India & emerging markets CSO — Telecom (regional P&L)

Position overview

Gladwin International Leadership Advisors is representing a confidential organisation in Telecommunications on a senior CSO leadership mandate anchored in India. The remit explicitly spans Malaysia, Middle East, Australia.

This is a strategic transformation mandate at CXO level — equal parts operating leadership, change orchestration, and investor / board narrative ownership.

You inherit teams that are capable but often misaligned on priorities; your job is to simplify the story and the scorecard.

Context you will inherit

• Market & sector: TechCo transformation — reorienting a network-centric organisation into a technology and digital services company requires leaders who can disrupt from within
• Geographic spine: Primary hub India with explicit corridor responsibility across Malaysia, Middle East, Australia.
• Organisation stage: Post-integration operating model still settling — some processes are global templates, others are stubbornly local.
• Stakeholders: Expect dense matrix: global product houses, regional P&L owners, shared services, and internal audit all pull on the same calendar.
• Secondary lens: Talent retention — telecom companies struggle to compete with technology sector compensation packages for engineering and digital talent

The mandate (12–24 month arc)

1. Where to play: Refresh corporate strategy — segments, geographies, and capability bets with explicit trade-offs.
2. M&A funnel: Build a disciplined pipeline — themes, targets, and valuation guardrails aligned with balance sheet.
3. Competitive intelligence: Institutionalise insight on rivals, substitutes, and regulatory direction.
4. Board narrative: Equip the CEO with crisp strategy materials — problem, choice, path, and metrics.
5. Strategic initiatives: Run the PMO for cross-enterprise programmes with clear owners and milestones.
6. Scenario planning: Stress-test strategy under downside macro, regulatory, or technology shocks.

Responsibilities (representative)

• Facilitate corporate strategy process — options, choices, and capital implications.
• Run strategic initiative PMO across the enterprise or region.
• Build M&A theme development and early diligences with corp dev.
• Deliver competitive and market intelligence to the executive committee.
• Support board strategy discussions with crisp materials and scenarios.

Leadership profile

• Communication: Executive presence in English; additional languages valued where market-relevant.
• Education: Strong undergraduate grounding; MBA / advanced degree / professional qualification common at this level.
• Strategy craft: Experience framing corporate choices with analytical rigour and executive alignment.
• Judgment: High signal-to-noise under pressure; ethical clarity; willingness to halt initiatives that break risk appetite.
• Geographic muscle: Comfort operating from India with regular engagement across Malaysia, Middle East.

Team & culture

Expect some fatigue from prior change programmes. Your success depends on simpler priorities, fewer initiatives, and leaders who model accountability. Culture is how decisions get made when spreadsheets disagree — you set that tone.

Success measures (examples)

• Financial: Revenue and margin vs. plan; cash conversion; capital efficiency.
• Strategic: Share in priority segments; customer retention in anchor accounts; milestone delivery on transformation.
• People: Engagement trends; regrettable attrition in critical roles; diversity of succession slate.
• Risk: Audit and regulatory outcomes; conduct events; operational resilience metrics.

First 90 days (orientation arc)

• Days 1–30: Shadow key customer journeys or operations — paper over slides where reality diverges.
• Days 30–60: Cut or pause low-value projects freeing capacity for strategic work.
• Days 60–90: Publish first integrated forecast or plan under your ownership — even if directional.
• Build trust with risk, legal, and audit through transparency — surprises erode licence to move fast.
• Pick one cultural signal (e.g. meeting hygiene, promotion criteria) and model it relentlessly.

Stakeholder map (illustrative)

• Internal: Matrix of global product houses and local P&L; tension is normal — your role is to broker trade-offs with data.
• External: Customers who influence reference deals; government or industry bodies in regulated sectors.
• Capital providers: Banks, sponsors, or minority investors — each needs a slightly different narrative on risk.

Travel & mobility

Expect substantial travel — customer, hub, and owner meetings. Specific cadence discussed with shortlisted candidates.

Compensation

Competitive CSO compensation for Telecommunications leadership: cash, incentive, benefits, and potential equity or carry (case-dependent). Discussed with finalists only.

Application status

This mandate is no longer accepting new applications. The search progressed through Q4 2025 and closed for submissions in February 2026. We retain this posting for transparency on the type of leadership work we carry in Telecommunications and India. For similar active mandates, browse open roles or submit a general profile through executive search inquiry.

Reference: telecommunications · CSO · India · Gladwin International Leadership Advisors