Finance Leadership Beyond the Numbers
“A good CFO protects the business from unnecessary risk without protecting it from opportunity.” “A good CFO protects the business from unnecessary
Syed Haseebuddin
Chief Financial Officer UNIMAC
Published on Nov 4, 2026
Syed Haseebuddin began working while he was still studying, giving him an early and practical understanding of how financial decisions affect a business. After building experience across manufacturing, services, engineering, construction and infrastructure, he believes effective finance leadership depends on understanding the operations, people and risks behind the numbers.
1 . Which experiences shaped your approach to financial leadership
I started working while I was still studying, so my understanding of finance began in very practical terms: where money comes from, where it goes and why every decision matters.
Over the years, I have worked across manufacturing, services, engineering, construction and infrastructure. My experience has included business turnarounds, ERP transformation, mergers and acquisitions, and IPO readiness.
These experiences taught me that knowing the numbers is only the beginning. A CFO must understand the story behind them, including the people, operations, customers and risks that create the financial results.
2 . How do you balance financial discipline with growth and innovation
I have never believed that the CFO’s job is simply to say no. Our role is to understand what the business is trying to achieve, challenge the assumptions, evaluate the risks and help find the right way forward.
Sometimes the right decision is to cut costs. At other times, it is to invest more today to create greater value tomorrow. A good CFO protects the business from unnecessary risk without protecting it from opportunity.
3. How are AI automation and analytics changing finance
Technology is changing finance very quickly, but one lesson from my own digital transformation experience has stayed with me: technology does not fix a weak process. It usually exposes it.
AI and automation should free finance teams from repetitive work so they can spend more time understanding margins, forecasting cash flow and supporting decisions. The future finance professional will not simply tell management what happened. They will help answer the more important question: what should we do next?
4. What leadership principles build a high performing finance team
For me, leadership starts with trust, accountability and giving people room to grow. I want people on my team who are comfortable challenging me because the CFO cannot always be right.
I also believe in giving people responsibility before they feel completely ready and supporting them while they grow into it. My goal is not to build a finance team that depends on me. If everything stops when the CFO leaves the room, I have not built a strong team. I have built a dependency.
5. What lessons create sustainable business value
The biggest lesson for me is that short-term results and sustainable value are not always the same. Sustainable value comes from good systems, capable people, sound judgment and earning trust over time.
To young finance professionals, I would say: do not be in too much of a hurry for the title. Learn the business, understand how money is actually made and where cash gets stuck, and spend time with operations.
Titles come and go. Your judgment, your reputation and the people who became better because they worked with you are what remain.
About Syed Haseebuddin
Syed Haseebuddin is Chief Financial Officer at UNIMAC. His experience spans manufacturing, services, engineering, construction and infrastructure, including business turnarounds, ERP transformation, mergers and acquisitions, and IPO readiness.
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