Title: “Transitioning from a CFO to a CEO”

Speaker: Sathya Kalyanasundaram, Managing Director & CEO - South Asia at Eureka AI 

Presentation:

a. The role of the CFO and why it has changed significantly over the last decade

b. The role of the CEO

c. Key responsibilities

d. Fundamental shifts that are required from a CFO to CEO

Learning curves specifically that I had to work on

e. IQ vs EQ – the role of empathy

f. Is the CEO role for you?

g. The aspect of individual learning

h. Mentoring as a tool for success

Speaker’s bio:

Sathya earned a MBA in Finance from the University of Hartford in the USA. He is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), having received both these certifications while working in the United States.

A seasoned professional with over 25 years of progressively expanding experience, Sathya Kalyanasundaram blends a unique combination of Strategy, Finance, as well as Operations acumen. His work experience spans areas of Strategy, Management, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) and Fund Raising to name a few.

Sathya was a CFO for many years, including roles as India CFO at Scientific Games, a USD 3 Billion, diversified, worldwide gaming company and the India CFO at Texas Instruments (TI), a USD 18 Billion leader in semiconductors; where he was responsible for enabling their exponential growth in India for revenue and operational capabilities.

Sathya started his CEO journey at MobME Wireless Solutions Limited, a technology conglomerate that developed multiple businesses across P2P networks, payment gateways, telecom analytics and digital banking solutions. He led the fund raise of the group company, Chillr, from a host of reputed venture capital (VC) firms and helped accrete significant value to shareholders through strategic transactions, such as the sale of Chillr to Truecaller.

Sathya is now Managing Director & CEO for South Asia at Eureka.ai, a data sciences company that focuses on providing cutting edge intelligence solutions to institutions worldwide, through deeply embedded Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML) Sathya’s primary role is to drive the overall business, financial and operational strategy for the organization for Eureka.ai’s business verticals, in order to drive sustainable long-term growth and maximize value to all stakeholders.

Prior to Eureka.ai, Sathya was the India Country Head and Managing Director at Experian, the world’s largest information services company. Sathya led Experian’s growth and profitability in India to its best performing years, while significantly improving Experian’s market share in the country during his tenure.

Recognition of distinction: Sathya serves on the Board of Advisors at the Center of Analytical Finance at the Indian School of Business. He sits on the board and advises several startups in India and abroad and is a Program Mentor to the Vedica Scholars Program for Women. He was the Co-Chair of the Economic Affairs Panel of CII Karnataka for a period of over 2 years and a member of the National Panels for Banking and Financial Markets at CII India. Sathya was inducted into the CFO Institute’s League of Excellence in 2015; he is a multiyear awardee of the Institute’s Top 100 CFO Honor as well.

Speakership: Sathya is also a regular speaker at conferences, educational institutions and discussions in India and abroad. Below are links to a few videos featuring Sathya speeches.
 

YouTube videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daoiid3VPts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrBCeEua7pM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3DAjtBksYE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbwjzguYink

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJdXSdgK3HE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJUfHeqD-Vk

Authorship: A frequent contributor to business publications magazines such as Hindu Business Line, ET, CFO India, CFO Connect, CIO & Leader, CXO Today etc.,

Articles with hyperlinks:

https://www.hartford.edu/success-stories/1996/05/ss-barney-Sathya-Kalyanasundaram-96.aspx

https://m.economictimes.com/et-wealth-wisdom-ep-90-what-is-a-good-credit-score-and-how-you-can-improve-it/videoshow/78440911.cms

https://cio.economictimes.indiatimes.com/webinar/digital-transformation-for-the-post-pandemic-world/668