Divisional Chief Financial Officer — Vehicle-Software Programme

The mandate

Following two years of uneven execution, the board is addressing a division requiring independent economics before a strategic transaction within a multinational-owned integrated automotive and components manufacturer. The immediate arena is the vehicle-software programme during an electric-vehicle portfolio shift. For mandate 274, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Divisional Chief Financial Officer operating perimeter covers approximately ¥15,150 billion in regional revenue and programme portfolio, with activity spanning several vehicle-software programme customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Divisional Chief Financial Officer Automotive remit carries direct influence over roughly 2,100 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The group board and the relevant risk and people committees want a Divisional Chief Financial Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the vehicle-software programme. The Divisional Chief Financial Officer Automotive seat must resolve an electric-vehicle portfolio shift, while preserving the underlying strengths of the vehicle-software programme. For mandate 274, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Divisional Chief Financial Officer’s first year on the vehicle-software programme is expected to end with stand-alone controls, value visibility and transaction readiness. In mandate 274, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is a newly created Divisional Chief Financial Officer — Vehicle-Software Programme seat approved as part of the next operating model; it is not an incumbent replacement. The board is running a planned 4–6 month search so the appointee can join ahead of the next capital and talent cycle. Current leaders retain their existing accountabilities until the vehicle-software programme remit is formally activated. Confidentiality protects organisation design choices while the board compares external and adjacent-sector talent.

What you will own

• Set the Divisional Chief Financial Officer value-creation thesis for the vehicle-software programme, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately ¥15,150 billion in regional revenue and programme portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Divisional Chief Financial Officer Automotive organisation of about 2,100 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the vehicle-software programme economics and execution constraints created by an electric-vehicle portfolio shift, with Divisional Chief Financial Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Divisional Chief Financial Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the vehicle-software programme; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have signed or directly owned board financial statements, liquidity decisions and investment cases at the stated scale in mandate 274.
• Build the Divisional Chief Financial Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the vehicle-software programme, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Automotive organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the vehicle-software programme baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to a division requiring independent economics before a strategic transaction, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Divisional Chief Financial Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the vehicle-software programme, 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 vehicle-software programme trend against stand-alone controls, value visibility and transaction readiness, 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 Divisional Chief Financial Officer’s agreed first-year vehicle-software programme value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Divisional Chief Financial Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the vehicle-software programme’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Divisional Chief Financial Officer mandate’s highest-priority vehicle-software programme risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical vehicle-software programme talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Divisional Chief Financial Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Divisional Chief Financial Officer-owned improvement in the vehicle-software programme operating constraint behind an electric-vehicle portfolio shift, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 274: 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 Divisional CFO, Business CFO or Finance Director in a multinational-owned Automotive or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the vehicle-software programme, your Divisional Chief Financial Officer track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from automotive, industrial manufacturing, mobility, components or engineering services will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Divisional Chief Financial Officer brief.

As a Divisional Chief Financial Officer candidate, you bring 22–28 years of progressive Automotive 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 ¥8,800 billion and led an organisation of at least 1,475 people.

For mandate 274, the board wants two transitions: a difficult vehicle-software programme portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during an electric-vehicle portfolio shift. As the prospective Divisional Chief Financial Officer for this vehicle-software programme, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 274 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Divisional Chief Financial Officer must be based in Tokyo; international relocation is supported, but this Automotive role is not designed as a remote appointment.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of Divisional CFO, Business CFO or Finance Director, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Automotive governance forum.
• Proven Divisional Chief Financial Officer ownership of at least ¥8,800 billion and leadership of no fewer than 1,475 employees in a comparable vehicle-software programme context.
• One completed Automotive or adjacent-sector example of a division requiring independent economics before a strategic transaction with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from automotive, industrial manufacturing, mobility, components or engineering services; experience that is purely functional and lacks Divisional Chief Financial Officer-level vehicle-software programme consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Tokyo location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 274.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Divisional Chief Financial Officer package is ¥52–72 million base + annual incentive and LTI, calibrated to the final vehicle-software programme scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 274 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Divisional Chief Financial Officer appointment in Tokyo, centred on the vehicle-software programme, 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 274.

Confidentiality

The client name, precise footprint and transaction history are outside this brief for mandate 274. They will be shared with qualified candidates under a mutual undertaking, and the composite facts here must not be reverse-engineered or circulated for mandate 274.