A Finance Strategic Moment
While preparing IBM variance reports, Dilip Upmanyu first realized numbers persuade only when tied to the actions that create them. He dissected every P × Q driver, practiced explaining causes clearly in NetIQ earnings prep, and won credibility to recommend improvements—transforming finance from scorekeeper to strategic influencer.
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Now Watch our Complete Episode Featuring CFO Dilip Upmanyu of Cloudera
Cloudera’s finance chief traced a career built on relentless learning, from constructing a “hand‑rolled” product‑profitability database to steering global integrations that tripled team size. He stressed vetting company culture as rigorously as financials, volunteering for stretch roles only after mastering previous ones. Upmanyu now drives hybrid‑cloud expansion, leading with public‑cloud offerings and enterprise AI while guarding data privacy. Internally, interactive sales role‑play, customer‑360 dashboards, contract review, and automated reconciliations already demonstrate AI’s 60‑percent productivity lift. His 12‑month priorities include entering new markets, enlarging data‑center capacity, deploying enhanced revenue analytics, and monitoring tariff risk—all aimed at accelerating sustainable, metrics‑driven growth forward.
| CFO’s Strategy Playbook |
|---|
| • Build profits insight before scaling investment |
| • Vet culture rigorously to enable execution |
| • Deploy AI under strict data governance |