Someone once gave me a tomato plant to take care of at university. Thrilled with the possibility of being able to eat something I had made from scratch, right down to growing the vegetables, I gleefully accepted.

I watched as the seed developed into a sprout, to flowers and finally to a small handful of tomatoes. It was a small feeling of accomplishment, and one that I remember years later, even after the original plant sadly succumbed to rot. 

Growing with something from the start develops a sense of personal investment, knowing it was your hard work that helped things get off the ground. For gardeners and finance leaders alike, eventually the goal is to enjoy the fruits of your labour. 

This is a feeling shared by Vijay Padmanbhan, CFO of UST – a company he joined at the beginning.

UST was founded at the end of 1999, and Vijay joined just a month after, in 2000.

“Being able to see the business from close quarters and then seeing how finance and I can help with the growth of the organisation – right from the startup years through to now – influenced me the most,” he says. 

UST’s story of growth is parallel to Vijay’s. By learning the business, his leadership ability and strategy was shaped right from the seed. Vijay describes working closely with fellow C-suite leaders such as the CEO at an early opportunity and provided him with a “good ringside view of the business.”

Slowly scaling over the course of 25 years has meant learning not only the business but influences outside of it.

“I’ve witnessed a lot of shifts and changes in the company, both internal and external – the micro, macro, everything – so the leadership style has also evolved,” Vijay explains. 

“The technology landscape is completely changing. We have gone through different phases of technology evolution. From my point of view, it has involved repeated learning and unlearning. The way work gets done has been changing quite a bit, requiring us to challenge all processes and digitise legacy ways of working.”

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges leaders have faced recently is the introduction to gen AI. A recent report from Spendesk finds that 67% of finance teams now use at least one AI tool, up from 56% in 2025 and 31% in 2024. 

“The advent of gen AI has made it much easier for anyone who intends to change their way of working. Interacting with the cloud or ChatGPT has become more of a habit than anything else. Previously, we had to call people, send emails or look through reports – but with all the latest AI tools, it’s a completely different way of working where you can get answers quickly.”

A recent report from Salesforce highlights how many businesses are turning to AI for help with financial admin. It finds that of those using AI, 89% report a positive ROI. 

“We spend more time on insights and decision-making rather than preparing reports as such. The way of working has definitely shifted quite a bit over the last 10 years – starting with digital transformation a decade ago, and now, over the last three to four years, the AI transformation has completely changed how we work.”

AI can’t replace humans in the field 

With the rise in the popularity from AI, there have of course been concerns about real people and jobs which have been declared at risk for automation.

Roles in finance traditionally focus on financial admin, which is time-consuming, laborious and sometimes mind-numbing.

It is however, important to ensure that no human gets left behind, as Vijay explains:

“Investing in people becomes even more important as AI takes on more routine, role-based work. Work for finance professionals is increasingly shifting away from processing information towards interpreting it, challenging it and making better decisions.”

Analysis – data literacy – is the key choke point here. Without data literacy, workers cannot be expected to interpret data into key insights.

“Re-skilling becomes very important for all team members” Vijay explains.

“People need strong data literacy and AI fluency, as decision-making becomes much more vital. The real value will come from knowing how to trust the work of AI, where to question it and where human judgement still matters.”

In order not to be left behind by the tech wave, it’s important to keep up to date with the why behind things. A new wave of understanding must accompany the latest changes to workflow, in order to inspire innovation.

“The biggest element is to invest in and invigorate that sense of curiosity for technology in team members.” Vijay adds. “That is key to ensuring this AI transformation happens faster within your organisation.”

Navigating a new AI world in finance 

Over the last few years, Vijay describes some trends he has witnessed from the seat of a major technology company.

“Finance needs to be an integral part of the broader enterprise agenda, spanning across the entire organisation,” he notes.

“For a technology company like ours, we need a clear view of talent, risk, the technology landscape and all strategic bets the company is making. We must be active participants in tech investments, large deals and geographic expansions.”

Traditional finance has been completely transformed as AI raises new questions about workflow, value and investments across industries. 

Speaking as a leader in the tech industry, Vijay notes that as a company, there is a vital importance behind understanding the new capabilities being built every day:

“The finance team must be in the thick of it. In this new AI world, managing new cost drivers like tokens, new models and compute costs becomes very important for the finance team as we establish guardrails.”

C-suite conversations are increasingly looking at types of guardrails as boards are looking to strengthen governance around AI. Risk, an essential component of any business, is placed at the forefront of these conversations. 

Vijay says: “Enterprise risk management is another vital area on the CFO agenda. The level of ambiguity is increasing, and when taking big bets on AI, we don’t have all the answers.

It boils down to the company’s ability to take calculated risks, where the CFO plays a crucial role in managing these combined risks, monitoring them and providing the right guidance.”

Early bird gets the ROI

Having been with UST effectively since it was founded, Vijay recalls what the early days were like, and the lessons he carries over today. 

The mindset needed to adapt from a small business to the enterprise which serves over 30 countries with 30,000 employees today revolves around looking past the numbers.

“Ownership mentality has really shaped my thinking and how I approach problems. It is much easier to make the right decisions when you think like you own the business” he explains. “That ownership mentality is invaluable. It helps when making bold investments where results aren’t immediate – you maintain the long-term mindset that it is the right call for the company's future.”

Numbers of course, can’t be forgotten. Data underpins every business, and knowing the ins and outs of forecasting, finance and cash flow is still every bit as essential as adopting an ownership mentality, which Vijay continues to hold to this day. 

Vijay says: “From the startup days, the biggest challenge – in finance and for any entrepreneur – is managing cash flow and handling the pressure of making the next payroll.”

By honing these skills, a solid foundation is built for a successful career as a CFO. “That forces you to get sharper across all basic housekeeping activities: billing, collections and accelerating cash flow,” he says. 

Future CFOs must pay attention to both the business and the numbers, as both are paramount not only to a successful career but a story of growth. 

“Numbers only give you a limited perspective.” Vijay concludes. “You have to connect those numbers to the business to get the whole picture. While numbers tell part of the story, a CFO needs to translate that business context into future actions to guide the CEO, the board and leadership."

“You must stay tuned in to how the pipeline looks, the technology strategy and the talent strategy. Talent strategy is particularly critical for a tech company.”