E72 - Jyoti Lahiri - How a Modern CFO Uses Data Analytics for Decision Making

“What’s happened?” my wife asks me as I walk in the door, home
late from work another day.


I'm too embarrassed and upset to say that I just lost the company
a truckload of money. Instead, I force a smile, lie about heavy
traffic, and go to bed early. I know it was my fault. I made the
wrong decision - again - and the company was suffering because of
it.


I recall a time long ago when someone told me to pay more
attention to data, saying that, one day, it would rule the world.
I’d need it more than it needs me. Without it and a good CFO by
my side, I’ll be making bad decisions every step of the way.


And, damn, he was right. But how do they do it?


Luckily, Jyoti Lahiri - a senior executive with international
business experience spanning over 30 years, with leadership roles
in many geographies - has an answer.


Jyoti Lahiri has served in various industries, including a
significant period in the tech sector and held senior leadership
positions in multinational companies in the Asia Pacific,
Caribbean & Latin America and the USA. 


Currently, Jyoti is Sydney-based and is the Chief Financial
Officer - Asia Pacific Region of Landis & Gyr (Landis + Gyr),
a Zurich-listed MNC. He also serves as Director on the Board of
the company's subsidiaries in Australia, New Zealand, China,
India, Singapore and Hong Kong.


Landis & Gyr is a world leader in advanced smart metering
solutions for utilities and is listed on the Zurich stock
exchange. For more than a century, Landis+Gyr has helped the
world manage energy better. The meters and solutions from the
company empower utilities and end-customers around the world to
improve their energy efficiency, reduce their energy costs and
contribute to sustainable use of resources. The company employs a
headcount of 1,100 across the Asia Pacific region


Before Landis & Gyr, Jyoti worked for Lucent Technologies for
a decade, where his last role was Chief Financial Officer- South
East Asia, based in Singapore.


Jyoti is a Chartered Accountant and Cost & Management
Accountant. He is also a Member of the Australian Institute of
Company Directors and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors,
India.


This exclusive episode starts with Jyoti sharing his volunteering
experience at Kushal India and how he got involved there. Then,
the episode moves through the following topics:


Jyoti shares about Landis & Gyr and the works that they
do here.

The smart meters and solutions from the company that empowers
utility companies and customers.

How the solutions improve energy efficiency, reduce cost, and
contribute to sustainable use of resources.

How this plays a role in building smart cities around the
world.

Jyoti’s view on capital allocation for the development of the
digital infrastructure.

Combining the historical data and new data in the business.

Appropriate access control of data and how the heads of the
different countries can learn from the collective knowledge and
wisdom of each other.

Role of an MNC CFO and how it is more demanding than before.

What are the different roles that a CFO can play that are
beyond the accounting works that they are traditionally involved
in?



If you are a senior executive operating in a single jurisdiction
and want to know more about CFOs whose responsibility ranges
across multiple countries and regions, this is the episode you
shouldn’t miss.