Interview With Mr. Sheshadri Savalgi
GUEST ARTICLE WITH MR. SHESHADRI SAVALGI,
CFO West Africa, Kellanova.
From your experience leading finance in large enterprises, how has the role of CFO evolved in driving digital transformation beyond just automation—towards enabling data-driven, strategic decision-making?
Over the years, I’ve witnessed the CFO role transform significantly—from being a functional finance expert to becoming a strategic business leader. Today, the CFO not only steers long-term strategy but also drives performance rigorously on a quarter-by-quarter basis. In an increasingly data-driven world, the CFO plays a pivotal role in embedding analytical decision-making across the organization, ensuring both agility and accountability in growth.
The CFO is the custodian of critical resources—whether it’s capital, organizational capabilities, or technology investments. Particularly in the context of digital transformation, the CFO often serves as the connective tissue between business goals and technology solutions. We are uniquely positioned to understand the operational realities of the business while also speaking the language of technology and solution providers.
Given the breadth of this role, the CFO is best placed to articulate the business vision, define the purpose and scope of digital initiatives, lead the change management agenda, and establish the financial guardrails that ensure sustainable value creation.
Ultimately, the CFO’s evolution reflects a broader shift: from being a finance leader with business insight to a business leader with deep financial acumen.”
With increasing complexity in global regulatory frameworks, how can finance teams leverage digital tools to ensure continuous compliance, risk mitigation, and faster audit cycles?
Over the past decade, I’ve had a front-row seat to the incredible transformation of the global business landscape. Markets have become more connected, supply chains more complex, and with that, the regulatory environment has grown more demanding. As a finance leader, I’ve seen how our role has expanded—from ensuring compliance and closing the books to helping the organization navigate an increasingly complex web of tax laws, reporting standards, and cross-border regulations.
The pandemic, while undeniably disruptive, acted as a major inflection point. It forced us to rethink long-standing assumptions—especially around digital execution. Ten years ago, if someone had told me we’d be conducting audits entirely remotely, I would have been skeptical. But today, that’s not only possible—it’s become essential. We’ve proven that with the right tools and mindset, finance can adapt rapidly and continue to operate with rigor, even in the most uncertain times.
But for me, digital transformation in finance isn’t just about efficiency or simplification—those are table stakes now. What excites me most is the opportunity to use digital tools to drive growth. When we embed real-time analytics into our decision-making, we’re not just reporting on the past—we’re helping to shape the future. We’re enabling the business to pivot faster, to seize opportunities, and to course-correct when needed. That’s when finance becomes more than a function—we become a strategic enabler.
One thing I’ve learned is that digital success isn’t one-size-fits-all. Every organization is at a different stage in the journey. What matters most is being clear on your strategic priorities and choosing digital solutions that align with them. Whether it’s automating tax compliance, using AI to stay ahead of regulatory changes, or unlocking predictive insights in forecasting—when done right, these initiatives reduce risk, improve agility, and add real business value.
In today’s fast-moving, highly regulated world, digital transformation is no longer optional. It’s a critical capability for any finance leader who wants to build a resilient, forward-looking organization. For me, it’s about ensuring that finance continues to lead—not just with numbers, but with insight, influence, and impact.
What are some key cultural or leadership shifts needed within finance and shared services to drive successful adoption of digital initiatives at scale?
As a leader, I firmly believe that organizational culture must be anchored in three core principles: innovation, change leadership, and clarity of purpose. These aren’t just abstract ideals—they’re the behavioural foundations that drive successful transformation in today’s dynamic business environment.
- Innovation: Redefining the Norms:
Innovation isn’t limited to product breakthroughs; it’s just as critical in reimagining processes and ways of working. For instance, deploying AI to automate claims reconciliation across modern trade and e-commerce channels is a powerful example of process innovation. It may not make headlines, but it significantly enhances efficiency and accuracy. As leaders, we must cultivate a culture that constantly challenges the status quo—where teams are encouraged to experiment, iterate, and pursue operational excellence relentlessly. Innovation must become a habit, not an event.
- Change Leadership: Driving Alignment Across the Enterprise:
- Vision, Motivation & Endurance: Sustaining the Transformation Journey:
Large-scale digital initiatives are, at their core, change management programs. Their success hinges not only on technology, but on purpose, alignment, and ownership across the organization. Whether the goal is efficiency, simplification, or growth, the ‘why’ must be crystal clear to all stakeholders. Crucially, these initiatives are never the responsibility of a single function. A digital transformation in indirect tax, for example, impacts not just Finance—it also influences Sales, Supply Chain, and Working Capital. Executive sponsorship, cross-functional alignment, and a unified commitment are essential to deliver lasting impact.
Many transformation projects start strong but lose momentum midway, often due to leadership changes or unclear long-term vision. That’s why it’s imperative to set and communicate a compelling big-picture objective—one that outlives personnel changes and remains resilient throughout execution and adoption. Transformations must be positioned as enterprise-level imperatives, not side projects. When people understand the broader “why,” they stay motivated and aligned, even through inevitable challenges.
In summary, leaders shape culture through their actions and mindset. In times of rapid change, organizations that prioritize innovation, lead change with purpose, and anchor transformations in a clear, enduring vision are the ones that stay ahead—and thrive.
How do you see intelligent automation (AI/ML, RPA) transforming traditional finance functions like FP&A, tax, or treasury, and what areas hold the highest potential for value creation?
Over the years in finance leadership, I’ve seen firsthand how much potential remains untapped in traditional finance functions—and how intelligent automation can unlock that value. It’s not just about driving efficiency; it’s about fundamentally redefining finance’s role in the business.
Take FP&A, for example. In many organizations, forecasting still relies heavily on historical data and manual inputs from the business. That approach has its place, but I believe we can—and must—go further. By leveraging predictive analytics and pattern recognition, finance can move beyond hindsight to foresight. This shift allows teams to spend less time crunching numbers and more time running scenario models, asking “what if,” and offering strategic guidance. In today’s volatile environment, speed and accuracy in decision-making are everything—and automation makes that possible.
In tax, I’ve seen how tools like RPA and AI can take the pain out of repetitive, high-volume tasks—automating data gathering, reconciliations, and reporting. But beyond efficiency, the real game-changer is intelligence. AI-enabled platforms can adapt to changing regulations across jurisdictions and optimize tax positions in real-time. This allows tax teams to step away from firefighting and engage in true strategic planning—especially in cross-border environments where the stakes are high.
Treasury is another area where intelligent automation is already making an impact. I’ve witnessed platforms that integrate treasury data end-to-end—providing visibility into cash positions, vendor financing, and customer credit solutions. Automation can streamline payments, reconcile banking activity, and even predict foreign exchange trends, allowing treasury functions to act quickly, manage risk proactively, and support the business with greater agility. Liquidity is often the lifeblood of an enterprise, and automation helps us manage it with greater precision.
In my view, the highest value lies where efficiency, insight, and risk management converge. Intelligent automation allows finance to strip out manual effort, yes—but more importantly, it unlocks real-time insight that supports better business decisions. In FP&A, that’s smarter forecasting. In tax, it’s strategic compliance. In treasury, it’s optimized cash and risk management.
Ultimately, embracing intelligent automation is not just about “doing finance better.” It’s about transforming finance into a strategic partner—one that enables growth, drives business performance, and shapes the future of the organization. I see it not as a trend, but as a turning point for our profession.
How can digital initiatives help finance move from a transactional role to becoming a strategic enabler of growth, and what KPIs should be tracked to measure this shift?
Digital initiatives are at the heart of finance’s evolution—from a transactional function to a strategic enabler of business growth. This transformation is not just about automating tasks or adopting new tools; it’s about redefining the role of finance as a driver of performance, insight, and enterprise value.
Traditionally, finance has been focused on accuracy, compliance, and historical reporting. While these remain foundational, digital tools—such as AI, advanced analytics, RPA, and cloud-based platforms—are unlocking new possibilities. They automate routine processes, shorten reporting cycles, and improve data quality. This creates space for finance to focus on strategic priorities: enabling growth, optimizing capital, and driving better decisions across the value chain.
At the core of this transformation is performance management—a space where finance plays a natural leadership role. To make data-driven decision-making a reality and not just a buzzword, finance must champion an ecosystem that captures high-quality, real-time data and turns it into actionable insights. This includes building lead indicators, not just lagging ones. While traditional KPIs like EBITDA or cash flow remain vital, they must be complemented with forward-looking indicators—such as customer churn risk, forecast accuracy, digital tools adoption rates, or working capital velocity—to anticipate challenges
and guide proactive strategy.
Finance’s unique vantage point across the full value chain allows it to connect the dots—whether that’s identifying margin improvement opportunities, highlighting sales friction points, or enabling smarter pricing and investment decisions. Digital initiatives that support decision-making, ease working capital for the company and even for customers, or unlock sales acceleration are all prime examples of how finance can step out of a transactional mindset and into a true business partner role.
Moreover, finance must recognize that the best way to grow profits is to help grow the top line. That means engaging directly with commercial, supply chain, and product teams—co-creating strategies enabled by data, and grounded in financial rigor.
Ultimately, digital initiatives should not be viewed as IT projects—they are business transformation levers. And in this journey, finance is uniquely positioned to anchor, enable, and lead.
