Finance Leadership Summit 2025

About the summit

Finance leaders play a pivotal role in navigating the shift from traditional Finance 1.0 to the dynamic, technology-driven Finance 5.0 era. As financial ecosystems become decentralized, data-driven, and automated, finance leaders play a crucial role in embracing digital transformation, risk management, and strategic decision-making to drive growth and resilience.

In recognition of their significant contributions to the finance functions, Dun & Bradstreet had organized the third edition of its flagship conference ‘Finance Leadership Summit 2025’ with the theme ‘Redefining the CFO Role – Transitioning to Finance 5.0’ on August 22, 2025 at Hotel Taj Santacruz, Mumbai.

The summit featured

About Finance Elite

Finance Elite are the individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, expertise, and accomplishments in the field of finance. These individuals are often recognized for their strategic vision and innovative approaches in financial planning and stewardship.

About Finance Elite

Finance Elite are the individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, expertise, and accomplishments in the field of finance. These individuals are often recognized for their strategic vision and innovative approaches in financial planning and stewardship.

About the Theme: ‘Redefining the CFO Role – Transitioning to Finance 5.0’

The CFO role is evolving beyond finance management to driving business strategy, digital transformation, and long-term value creation.

The Strategic CFO: Leading the shift from traditional financial stewardship to becoming key drivers of business strategy and growth.
The Transformational CFO: Focuses on driving finance digitalization, leveraging AI, machine learning, and automation to transform financial processes.
The Future CFO: Embraces innovation, sustainability, and decentralized finance to shape the next era of financial leadership.

Who attended?

Dun & Bradstreet Finance Leadership Summit is designed for a diverse range of professionals and industry stakeholders:

About the Report – ‘Rethinking The Future of Finance Leadership’

Dun & Bradstreet launched the report ‘Rethinking The Future of Finance Leadership’ at the summit which features India’s top finance leaders by recognizing their achievements in the field of finance. The report features the ‘Finance Elite 2025’ with their success mantras and key accomplishments.

The report broadly covers:

The Shifting Role of CFOs with Evolution of Finance
Profiles of Finance Elite 2025
Experts’ views andcase studies of leading corporates

Finance Elite 2025

Award Winner List

Award Winners Name	Designation	Business name
Hiranand Savlani	Executive Director & Chief Financial Officer	Astral Limited
Nitin Agarwal	Group CFO	Crystal Crop Protection Limited
Rajesh Prabhu	Chief Financial Officer	DBS Bank India Limited
Arihant Bothra	CFO	DDEV Plastiks Industries Limited
Ankit Madhwani	Group CFO	Faze Three Limited
Ballav Mundra	CFO	Hexagon Capability Center India Private Limited
Uma Shankar Patro	Sr Vice President Finance	Infovision Labs India Private Limited
Vivek Gupta	CFO	JBM Auto Limited
Smita Nanda	Chief Financial Officer	Kamat Hotels (India) Limited
Kaushal Agarwalla	Director and CFO	Maithan Steel and Power Limited
Sameer Agarwal	Group CFO	Manipal Health Enterprises Private Limited
D.V. Sivaram	CFO	My Home Industries Private Limited
Ankit Nayyar	Deputy CFO	PI Industries Limited
Susheel Pandit	CFO	Polybond (India) Private Limited
Sudhir Raghunath Kamath	Head of Finance	Trimble Information Technologies India Private Ltd.
Dilip Kumar Jain	Chief General Manager & CFO	Punjab National Bank
Mayur Gandhi	Chief Financial Officer Cluster India & Indian Sub-Continent	Schenker India Private Limited
Dinesh Patel	CFO	Shakti Pumps (India) Limited
Shalinee Mandhana	Joint CFO	Solar Industries India Limited
Archana Vinayak Joshi	CFO	The Cosmos Co-Operative Bank Limited
Rajendran Arunachalam	Group CFO	Thermax Limited

Jury Members

Dr. Parthasarathy V S
Former Group CFO & Group CIO Member of Group Executive Board
Mahindra Group

CA Ketan Saiya
Chairman
WIRC of the ICAI

Vipul Oberoi
Director - Learning & Economic Insights Group
Dun & Bradstreet India

Our Speakers

Pinky Atul Mehta
Chief Financial Officer
Aditya Birla Capital Limited

Kumar Subbiah
Chief Financial Officer
CEAT Limited

Vipul Chandra
Chief Financial Officer
LTI Mindtree

Murthy GVAS
Chief Financial Officer
Vodafone Idea Limited

Srinivasan Swamy
Founder & CFO Partner
CFO Bridge

A Kaleeswaran
Group CFO & Head - Strategy
Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd.

Alok Jagnani
Group Chief Financial Officer
API Holdings

Om Prakash
Chief Financial Officer
RAK Ceramics

Rajesh Prabhu
Chief Financial Officer
DBS Bank India Limited

Mayur Gandhi
Chief Financial Officer Cluster India & Indian Sub-Continent
Schenker India Pvt. Ltd.

Keval Shah
Customer Advisory Lead – Cloud ERP
SAP Concur

Jayesh Ratadia
Chief Financial Officer
SDA Bocconi Asia Center

Pushkaraj Kale
CEO
atQor

Nishant Vyas
General Manager
CCH Tagetik India Wolters Kluwer

Avinash Gupta
MD & CEO – India
Dun & Bradstreet

Govind Joshi
VP and Chief Operating Officer
Dun & Bradstreet India

Mukesh Kumar Jain
Senior Director- Sales
Dun & Bradstreet India

Vipul Oberoi
Director - Learning & Economic Insights Group
Dun & Bradstreet India

Agenda

Time

Details

03:00 – 04:00 pm Registration

04.00 – 04.15 pm Welcome Address by Mr. Vipul Oberoi, Director - Learning & Economic Insights Group, Dun & Bradstreet India

04:15 – 05:00 pm Panel Discussion: The Changing Role of CFO: From Financial Gatekeeper to Strategist

The value of traditional CFO skills & responsibilities in the modern era
Aligning the finance function with the broader business vision
Proactive risk management and scenario planning – Protecting the business in uncertain times
Optimizing capital allocation and making informed investment strategies

Moderator: Mr. Mukesh Kumar Jain, Senior Director- Sales, Dun & Bradstreet India

Ms. Pinky Mehta, Chief Financial Officer, Aditya Birla Capital
Mr. Alok Jagnani, Group Chief Financial Officer, API Holdings
Mr. Kaleeswaran Arunachalam, Group CFO & Head of Strategy - Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Limited
Mr. Rajesh Prabhu, Chief Financial Officer, DBS Bank India Limited
Mr. Mayur Gandhi, Chief Financial Officer Cluster India & Indian Sub-Continent, Schenker India Private Limited

05:00 – 05:15 pm Keynote Session: Unlocking Strategic Value: CFOs Collaborating Across Functions to Drive Business Performance

Speaker: Mr. Srinivasan Swamy, Founder & CFO Partner, CFO Bridge

Promoting cross-department collaboration to align financial and operational goals
People management - Aligning financial objectives with talent acquisition and retention strategies
Collaborating with IT department to drive digital transformation, improve operational efficiency, and create value through technology

05:15 – 05:30 pm Keynote Session: Reimagine Finance with Connected Business Process Speaker: Mr. Keval Shah, Customer Advisory Lead – Cloud ERP, SAP

05:30 – 05:45 pm Networking Break

05:45 – 06:00 pm Keynote Session: Redefining the CFOs Role for the Age of AI and Cloud by Mr. Pushkaraj Kale, CEO, atQor

Focus on People – Upskilling finance professionals, managing diversity and including experts (such as data scientists and AI specialists)
Navigating the shift to cloud-based finance
Embracing hyperautomation for enhanced operational efficiency
Balance automation with a human-centered culture in finance teams
Managing stakeholder expectations and fostering transparency
Driving ESG integration and sustainable finance strategies

06:00 – 06:45 pm Panel Discussion: The Intersection of Finance and Cybersecurity

How can CFOs safeguard sensitive financial data in the evolving digital landscape?
Understanding the identification & mitigation of financial risks associated with cyberattacks and data breaches
Building a culture of cyber resilience within the finance teams
Navigating the evolving cybersecurity regulations in finance
Best practices for CFO-CISO collaboration to protect financial data

Moderator: Mr. Govind Joshi, VP and Chief Operating Officer, Dun & Bradstreet India

Mr. Kumar Subbiah, Executive Director & Chief Financial Officer, CEAT
Mr. Vipul Chandra, Chief Financial Officer, LTI Mindtree
Mr. Om Prakash, Chief Financial Officer, RAK Ceramics
Mr. Murthy GVAS, Chief Financial Officer, Vodafone Idea

06.45 pm – 07.00 pm Keynote Session: The Rise of Tech-Savvy CFO by senior representation from Mr. Nishant Vyas, General Manager, CCH Tagetik India, Wolters Kluwer

Navigating the balance between financial stewardship and technological innovation
How CFOs can leverage big data and analytics to drive strategic decision-making and operational improvements
Real-time financial insights - Moving from retrospective analysis to predictive analytics
The role of AI in automating financial operations, compliance monitoring, and risk detection
The role of Decentralized Finance (DeFi) in enhancing financial transparency