuate. Given increased regulatory oversight on insurers, she has prioritized transparency, expanding disclosure on embedded value and margin analyses for Ping An’s life insurance, which has reassured investors. Fu Xin also supports Ping An’s pioneering fintech endeavours (like OneConnect and Ping An Good Doctor) by implementing financial discipline and clear ROI targets for these units that were previously in heavy investment mode. Though new in the top job, Fu Xin’s deep internal experience and methodical approach signal continuity.

 

33. Soumen Ray – CFO of Bharti Airtel (India)

Soumen Ray is the Chief Financial Officer of Bharti Airtel Limited, India’s second-largest telecom operator with operations in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa. He took over as Airtel’s CFO in December 2021, bringing with him rich experience from previous CFO roles at Bajaj Auto and Hindustan Zinc. A chartered accountant by profession, Soumen is regarded as a seasoned finance leader adept at multi-industry financial management. At Airtel, Soumen Ray has been steering the company’s finances during a crucial phase of 5G rollout and industry repair after a brutal price war. He has focused on strengthening Airtel’s balance sheet – under his guidance, Airtel raised billions through rights issues (including a ₹21,000 Cr rights issue in 2021) and prepaid some high-cost spectrum dues, actions that significantly reduced leverage and interest costs. Soumen also drove Airtel’s War on Waste program, which identified and eliminated over ₹5,000 Cr in annual expenditures by centralizing procurement and leveraging digital tools for opex efficiency. He’s heavily involved in Airtel’s Asset Monetization initiatives: he oversaw Airtel’s strategic stake sales in its tower arm (Indus Towers) and the sale of a minority stake in Airtel Money Africa, unlocking value to invest in core networks. Soumen Ray’s prudent hedging strategies have shielded Airtel from currency volatilities in African operations, contributing to consistent EBITDA growth there. Notably, he played a key role in improving Airtel’s credit ratings outlook by Moody’s and Fitch, through transparent financial communication and delivering on deleveraging promises – a testament to which is Airtel’s stock nearly doubling since he became CFO, reflecting investor confidence. In Airtel’s 5G capex planning, Soumen ensured an optimal mix of vendor financing and internal accruals, helping Airtel launch 5G in 2022 without straining finances. He is also overseeing Airtel’s foray into data centers and fiber assets, structuring those businesses to bring in infrastructure investors at high valuations, potentially.

 

34. Srinivasan Vaidyanathan – CFO of HDFC Bank (India)

Srinivasan Vaidyanathan is the Chief Financial Officer of HDFC Bank, India’s largest private sector bank by assets and market capitalization. He assumed the CFO role in August 2019 after serving as Head of Finance. A chartered accountant and MBA, Srinivasan has been with HDFC Bank since 2001 and has deep institutional knowledge. As CFO, he helped guide HDFC Bank through a period of rapid growth and change, including a major corporate merger, all while delivering record profits and maintaining stellar asset quality. Under his financial leadership, HDFC Bank consistently reported quarterly earnings above market expectations, even during the pandemic. Srinivasan ensured strong provisioning buffers, which kept the bank’s NPAs among the lowest in the industry. He also carefully managed the bank’s net interest margin (NIM) by balancing loan growth with deposit cost control, sustaining a healthy ~4% NIM. Srinivasan played a key role in the monumental merger of parent mortgage lender HDFC Ltd. into the bank in 2023 – he spearheaded the financial due diligence and integration strategy for melding a ₹6 trillion loan book. He articulated synergy benefits and one-time costs clearly to investors, aiding in the smooth market acceptance of the merger. Post-merger, HDFC Bank became the world’s fourth most valuable bank, and Srinivasan’s challenge was to maintain capital ratios; he planned a phased approach to raising capital (via AT1 and Tier II bonds) to support future growth, which rating agencies lauded. Notably, Srinivasan was honored with the ‘CFO of the Year’ award in 2024 by Financial Express for effectively using technology to enhance financial controls and for community initiatives like simplifying banking for rural customers (aligning with the bank’s inclusion goals).

 

35. Michael Doersam – CFO & Group Services Officer of Emirates Group (UAE)

Michael Doersam is the Chief Financial Officer and Group Services Officer of the Emirates Group, which includes Emirates Airline and dnata (a global aviation services company). A German national with an MBA, Doersam joined Emirates in 2004 and became Group CFO in 2016. In 2024, he was promoted to oversee Group Services (procurement, IT, etc.). Michael Doersam has been crucial in steering Emirates’ finances through the aviation industry’s most turbulent times, especially the COVID-19 crisis. Pre-pandemic, he maintained Emirates’ enviable streak of profitability by instilling cost discipline, efficient fleet financing (securing low lease rates for A380s and B777s via tax leases and export credit), and opportunistic fuel hedging. When the pandemic hit and Emirates grounded its fleet, Doersam moved swiftly: he managed to raise $3 billion in emergency funding (including a capital injection from the Dubai government) and arranged new credit facilities to keep liquidity flowing. He oversaw drastic cost cuts, like renegotiating aircraft rent and deferring loan repayments, which reduced the cash burn significantly. Doersam also leveraged dnata’s more stable ground handling income to support overall group cash flows. As flying demand returned, Michael optimized the timing of bringing aircraft back into service and gradually unwound fuel hedge positions to avoid large losses. He also implemented a Group-wide procurement efficiency program, centralizing purchases of everything from catering supplies to IT systems, saving hundreds of millions annually. Now, with Emirates back to profitability, Doersam is orchestrating massive investments: he lined up funding for Emirates’ $15 billion aircraft orderbook (for new Airbus A350s and Boeing 777X jets), using a blend of operating leases, JOLCOs, and Sukuk bonds to diversify funding at competitive costs.

 

36. Chen Shaohui – CFO of Meituan (China)

Chen Shaohui is the Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Meituan, China’s leading on-demand services super-app that offers food delivery, hotel booking, ride-hailing, and more. A veteran corporate finance executive, Chen joined Meituan in 2014 from Tencent’s investment arm and was appointed CFO in 2018 ahead of Meituan’s Hong Kong IPO. He is known for his astute financial strategy that helped Meituan grow rapidly while reaching profitability in core segments. Chen Shaohui was instrumental in Meituan’s $4.2 billion IPO in 2018, pricing it strongly amid a tech boom. As CFO, he’s focused on balancing growth with margin improvement. He oversaw Meituan’s scale-up of food delivery, guiding the company through years of losses by convincing investors of lifetime value, until achieving a breakthrough: Meituan’s food delivery turned profitable in 2019. Chen’s team implemented data-driven cost controls, like optimizing delivery rider routing and dynamically managing user incentives, which boosted unit economics in delivery. When Meituan expanded into new initiatives (ride-hailing, grocery retail through Meituan Select), Chen carefully monitored their cash burn and didn’t hesitate to pull back when returns were inadequate, exemplified by Meituan winding down its ride-hailing driver subsidies in 2021 to reduce losses. Under regulatory pressures in 2021 (antitrust fines and new labor laws for gig workers), Chen prudently set aside provisions and adjusted financial plans to comply, reassuring investors that Meituan could absorb these changes. He also spearheaded Meituan’s $10 billion bond issuance in 2021 at low interest rates to bolster its capital base for new ventures, a move that strengthened the balance sheet to weather any storms. A key part of Chen’s role is investor communication; he’s respected for his clear explanations of Meituan’s ecosystem strategy and monetization paths for services like bike-sharing and ticketing. He has highlighted how Meituan’s cross-selling lowers customer acquisition cost, thereby improving overall ROI, insights that helped the market appreciate Meituan’s long-term margin potential.

 

37. Shiv Walia – CFO of HCLTech (India)

Shiv Raman Walia is the Chief Financial Officer of HCLTech (formerly HCL Technologies), India’s third-largest IT services company. A chartered accountant, Shiv has been with HCL since 1993, rising through various finance leadership roles across geographies. In September 2024, he was appointed CFO, succeeding Prateek Aggarwal. With three decades of experience at HCL, Shiv has seen the company grow from a $100 million firm to a $12 billion global player, and he brings an intimate understanding of HCL’s business. As CFO, he is tasked with sustaining HCL’s profitable growth while navigating currency volatility and evolving client demands. Shiv hit the ground running by implementing margin improvement initiatives amid a challenging macro environment – he identified efficiencies in subcontractor usage and offshore-onshore mix that helped HCL maintain healthy EBIT margins around 18%. He also led a company-wide campaign to optimize working capital: under his watch, HCL’s DSO (days sales outstanding) improved by a week within two quarters, freeing up hundreds of millions in cash. Notably, Shiv steered HCL’s capital allocation shift toward higher shareholder returns; HCL increased its dividend payout ratio, and Shiv evaluated and executed a ₹4,000 Cr buyback in 2022 as the company had surplus cash. On the strategic front, Shiv is closely involved in HCL’s Mode 2 and Mode 3 (digital and products) transformation – he ensures that investments in software products and cloud platforms are measured against clear ROI metrics, preventing cash burn that some peers suffered in product bets. He’s also championing the use of automation and AI within HCL’s internal finance processes (the company’s EFaaS – Enterprise Finance as a Service initiative), which is cutting HCL’s own SG&A costs and serves as a reference for clients. Colleagues describe Shiv as a steady pair of hands, very data-driven and detail-oriented, with a deep sense of HCL’s culture.

38. Chng Sok Hui – CFO of DBS Bank (Singapore)

Chng Sok Hui is the Chief Financial Officer of DBS Bank, the largest bank in Southeast Asia. She has held the position since 2008, after previously serving as Managing Director for Risk Management at DBS. A graduate of the National University of Singapore and a Chartered Financial Analyst, Mrs. Chng is a highly respected figure in banking, known for her steady financial stewardship and forward-looking risk management. Over her 15+ years as CFO, DBS has transformed from a local bank into a leading Asian banking powerhouse with consistently strong financial metrics. Sok Hui has been pivotal in maintaining DBS’s healthy capital ratios and conservative provisioning, which paid off when DBS navigated the Global Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic with resilience. Under her, DBS was one of the first Asian banks to adopt the IFRS9 expected credit loss framework, and she ensured robust buffers that kept DBS’s credit costs low relative to peers, even during economic stress. Her deep expertise in risk has complemented her CFO role; for example, she helped integrate risk appetite into strategic planning, so DBS grew its loan book prudently (with balanced exposures across industries and geographies). Mrs. Chng also drove DBS’s digital finance transformation: internally, she championed automation in finance ops (DBS’s “Finance on the Cloud” project), cutting report times by 40%. Externally, she has been an advocate for sustainability – DBS was an early adopter of green finance in Asia. Under Sok Hui’s watch, DBS issued its inaugural green bonds and ramped up sustainable financing, aligning with global ESG standards. She is well-regarded on the street for her transparency; analysts praise the clarity of DBS’s financial disclosures, which she enhanced (such as detailed segmental reporting and quarterly NIM guidance). During her tenure, DBS’s market capitalization grew more than fourfold, and it consistently ranks among the world’s safest banks. Beyond DBS, Chng Sok Hui contributes to the broader finance community – she sat on the Singapore Exchange’s board from 2015 to 2021, lending her expertise in financial reporting and governance.

 

39. Charles Loo Cheau Leong – CFO of Wilmar International (Singapore)

Charles Loo Cheau Leong is the Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Chief Operating Officer of Wilmar International, Asia’s leading agribusiness and food processing group. He became CFO in June 2020, having joined Wilmar in 2010 as a Senior Finance Manager and risen through the ranks. Charles is a Chartered Accountant (ACCA) and at 46 years old is among the younger CFOs of a Straits Times Index company. He has helped guide Wilmar’s financial resilience and expansion in a volatile commodities sector. Since taking over as CFO, Charles Loo has focused on optimizing Wilmar’s capital structure and cost of capital. He took advantage of low interest rates in 2020–2021 to refinance debt, extending maturities and reducing average borrowing costs. This proved prescient as it buffered Wilmar when interest rates spiked in 2022. He also oversaw the successful IPO of Wilmar’s China unit (Yihai Kerry Arawana) on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2020, which raised $2 billion – a move that unlocked value and provided growth capital while diluting risk. With Wilmar’s operations spanning palm oil plantations, oilseed crushing, and consumer foods, Charles implemented rigorous hedging strategies (for example, hedging palm oil prices and forex exposures) to stabilize earnings in the face of commodity price swings. In 2022, when palm oil prices hit record highs, Wilmar navigated export bans and windfall levies in Indonesia; Loo’s team managed working capital astutely by adjusting inventory levels, ensuring Wilmar still met supply commitments without margin collapse. He has also been key in Wilmar’s ongoing cost efficiency program: he identified savings in logistics and procurement by centralizing these functions, leveraging Wilmar’s massive scale. Charles works closely with CEO Kuok Khoon Hong on M&A; recently, Wilmar expanded into new markets like Africa for sugar milling, and Charles structures these deals to be accretive, often via joint ventures to share capital load. Colleagues note his meticulous nature – he insists on daily cash flow monitoring across Wilmar’s 500+ manufacturing plants, which has improved cash cycle times.

 

40. Prapakon Thongtheppairot – CFO of ThaiBev (Thailand)

Prapakon Thongtheppairot is the Group Chief Financial Officer of Thai Beverage (ThaiBev), Southeast Asia’s leading beverage company, best known for Chang beer and a portfolio of spirits and non-alcoholic drinks. He was appointed Group CFO in October 2018, having been with ThaiBev since 2008 in various finance roles, including Deputy CFO for the international business. With an MBA and a background in engineering, Prapakon brings analytical rigor to ThaiBev’s finances. He has spearheaded key financial initiatives that supported ThaiBev’s regional growth while maintaining balance sheet discipline. Early in his tenure, Prapakon managed the financing of ThaiBev’s transformative acquisition of a 53% stake in Vietnam’s Saigon Beer (Sabeco) for $4.8 billion in 2017. He structured the deal with a judicious mix of debt and internal cash, and post-deal, he prioritized rapid deleveraging. Under his guidance, ThaiBev used strong cash flows from Sabeco and its spirits business to pay down nearly half of the acquisition debt within three years, bringing net debt-to-EBITDA back to comfortable levels. Prapakon also improved working capital efficiency across ThaiBev’s breweries and distilleries, implementing better credit controls and inventory management, which freed up cash. As CFO, he championed ThaiBev’s inaugural issuance of Thai Baht sustainability-linked bonds in 2021, tying financing costs to sustainability KPIs like water usage, showcasing ThaiBev’s commitment to ESG principles in finance. During COVID-19, Thailand’s alcohol sales were intermittently banned, hitting revenue. Prapakon responded by aggressively cutting discretionary spending and renegotiating supplier terms to conserve cash, enabling ThaiBev to sustain profits and dividends. He also oversaw the financial integration of multiple acquisitions in Myanmar and Vietnam, standardizing reporting and internal controls in those new markets to align with ThaiBev’s high standards. Prapakon has been preparing ThaiBev’s brewery unit for a potential IPO (initially planned in 2020, postponed due to market conditions), working on carving out the beer business’s financials and improving its margins to fetch a better valuation when listed.

 

41. Clement Pinto – CFO of Godrej Industries (India)

Clement Pinto is the Chief Financial Officer of Godrej Industries Limited, the holding company of the 125-year-old Godrej Group with interests in consumer goods, chemicals, real estate, and agriculture. With a career at Godrej spanning over three decades, Clement was appointed CFO of Godrej Industries (GIL) in 2017. He also serves as the CFO of Godrej’s Chemicals division. As CFO of a conglomerate holding firm, Clement’s role is unique – he manages GIL’s financials (largely driven by the oleochemicals manufacturing business) while also overseeing the group’s capital allocation across its major subsidiaries like Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL), Godrej Properties, and Godrej Agrovet. Clement has spearheaded financial strategies that support the Godrej Group’s growth in diverse sectors while maintaining a strong balance sheet. He implemented a robust centralized treasury at GIL to manage the group’s debt and liquidity efficiently. During his tenure, GIL’s credit rating has remained solid, enabling it to raise funds at attractive rates to fuel expansions (for instance, financing GCPL’s acquisitions in Africa and Godrej Properties’ aggressive project pipeline). Clement oversaw key financial transactions such as the partial stake sale of Godrej Agrovet via IPO in 2017, ensuring minimal dilution of the Godrej family’s control while unlocking capital for growth. Within the chemicals business, which makes fatty acids and surfactants, Clement drove margin improvements by hedging raw material (palm oil) costs and investing in energy-efficient processes, leading to higher profitability and stable cash flows. Those cash flows are often funneled into higher-growth Godrej ventures, as per his capital allocation plans. Clement Pinto is also deeply involved in Godrej’s strategic planning – he provides financial modeling and risk analysis that guide the group’s famously long-term outlook. For example, when Godrej Properties was raising equity to capitalize on India’s real estate boom, Clement’s analyses on the cost of equity vs debt helped the board determine the optimal funding mix. He carries forward the Godrej ethos of trust and prudence in all financial dealings.

 

42. N. Venkataraman – CFO of Britannia Industries (India)

Natarajan Venkataraman (often referred to as N. Venkataraman) is the Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer of Britannia Industries Limited, India’s leading bakery foods company known for its biscuits, dairy products, and snacks. He took over as CFO in 2021, following the retirement of the previous CFO. With over 35 years of experience in finance and a background that spans Eicher Motors and other FMCG firms, Venkataraman has brought veteran insight to Britannia. As CFO, he is credited with strengthening Britannia’s financial discipline and supporting its innovation-driven growth. Under his financial leadership, Britannia expanded its margins despite inflationary pressures in key inputs like palm oil and dairy. Venkataraman executed a multi-pronged strategy: he aggressively hedged commodity costs when global prices were favorable, locked in alternate suppliers for ingredients to create competition, and worked closely with R&D to reformulate products subtly (reducing costly ingredients) without affecting quality, thus protecting gross margins. Simultaneously, he oversaw a comprehensive cost efficiency program – optimizing factory footprints, automating warehouses, and rationalizing distribution logistics – which saved significant operational costs. These efforts helped Britannia achieve record operating profits in 2022-23, even as it held prices strategically in a competitive market. Venkataraman also focused on improving Britannia’s working capital cycle: he tightened credit in wholesale channels and renegotiated payment terms with modern trade and e-commerce partners, reducing receivable days. Inventory was optimized through better demand forecasting using AI tools that he championed funding for. As a result, Britannia’s cash flows strengthened, enabling higher dividends and a special dividend payout in 2022, much to shareholders’ delight. Venkataraman is deeply involved in Britannia’s expansion plans – whether it’s acquisitions (like the India rights to Croissants from a Greek firm) or new category launches (wafer biscuits, cakes), he ensures robust financial appraisal and post-merger integration oversight.

 

43. Nakul Sehgal – Co-CFO of True Corporation (Thailand)

Nakul Sehgal is the Co-Chief Financial Officer of True Corporation, Thailand’s leading telecommunications company formed from the 2023 merger of True and DTAC. Nakul, an Indian Chartered Accountant, was previously the CFO of Bharti Airtel’s Consumer Business in India and later the CFO of Ooredoo Myanmar. In 2021, he joined DTAC (part of Norway’s Telenor Group) as CFO and played a key role in orchestrating the merger with True, a CP Group company. Post-merger, Nakul Sehgal and True’s existing CFO, Ms. Yupa Leewongcharoen, were appointed as Co-CFOs, sharing duties in Thailand’s new telecom giant (serving ~55 million subscribers). Nakul’s international experience and fresh perspective have been vital in the complex integration and cost transformation at New True Corp. Since the merger, he has been leading synergy realization efforts, aiming for over $300 million in annual cost savings. Nakul drove a comprehensive network integration plan that optimizes base station sites and spectrum usage between DTAC and True, which is expected to significantly cut network opex and capex over the next 2-3 years. He also spearheaded the renegotiation of tower lease agreements and IT licensing deals, leveraging the merged company’s scale, achieving more favorable terms. On the revenue side, Nakul oversees the harmonization of product pricing and the elimination of duplicate offerings to reduce confusion and improve margins. His financial diligence is evident in the combined company’s capital management: he set a target leverage ratio and has been evaluating asset sales (such as non-core real estate and data centers) to reduce debt. Despite integration costs, he managed to maintain the new company’s EBITDA margin by holding off discretionary expenditures and fast-tracking synergy gains. Nakul is also deeply involved in stakeholder communications – he was instrumental in aligning the differing financial cultures of CP Group and Telenor to reassure credit rating agencies about the merged entity’s governance and financial policy, maintaining an investment-grade outlook. Externally, he’s been active in investor roadshows explaining the merger’s long-term financial benefits, which helped stabilize True’s stock amid some market skepticism.

 

44. Shahrul Azham Sukaiman – CFO of Petronas Gas Berhad (Malaysia)

Shahrul Azham Sukaiman is the Chief Financial Officer of Petronas Gas Berhad (PGB), a listed subsidiary of Malaysia’s national oil company, Petronas, responsible for gas processing, gas pipelines, and utilities. A fellow of ACCA (UK), Shahrul has been with the Petronas group for over two decades. He was appointed CFO of Petronas Gas in July 2021, after serving in various finance roles, including at Petronas Chemicals. As CFO, he has reinforced PGB’s reputation for financial robustness and steady growth in Malaysia’s energy infrastructure sector. Shahrul’s key achievement has been navigating the regulatory transition of PGB’s gas transportation business. When Malaysia introduced the Third Party Access (TPA) regime for gas pipelines, Shahrul developed strategies to mitigate the resulting tariff reductions, focusing on internal efficiency and negotiating optimal terms with the Energy Commission. His cost optimization efforts included streamlining maintenance scheduling and renegotiating vendor contracts, which helped sustain PGB’s profit margins despite lower regulated returns. Shahrul also oversaw a healthy ramp-up of Petronas Gas’s utilities segment (power and steam supply to industries), carefully pricing contracts to balance competitiveness with margins. During his tenure, PGB undertook a significant gas pipeline expansion in southern Malaysia; Shahrul structured the financing via a mix of Islamic bonds (Sukuk) and internal funds, achieving a low weighted cost of capital thanks to PGB’s AAA rating, which he helped maintain. In 2022, when Petronas Gas embarked on a RM460 million acquisition of an additional stake in Gas Malaysia, Shahrul’s financial evaluation highlighted the accretive nature of increasing exposure to downstream gas distribution, which convinced the board. He has been prudent in managing PGB’s large cash flows, ensuring generous dividends to shareholders (including Petronas and public investors) without compromising funding for growth projects. A strong believer in sustainability, Shahrul introduced ESG-linked considerations in PGB’s capex decisions; under his advice, PGB invested in on-site solar panels at its facilities to reduce electricity costs and carbon footprint, aligning financial and environmental benefits.

 

45. Cha Jin-seok – CFO of SK Hynix (South Korea)

Cha Jin-seok is the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of SK Hynix Inc., the world’s second-largest memory chip maker. He has been with SK Group for over 25 years and became CFO of SK Hynix in 2016. Cha oversees the finance and strategy of SK Hynix, which is a key supplier of DRAM and NAND flash memory to tech giants globally. He has earned a reputation for financial prudence coupled with bold strategic moves, guiding SK Hynix through the volatile semiconductor cycle. Under CFO Cha, SK Hynix executed one of its most ambitious deals: the $9 billion acquisition of Intel’s NAND flash and SSD business in 2020. Cha Jin-seok was crucial in structuring this all-cash deal – he confirmed to markets that SK Hynix had enough financial resources to fund the purchase without over-leveraging, by utilizing a combination of cash on hand (Hynix had built a cash war chest during the 2017-2018 memory boom) and debt while also planning asset securitization and potential partial equity in Japan’s Kioxia. This assured investors and credit agencies, allowing Hynix to maintain solid credit metrics post-acquisition. Throughout the chip down-cycle in 2019 and again in 2022-2023, Cha implemented aggressive cost controls. He cut capital expenditure by over 50% in downturn years (as noted in earnings calls, he famously said “CapEx this year will be considerably reduced”) and optimized inventory, which helped SK Hynix weather periods of oversupply without liquidity issues. During the pandemic-fueled upswing for server and PC demand, Cha pushed to maximize free cash flow capture, using some of it to pare down debt and the rest to prepare for the Intel NAND deal. His risk management acumen is also seen in hedging currency risk (since a strong Korean won can hurt exports) and navigating trade restrictions; for instance, when the US imposed tech bans on Huawei, Cha swiftly shifted SK Hynix’s sales focus and moderated capex, mitigating earnings impact. Colleagues say Cha is deeply analytical: he often reviews cost breakdowns of each semiconductor fabrication plant and R&D project to prioritize spending with the best ROI.

 

46. Kim Chang-tae – CFO of LG Electronics (South Korea)

Kim Chang-tae is the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Risk Officer of LG Electronics (LGE), one of the world’s largest consumer electronics and appliance manufacturers. He assumed the CFO role in 2023, succeeding LG’s veteran finance chief. Kim Chang-tae is a longtime LG insider, having led the company’s corporate planning and served as an executive in LG Corp (the holding company). As CFO of LG Electronics, he oversees the financial management of a $65 billion revenue global business spanning TVs, home appliances, smartphones (until 2021), and auto components. Kim has been focused on improving profitability in LGE’s traditionally low-margin hardware businesses while enabling investments in new growth areas. Early in his tenure, he implemented a rigorous performance-based allocation system. Each LG product division is now evaluated on EVA (Economic Value Added), a framework he introduced to instill a capital efficiency culture. This has led to clearer decisions, such as LG’s 2023 exit from unprofitable solar panel manufacturing, which Kim advocated to cut losses. He also put in place more active hedging strategies against volatile LCD panel prices and foreign exchange fluctuations, which have reduced earnings swings in the TV division. In 2023, under Kim’s watch, LG’s Home Appliance division achieved a record operating profit; Kim had driven cost innovation programs like greater component standardization and global procurement negotiation, saving hundreds of millions in costs. As CRO, Kim Chang-tae monitors enterprise risks, including supply chain disruptions. He has helped LG diversify suppliers and increase the inventory of critical semiconductors, so LG was less impacted by the chip shortages than some competitors. One of Kim’s key areas is the nascent Vehicle Components unit (supplying EV parts and infotainment systems), where he’s carefully managing R&D investments to ensure the division scales up efficiently; notably, he structured a JV with Magna for e-motors to share costs and risk. On the investor relations front, Kim Chang-tae is improving transparency: LG started quarterly earnings calls in English again, and Kim outlines each business’s strategy, which has been well-received by foreign investors who long sought more detail.

 

47. Jo-Ann Tan – CFO of Singapore Airlines (Singapore)

Jo-Ann Tan is the Chief Financial Officer of Singapore Airlines (SIA), consistently ranked among the world’s best airlines. She was appointed CFO in 2021, the first woman to hold the role at SIA, after previously leading Investor Relations and Corporate Planning at the airline. Tan is a home-grown talent with a Bachelor’s from Nanyang Technological University, known for her sharp analytical skills and deep knowledge of SIA’s business dynamics. As CFO, Jo-Ann Tan had an immediate baptism by fire, dealing with the unprecedented aviation downturn caused by COVID-19. She played a pivotal role in SIA’s multi-pronged financial survival plan, which raised S$22.4 billion via a rights issue, mandatory convertible bonds, and government-backed loans in 2020. Jo-Ann orchestrated this complex fundraising (one of the largest in aviation history) within weeks, ensuring SIA had the liquidity to weather grounded fleets and virtually zero passenger revenue. Subsequently, she imposed stringent cost controls: under her leadership, SIA parked or retired over 40 aircraft to cut depreciation and worked out deals to defer new aircraft deliveries, significantly relieving near-term cash outflows. Jo-Ann also renegotiated contracts across the board – from catering to maintenance – achieving substantial discounts due to volume collapses, which lowered SIA’s cash burn. As travel restrictions eased in 2022, Jo-Ann shifted focus to strengthening SIA’s balance sheet for recovery: she helped secure SIA’s first unsecured bond issue since the pandemic at attractive rates, reflecting regained investor confidence, and oversaw the conversion of the earlier bonds to equity, bolstering capital. She has been integral to SIA’s fleet renewal strategy, making the case that investing in fuel-efficient Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s would yield long-term cost benefits; her financial models showed that despite high upfront capex, these jets’ operating cost per seat could be up to 20% lower, helping convince the board to proceed. Jo-Ann Tan is also championing sustainability-linked financing – in 2021, SIA (under her guidance) raised S$850 million via a green loan to finance new Airbus A350s that are 25% more fuel-efficient than older planes. On the investor relations front, Jo-Ann improved SIA’s disclosures by providing more granular breakdowns of cargo vs passenger segment performance, which helped the market appreciate SIA’s record cargo profits during the pandemic. Her clear communication and steady financial management have been lauded; she was a key contact point for Singapore’s government (Temasek Holdings, SIA’s major shareholder) during the crisis, and post-crisis, she remains a trusted figure in explaining SIA’s strategy to analysts, such as the bold decision not to pursue a domestic low-cost merger but focus on premium positioning.

 

48. Huang Tzu-Hsiung (David Huang) – CFO of Hon Hai Precision / Foxconn (Taiwan)

Huang Tzu-Hsiung, also known as David Huang, is the Chief Financial Officer of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the flagship of the Foxconn Technology Group and the world’s largest electronics manufacturing services provider. He assumed the role of CFO in 2018, reporting directly to Foxconn’s founder, Terry Gou (and later Chairman Young Liu). As CFO, David Huang handles the finances of a colossal enterprise with over 1 million employees, $215+ billion in revenue, and factories across China, India, and beyond. He has been instrumental in Foxconn’s strategy to diversify and climb the value chain while maintaining financial stability in a notoriously low-margin business. One of David’s key achievements was improving Hon Hai’s profit margins by enforcing cost discipline and automation investments. He rigorously analyzed each manufacturing program’s cost structure, identifying inefficiencies and pushing for the adoption of more robotics and AI in factories to offset rising labor costs. This contributed to Hon Hai’s gross margin edging up to around 6-7% in recent years from sub-6% levels, a notable feat in contract manufacturing. As Foxconn expanded into new areas like electric vehicles (forming Foxtron and partnerships with startups), CFO Huang implemented a venture-style approach to funding, setting aside dedicated capital for EV R&D but also bringing in external investors (e.g., automakers) to share the financial burden and risk. He also supported Foxconn’s push into semiconductors, approving strategic minority investments rather than large, risky acquisitions to keep the exposure manageable. David Huang has adeptly managed Foxconn’s massive supply chain finances: during the global chip shortage, he secured key inventory with advance payments and kept Foxconn’s component suppliers liquid through supply chain financing programs, ensuring continuity in Apple iPhone production. He’s also known for conservative financial management; Foxconn carries substantial cash reserves (over $30B) under his watch, giving it the agility to navigate trade war tariffs and pandemic disruptions without needing emergency debt. Indeed, David oversaw Foxconn’s issuance of its first-ever USD bonds in 2019 and 2020, locking in low rates to refinance existing debt and fund expansion in India, thereby extending Foxconn’s debt maturity profile and lowering interest costs. On M&A, he played a crucial role in the 2016 acquisition of Sharp Corporation for $3.5B – he worked closely on integration and cost-cutting at Sharp that returned it to profitability in two years, validating the deal’s financial rationale. Colleagues credit David’s open communication and transparency (unusual in some Taiwanese firms) for improving investor trust – he instituted quarterly earnings calls in English, which helped Hon Hai’s stock achieve a higher valuation multiple by shedding its “black box” reputation.

 

49. Anindya Banerjee – CFO of ICICI Bank (India)

Anindya Banerjee is the Group Chief Financial Officer of ICICI Bank Limited, India’s second-largest private bank. He took over as CFO in May 2022 after the elevation of his predecessor, Rakesh Jha, to the board. A veteran ICICI banker, Anindya has been with the bank for over two decades, handling roles in finance, treasury, and investor relations. As CFO, he has sustained ICICI Bank’s stellar financial performance and guided its strategy amid a dynamic banking landscape. Under his financial leadership, ICICI has continued to report record profits quarter after quarter, outpacing peers on key metrics. Anindya has kept a tight lid on costs – ICICI’s cost-to-income ratio has improved slightly even as it invests in digital initiatives. He leverages technology internally too: under his watch, ICICI implemented AI-driven credit underwriting and risk analytics, which not only improved asset quality but also reduced credit processing costs. Anindya oversaw a prudent shift in asset mix towards retail and SME loans (now ~70% of portfolio), which helped the bank expand NIM to ~4%. He’s also played a balancing act between growth and caution: while credit growth has been ~20% YoY, he’s ensured provisioning stays conservative (ICICI’s PCR is ~80%, one of the highest) – a factor that gave confidence to investors and rating agencies, reflected in Moody’s upgrading ICICI’s outlook to positive. In terms of capital, Banerjee has been opportunistic: ICICI raised ₹150 billion via QIP in 2020 (prior CFO’s plan), which left it well-capitalized; Anindya has since not needed to raise further equity, instead focusing on improving RoE (which is now around 17%). He effectively manages the bank’s capital by calibrating dividend payouts and AT1 bond issuances to keep the CET-1 ratio around 17%, comfortable yet efficient. Moreover, Anindya is steering ICICI through India’s banking digital transformation – he financially evaluated and supported ICICI’s large investments in its mobile platform iMobile and the neo-bank initiative ICICI Stack. He tracks ROI on these digital projects closely, scaling up ones that drive CASA growth (ICICI’s low-cost deposits now form ~46%, boosting NIM) and trimming those not delivering. Known to be media-shy but extremely effective behind the scenes, Banerjee strengthened ICICI’s finance function by implementing daily profitability dashboards for each business vertical, improving accountability. With the Indian economy rebounding, ICICI under Anindya’s financial stewardship has gained market share while containing risk – gross NPAs fell to 3.2% (a decade low). He has also been involved in ICICI’s international expansion strategy (like setting up banking units in GIFT City IFSC), ensuring regulatory and financial compliance.

 

50. Ian Su Shan – CFO at JD.com (China)

Appointed group CFO in May 2023, Ian Su Shan heads the finances of China’s second-largest e-commerce platform after a fast ascent through JD’s ranks. A law graduate of the China University of Political Science & Law with an LLM from the University of Warwick, he spent four years in Goldman Sachs’ TMT investment-banking team before joining JD Logistics, where he became CFO and helped steer its 2021 Hong Kong IPO. At JD.com, he has prioritised profitability and capital discipline: under his stewardship, revenue grew 13 % in 2024 while operating margins expanded, thanks to deep cost-optimisation, streamlined fulfilment, and a data-driven cut in subsidies. Shan also doubled down on third-party sellers, simplifying onboarding and fee structures, which pushed the active merchant base past one million and diversified JD’s SKU mix. Simultaneously, he refinanced debt at lower coupons, boosted share buybacks, and began integrating ESG metrics into treasury policy as JD’s first Chief Climate Officer. Combining deal-making savvy, tech-sector insight, and rigorous cost control, Ian Su Shan is positioning JD.com for sustainable, cash-generative growth amid intense competition in China’s online retail arena.

 

Conclusion

Asia’s corporate ascendancy is inseparable from the strategic brilliance of its finance chiefs. The 50 leaders profiled here illustrate how modern CFOs turn volatility into opportunity, marshal billions for green growth and digital reinvention, and anchor stakeholder confidence across borders. Their stories underscore a simple truth: mastery of advanced financial strategy, risk analytics, and board-level stewardship is now mission-critical for any aspiring senior finance professional. Ready to elevate your impact? Explore Digitaldefynd’s hand-picked CFO executive programs—from Wharton, INSEAD, Cambridge Judge, and more—and gain the insight, network, and credentials to join Asia’s next generation of transformational finance leaders.