Chief Financial Officer — Interim, Automotive Components

The mandate

A major OEM cut platform volume by thirty-five per cent, leaving dedicated tooling, labour and debt unsupported. The CFO resigned after covenant forecasts assumed full contractual volume recovery without written customer commitment.

The interim must join within two weeks for fifteen months through footprint decisions, refinancing and audit. Search begins after lenders approve the restructuring base case, leaving two months for permanent-CFO overlap.

Handover requires ₹850 crore of debt refinanced, covenant headroom under a thirty per cent downside, dedicated-programme cash break-even restored, clean audit, and the successor certifying two quarters of programme and liquidity forecasts.

The CFO may correct impairments, negotiate financing within approved terms and approve spend below ₹4 crore. Plant closure, customer settlement and security above board thresholds require formal consent; operating management owns headcount execution and Engineering owns tooling reuse feasibility.

New product development, sales strategy and unrelated acquisitions are excluded. Finance must establish the viable scale and funding route without taking over commercial or manufacturing decisions.

Why this seat is open

Customer volume collapse invalidated the leveraged growth case within one quarter. Unsupported recovery assumptions damaged lender and board confidence in incumbent finance. A temporary restructuring CFO will rebuild the base case and fund it before permanent normal-cycle leadership takes control.

What you will own

• Rebuild programme cash economics from committed volume, price, material, labour, tooling and warranty evidence.
• Decide impairment, provision and forecast corrections across dedicated assets and supplier obligations.
• Negotiate customer recovery and volume scenarios jointly with Commercial without assuming uncommitted upside.
• Secure ₹850 crore of refinancing against a board-approved footprint and downside case.
• Establish thirteen-week cash and quarterly covenant control with explicit trigger actions.
• Present plant and programme choices with cash, covenant, customer and execution sensitivities.
• Transfer lender, audit and programme-finance authority through two permanent-CFO forecast cycles.

Candidate qualifications

• Chartered accountant with more than twenty-two years in automotive or industrial manufacturing finance.
• Restructured a programme or plant after material OEM volume reduction or platform cancellation.
• Closed refinancing above ₹600 crore under covenant pressure and uncertain customer demand.
• Deep knowledge of tooling, take-or-pay, impairment, plant absorption, warranty and OEM recovery economics.
• Ability to challenge unsupported volume assumptions while supporting constructive customer negotiation.
• Prior statutory and audit-committee leadership through footprint or debt restructuring.

Non-negotiables

• Available onsite in Chennai within two weeks and for lender/OEM negotiations.
• No current relationship with the affected OEM, lenders or restructuring advisers.
• Will base covenant forecasts only on evidenced customer and operating assumptions.
• Can serve exclusively for fifteen months and transition the permanent CFO.

1. 49 words maximum. Confirm availability and any OEM, lender or adviser relationship requiring disclosure.
2. 49 words maximum. Which programme economics did you resize after a customer volume cut?
3. 49 words maximum. What refinancing did you close against a downside demand case?