Chief Financial Officer – Transformation — Cybersecurity Portfolio

The mandate

The next planning cycle has brought into focus finance transformation following inconsistent performance visibility within a institutionally backed enterprise technology and digital-products group. The immediate arena is the cybersecurity portfolio during a shift from licences to subscriptions. For mandate 103, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Chief Financial Officer – Transformation operating perimeter covers approximately ₹1,900 crore in annual recurring revenue portfolio, with activity spanning several cybersecurity portfolio customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Chief Financial Officer – Transformation Technology remit carries direct influence over roughly 775 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The group board and the relevant risk and people committees want a Chief Financial Officer – Transformation who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the cybersecurity portfolio. The Chief Financial Officer – Transformation Technology seat must resolve a shift from licences to subscriptions, while preserving the underlying strengths of the cybersecurity portfolio. For mandate 103, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Chief Financial Officer – Transformation’s first year on the cybersecurity portfolio is expected to end with a clean close, decision-quality economics and released working capital. In mandate 103, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is an urgent replacement for the Chief Financial Officer – Transformation — Cybersecurity Portfolio seat following an accelerated leadership transition. Interim accountability is in place for the cybersecurity portfolio, but the board wants a permanent appointment within 6–8 weeks because a shift from licences to subscriptions cannot remain under split ownership. The predecessor’s outcome is being handled neutrally and professionally. The external search remains confidential until the preferred candidate and transition plan are agreed.

What you will own

• Set the Chief Financial Officer – Transformation value-creation thesis for the cybersecurity portfolio, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately ₹1,900 crore in annual recurring revenue portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief Financial Officer – Transformation Technology organisation of about 775 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the cybersecurity portfolio economics and execution constraints created by a shift from licences to subscriptions, with Chief Financial Officer – Transformation-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Chief Financial Officer – Transformation operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the cybersecurity portfolio; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have signed or directly owned board financial statements, liquidity decisions and investment cases at the stated scale in mandate 103.
• Build the Chief Financial Officer – Transformation’s three-year succession and capability plan for the cybersecurity portfolio, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Technology organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the cybersecurity portfolio baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to finance transformation following inconsistent performance visibility, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Chief Financial Officer – Transformation portfolio and organisation choices for the cybersecurity portfolio, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable cybersecurity portfolio trend against a clean close, decision-quality economics and released working capital, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the Chief Financial Officer – Transformation’s agreed first-year cybersecurity portfolio value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Chief Financial Officer – Transformation forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the cybersecurity portfolio’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Chief Financial Officer – Transformation mandate’s highest-priority cybersecurity portfolio risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical cybersecurity portfolio talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Chief Financial Officer – Transformation’s direct reports.
• A quantified Chief Financial Officer – Transformation-owned improvement in the cybersecurity portfolio operating constraint behind a shift from licences to subscriptions, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 103: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a CFO, Deputy CFO or Group Financial Controller in a institutionally backed Technology or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the cybersecurity portfolio, your Chief Financial Officer – Transformation track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from software, cloud services, digital platforms, IT services or technology-enabled business services will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Chief Financial Officer – Transformation brief.

As a Chief Financial Officer – Transformation candidate, you bring 22–28 years of progressive Technology or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 22-28 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of ₹1,100 crore and led an organisation of at least 550 people.

For mandate 103, the board wants two transitions: a difficult cybersecurity portfolio portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a shift from licences to subscriptions. As the prospective Chief Financial Officer – Transformation for this cybersecurity portfolio, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 103 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief Financial Officer – Transformation role in Technology is based in Pune; relocation is expected, although a structured weekly commute may be considered during the first quarter.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of CFO, Deputy CFO or Group Financial Controller, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Technology governance forum.
• Proven Chief Financial Officer – Transformation ownership of at least ₹1,100 crore and leadership of no fewer than 550 employees in a comparable cybersecurity portfolio context.
• One completed Technology or adjacent-sector example of finance transformation following inconsistent performance visibility with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from software, cloud services, digital platforms, IT services or technology-enabled business services; experience that is purely functional and lacks Chief Financial Officer – Transformation-level cybersecurity portfolio consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Pune location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 103.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief Financial Officer – Transformation package is ₹2.2–3.0 crore fixed + performance variable, calibrated to the final cybersecurity portfolio scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 103 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief Financial Officer – Transformation appointment in Pune, centred on the cybersecurity portfolio, offers regular exposure to the group board and the relevant risk and people committees. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 103.

Confidentiality

This search is being conducted without naming the client for mandate 103. Identifying information will follow only when both sides elect to proceed under confidentiality; nothing in the published mandate should be treated as a clue to ownership or brand for mandate 103.