CII Recognises Kumar Subbiah, Executive Director & CFO, CEAT among Leading CFOs of the Year

New Delhi, 02rd March 2023: CEAT Ltd, India’s leading tyre manufacturer today announced that Mr. Kumar Subbiah, Executive Director & Chief Financial Officer has been recognised among the Leading CFOs of the year by CII at the 2nd edition of the CFO Excellence Awards in 2022. Mr. Subbiah was recognized in the Auto Category for his stellar work at the company in business partnering, capital allocation and driving operational excellence.

Under Mr. Subbiah’s guidance and leadership, CEAT has put in place several systems and processes that have helped enhance corporate governance standards and compliances. The Finance team has also emerged as a true partner to the business, finding the optimum balance between growth and leverage to help the organization meet its strategic objectives. As a result of its efforts to bring efficiencies in working capital across all elements that helped in making Rs 750 crores of cash available to invest in businesses over the last few years. The company has also undertaken several other initiatives including sourcing raw materials efficiently & competitively through strategic sourcing & tie-ups with partners. Initiatives in driving efficiencies in cashflows & funding helped in bringing down interest costs. The company also upgraded its SAP to SAP HANA and automated various operational activities through the deployment of RPAs and blockchain which has seen it be commended as one of the best in digital adoption in finance by the industry. CEAT was one of the first 30 companies in India to adopt integrated reporting in its annual report.

Another key initiative that has helped CEAT bridge the margin gap has been leveraging cross-functional teams to identify large cost-saving opportunities through a structured zero-based approach to costs. What started off as a pilot during the pandemic, has now become a practice at CEAT to identify a few large programs every year to drive large cost savings leveraging technology and a structured Quality Based Management (QBM) approach.

Commenting on the award, Mr. Kumar Subbiah, ED & CFO, CEAT said, “I am thrilled to be recognized by CII as one of the leading CFOs of the year. I believe this award is a recognition of all that we have been doing as a company to drive business excellence using a Quality Based Management (QBM) approach that has delivered results for the business. We hope that this award marks another milestone in our journey as we set new benchmarks in the industry in delivering a safe, sustainable, and smarter future.”

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) CFO Excellence Awards recognize and acknowledge outstanding capabilities and achievements in the Finance function. Over the years, the Awards have become the chief flag bearer of Corporate Transparency, Governance, and Financial Leadership. It recognizes and acknowledges exemplary achievements and professional contributions of CFOs and builds a strong CFO forum to facilitate sharing of best practices.