Chief Financial Officer – Transformation — Water And Utilities Business

The mandate

The next planning cycle has brought into focus finance transformation following inconsistent performance visibility within a institutionally backed infrastructure developer and asset operator. The immediate arena is the water and utilities business during a project-delivery recovery. For mandate 303, 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 ₹25,450 crore in project and operating-asset portfolio, with activity spanning several water and utilities business customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Chief Financial Officer – Transformation Infrastructure remit carries direct influence over roughly 1,550 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 water and utilities business. The Chief Financial Officer – Transformation Infrastructure seat must resolve a project-delivery recovery, while preserving the underlying strengths of the water and utilities business. For mandate 303, 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 water and utilities business is expected to end with a clean close, decision-quality economics and released working capital. In mandate 303, 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 — Water And Utilities Business seat following an accelerated leadership transition. Interim accountability is in place for the water and utilities business, but the board wants a permanent appointment within 6–8 weeks because a project-delivery recovery 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 water and utilities business, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately ₹25,450 crore in project and operating-asset portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief Financial Officer – Transformation Infrastructure organisation of about 1,550 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the water and utilities business economics and execution constraints created by a project-delivery recovery, 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 water and utilities business; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have signed or directly owned board financial statements, liquidity decisions and investment cases at the stated scale in mandate 303.
• Build the Chief Financial Officer – Transformation’s three-year succession and capability plan for the water and utilities business, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Infrastructure organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the water and utilities business 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 water and utilities business, 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 water and utilities business 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 water and utilities business 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 water and utilities business’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Chief Financial Officer – Transformation mandate’s highest-priority water and utilities business risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical water and utilities business 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 water and utilities business operating constraint behind a project-delivery recovery, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 303: 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 Infrastructure or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the water and utilities business, 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 infrastructure, construction, utilities, transport assets or project finance 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 Infrastructure 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 ₹14,750 crore and led an organisation of at least 1,075 people.

For mandate 303, the board wants two transitions: a difficult water and utilities business portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a project-delivery recovery. As the prospective Chief Financial Officer – Transformation for this water and utilities business, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 303 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief Financial Officer – Transformation role in Infrastructure is based in Hyderabad; 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 Infrastructure governance forum.
• Proven Chief Financial Officer – Transformation ownership of at least ₹14,750 crore and leadership of no fewer than 1,075 employees in a comparable water and utilities business context.
• One completed Infrastructure 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 infrastructure, construction, utilities, transport assets or project finance; experience that is purely functional and lacks Chief Financial Officer – Transformation-level water and utilities business consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Hyderabad location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 303.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief Financial Officer – Transformation package is ₹2.2–3.0 crore fixed + performance variable, calibrated to the final water and utilities business scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 303 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief Financial Officer – Transformation appointment in Hyderabad, centred on the water and utilities business, 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 303.

Confidentiality

This search is being conducted without naming the client for mandate 303. 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 303.