Divisional Chief Financial Officer — Data-Products Franchise

The mandate

A multinational-owned data-products franchise must establish independent economics. Today, shared services, cross-sold contracts, data licences, engineering capacity and group allocations blur the perimeter. A simultaneous shift from licence sales to subscriptions changes revenue timing and customer obligations. Without a defensible stand-alone view, management cannot judge value with confidence.

The Divisional Chief Financial Officer will govern approximately S$2,200 million in annual recurring revenue and lead about 750 employees and material partners. Scope encompasses divisional planning, control, commercial finance, revenue policy, tax and treasury interfaces, separation economics, transaction readiness, procurement, reporting and talent. The CFO reports to the Group Chief Executive and the relevant board committee.

The perimeter must be defined before it is valued. The role will map products, intellectual property, contracts, data rights, people, systems, suppliers, assets and liabilities to the franchise. Shared arrangements need documented service, cost, dependency and replacement logic. Allocation convention should not be mistaken for the cash the division would incur independently.

Subscription economics require a clean cohort view. Bookings, recurring revenue, deferred revenue, renewal, expansion, churn, usage, service obligation and acquisition cost should reconcile. Licence history may obscure customer health when revenue is recognised before adoption. The CFO will ensure the board sees both accounting outcomes and the operating evidence that supports future cash.

Stand-alone controls must work on day one, not exist only in a separation plan. Financial close, access, billing, collections, purchasing, payroll, tax and reporting need accountable owners, system dependencies and tested contingencies. Temporary service agreements may bridge selected gaps, but each requires price, service level, exit date and a credible path to independence.

The strategic transaction demands evidence that can withstand diligence. Data rooms should be assembled from controlled records rather than recreated after a request. Management adjustments, carve-out assumptions and one-off items need traceable support. The CFO will coordinate finance, legal, tax, technology and operations while ensuring normal performance does not deteriorate under transaction workload.

Value visibility should remain useful under more than one outcome. The board may transact, retain, partner or alter the perimeter. Investment cases therefore need to distinguish actions that improve the underlying franchise from costs valuable only for a particular process. Management should understand which choices are reversible and which create customer or tax consequences.

Commercial contracts require close review. Bundled products, enterprise licences, minimum commitments and data-use rights can make revenue difficult to separate. The CFO will work with customers and legal teams on allocation and novation without disrupting service. New subscription offers must enter the perimeter with clear entitlement, performance obligation and margin logic.

The finance organisation must be capable of operating independently. Leaders will be assessed for controllership, commercial judgement, transaction stamina and knowledge of data-product economics. Key-person dependencies and group-provided capability should be visible. Retention and succession plans must protect both the process and the franchise after any strategic decision.

Why this seat is open

An accelerated leadership transition has produced an urgent permanent replacement. Interim ownership covers mandatory finance activity, but split authority is incompatible with subscription conversion and transaction preparation. The board intends to appoint within six to eight weeks through a confidential external search.

What you will own

• Define the complete stand-alone perimeter of the data-products franchise.
• Steward finance across approximately S$2,200 million in annual recurring revenue.
• Reconcile subscription cohorts, accounting outcomes and future cash economics.
• Build operational controls that function independently from group infrastructure.
• Prepare decision-grade diligence evidence without weakening business performance.
• Lead approximately 750 employees and partners through transaction uncertainty.
• Govern shared services, temporary agreements and dependency exits.
• Give the board comparable economics across retain, transact and partner scenarios.

The first 12 months

In the first 90 days, confirm the perimeter, meet the 30 stakeholders most critical to independent economics and assess finance leadership. Reconcile principal revenue cohorts, shared costs, contracts, cash and systems. Agree with the board which assumptions require validation before a transaction gate can be crossed.

Months four to nine should establish the stand-alone close, populate controlled diligence materials and test separation dependencies. Address priority contract and data-right issues, price temporary services and fill key capability gaps. Early proof should include faster reconciliation, reduced unexplained allocations and more reliable cash or subscription forecasts.

By month twelve, stand-alone controls, value visibility and transaction readiness should be demonstrable under board scrutiny. Performance must stay within 10% of the authorised case, with three successive forecasts aligning recurring revenue, cash, customers, separation costs and people. Critical diligence issues need resolved evidence before a formal decision gate.

What the board will measure

• A defensible perimeter covering contracts, people, systems, data and liabilities.
• Subscription revenue and cash reconciled through customer cohort evidence.
• Stand-alone close and controls proven without undocumented group support.
• Diligence adjustments traceable to controlled source information.
• Retention above 90% for essential talent and immediate successors for 70% of direct roles.
• Separation dependencies with priced service, owner, exit date and tested alternative.

The person

You are a Divisional CFO, Business CFO or Finance Director with 22–28 years in technology or an adjacent recurring-revenue enterprise. You have directly owned financial statements, liquidity decisions and investment cases, ideally through a carve-out, separation or strategic transaction.

The minimum accountable P&L, book, budget or portfolio is S$1,300 million, with leadership of at least 525 people. Your record should identify personally owned decisions and outcomes maintained across two subsequent reporting periods.

You understand subscription accounting, data-product economics and the difference between allocated and avoidable cost. You can challenge deal optimism, protect control integrity under time pressure and retain capable finance leaders when the organisation’s future structure is uncertain.

Compensation and terms

Base compensation is S$500,000–680,000 with annual incentive and LTI. The permanent Singapore appointment is onsite and supports international relocation, but it is not structured for remote work. Notice of up to six months can be accommodated.

Confidentiality

The company, transaction alternatives, counterparties and separation evidence remain private. Qualified candidates will receive identifying details under mutual confidentiality; the facts here have been blended to prevent reverse engineering.