Group Chief Financial Officer — Payments Portfolio

The mandate

A recent strategy review exposed capital structure redesign ahead of the next investment cycle within a privately held diversified financial-services platform. The immediate arena is the payments portfolio during conduct-risk remediation. For mandate 002, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Group Chief Financial Officer operating perimeter covers approximately ₹3,750 crore in assets under oversight, with activity spanning several payments portfolio customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Group Chief Financial Officer Financial Services remit carries direct influence over roughly 180 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors want a Group Chief Financial Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the payments portfolio. The Group Chief Financial Officer Financial Services seat must resolve conduct-risk remediation, while preserving the underlying strengths of the payments portfolio. For mandate 002, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Group Chief Financial Officer’s first year on the payments portfolio is expected to end with forecast integrity, funding headroom and board-grade controls. In mandate 002, 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 Group Chief Financial Officer — Payments Portfolio seat, established because conduct-risk remediation now requires one accountable executive rather than distributed ownership. The board has classified the appointment as urgent and intends to move from qualified shortlist to offer within 6–8 weeks. Interim governance protects the payments portfolio, but it is not a substitute for a permanent appointee. The external search remains confidential to avoid unnecessary disruption before the appointment is agreed.

What you will own

• Set the Group Chief Financial Officer value-creation thesis for the payments portfolio, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately ₹3,750 crore in assets under oversight, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Group Chief Financial Officer Financial Services organisation of about 180 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the payments portfolio economics and execution constraints created by conduct-risk remediation, with Group Chief Financial Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Group Chief Financial Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the payments 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 002.
• Build the Group Chief Financial Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the payments portfolio, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Financial Services organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the payments portfolio baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to capital structure redesign ahead of the next investment cycle, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Group Chief Financial Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the payments 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 payments portfolio trend against forecast integrity, funding headroom and board-grade controls, 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 Group Chief Financial Officer’s agreed first-year payments portfolio value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Group Chief Financial Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the payments portfolio’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Group Chief Financial Officer mandate’s highest-priority payments portfolio risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical payments portfolio talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Group Chief Financial Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Group Chief Financial Officer-owned improvement in the payments portfolio operating constraint behind conduct-risk remediation, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 002: 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 Group CFO, listed-company CFO or Divisional CFO in a privately held Financial Services or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the payments portfolio, your Group 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 banking, insurance, payments, wealth or regulated fintech will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Group Chief Financial Officer brief.

As a Group Chief Financial Officer candidate, you bring 22–28 years of progressive Financial Services 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 ₹2,200 crore and led an organisation of at least 180 people.

For mandate 002, the board wants two transitions: a difficult payments portfolio portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during conduct-risk remediation. As the prospective Group Chief Financial Officer for this payments portfolio, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 002 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Group Chief Financial Officer role in Financial Services is based in Gurugram; 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 Group CFO, listed-company CFO or Divisional CFO, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Financial Services governance forum.
• Proven Group Chief Financial Officer ownership of at least ₹2,200 crore and leadership of no fewer than 180 employees in a comparable payments portfolio context.
• One completed Financial Services or adjacent-sector example of capital structure redesign ahead of the next investment cycle with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from banking, insurance, payments, wealth or regulated fintech; experience that is purely functional and lacks Group Chief Financial Officer-level payments portfolio consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Gurugram location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 002.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Group Chief Financial Officer package is ₹3.2–4.6 crore fixed + performance variable and LTI, calibrated to the final payments portfolio scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 002 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Group Chief Financial Officer appointment in Gurugram, centred on the payments portfolio, offers regular exposure to the chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 002.

Confidentiality

Client identity is withheld at this stage and will be disclosed under mutual confidentiality after an initial fit discussion for mandate 002. Rounded ranges and blended context prevent this document from being used to triangulate the organisation for mandate 002.