Ramkumar’s Mind-Blowing Take on AI and Digital Transformation

In this insightful episode featuring Ramkumar Balasubramaniam, CFO of Barclays MEA, the discussion delves deep into the evolving role of a CFO beyond traditional financial stewardship. Ramkumar emphasizes the importance of CFOs adopting a holistic mindset, understanding the broader business drivers, and not merely being gatekeepers who say no. Drawing from his extensive experience transitioning from engineering and marketing roles to finance leadership, he highlights how a comprehensive view enables CFOs to shape strategy effectively, akin to seeing the entire elephant rather than just a part of it.

Ramkumar also shares valuable lessons on leadership, innovation, and continuous learning. He stresses the curse of expertise, wherein experienced professionals might lose curiosity and become resistant to change, and advocates for fostering a culture of innovation and psychological safety within teams. His storytelling approach, using analogies like the five monkeys experiment and the elephant parable, illuminates the necessity of mindset shifts to embrace failure, upskilling, and constructive change. Moreover, he underlines the critical role of streamlining foundational processes before embracing advanced digital transformations like AI, cautioning against premature or overly complex solutions.

On technology and future trends, Ramkumar advocates for moving legacy financial systems to the cloud to enable agility and integration with innovative fintech solutions. He encourages finance professionals to gain multi-functional experience across financial control, FP&A, and treasury to build versatility in a rapidly evolving landscape. Lastly, he reflects on the legacy he wishes to leave—a legacy of stewardship marked by enduring improvements and purposeful self-validation, embodying dedication to continuous progress within Barclays MEA and his teams.

Chapters:

00:00 - 01:02 - Intro

01:02 - 04:09 - CFO Role & Big Picture

04:09 - 07:38 - Career Journey to Banking

07:38 - 10:57 - Transition to Finance

10:57 - 16:17 - Barclays & Regional Strategy

16:17 - 20:06 - Regulation & Learning

20:06 - 23:56 - Curse of Expertise

23:56 - 27:12 - Digital Transformation & AI

27:12 - 30:04 - Failures & Lessons

30:04 - 33:40 - Storytelling & Leadership

33:40 - 36:45 - Cloud & Innovation

36:45 - 39:01 - Advice for Future CFOs

39:01 - 43:33 - Geopolitics & Risk

43:33 - 45:26 - Quickfire Round

45:26 - 46:11 - Legacy & Purpose

46:11 - 46:48 - Closing Remarks