As chief financial officer (CFO) at AGC Networks Limited, V. Srinivasa Raghavan is responsible primarily for enhancing corporate governance and financial controls to accelerate overall business growth. “In this role, I focus on the company’s financial operations, while leading and expanding its engagement with the investor community,” he says. “Other focus areas are engaging with existing investors, aligning financial operations with the company’s growth strategy and building business relations with new investors to achieve rapid growth.”

To achieve these tasks, he relies on an innovative management style as well as his prior work experience. “Creative thinking and innovation are the key,” he says.

Raghavan brings to the table over 23 years of experience across the IT, IT-enabled services and manufacturing industries. Prior to his current stint, he worked with companies such as Logica, GE, Motorola, Zuari Industries (a part of the K.K. Birla Group), Gabriel India Limited and Coromandel Fertilizers Limited. “I attempt to apply the strategic learnings from these stints to AGC Networks. In my previous assignments, my focus was on business turnaround and strategic growth. At Logica, for instance, as CFO, I was exposed to global markets (the US, Europe and Asia Pacific) and was able to ensure smooth operations for both the company’s near-shore and offshore businesses.”

Each of his previous assignments offered a rich learning, he feels. “At Logica, it was the global exposure and scaling up of the organisation that proved to be a unique experience; at GE, it was the business turnaround and growth achieved, and with start-ups, I got a totally different perspective,” he explains.

Outlining the challenges before him in his current stint, he says, “AGC Networks provides world class solutions as per customer requirements and the main objective is to maximise the opportunities we can secure in this space. With a global operating platform, AGC Networks aims to offer blended and combined solutions under various domains to clients across numerous verticals. The target is to increase the wallet share from the services portfolio and, in turn, increase profitability over the long term. The challenge is to tide over challenges in the short term and build in the right governance, stabilise operations and leapfrog the organisation to the next level.”

And how does he spend his spare time? “I enjoy reading, listening to music and playing cricket,” he responds.