Ajay Kumar Gupta is a seasoned business strategist with 28 years of experience across leading global organizations in industrial gas, oil & gas, construction, and audit & consulting. His career uniquely blends finance and accounting expertise with a strong understanding of technology, operations, and commercial strategy.Ajay has consistently transformed operating models and processes, enhancing the agility and future-readiness of financial operations and Global Business Services (GBS). His leadership spans Asia, Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas, where he has held key roles such as CFO and head of GBS at companies including Schlumberger, Air Liquide, Arabian Construction, and Ernst & Young.Key Accomplishments:Strategic Leadership: Developed and executed long-term business strategies, driving growth, transformation, and enhanced performance across multiple regions.GBS Setup: Established and managed multi-functional GBS centers with 1,000+ FTEs, delivering substantial cost savings and year-on-year efficiency improvements.Digital Transformation: Led digitalization roadmap, introducing RPA, OCR, and advance data analytics, and leveraging platforms like ServiceNow, Coupa (Procurement), Workday (HR), Blackline & Cadency, Kyriba, and ERP systems (Oracle, SAP, Lawson), enhancing process automation and performance.Business Process Outsourcing (BPO): Led Finance and IT outsourcing initiatives for 1,000+ FTEs, optimizing operations and yielding significant cost reductions.Operating Model Optimization: Implemented global and regional operating models across functions, improving growth and operational efficiency.FP&A Centralization: Optimized FP&A processes regionally and globally, integrating digital tools and data-driven frameworks to boost profitability and decision-making.Treasury Optimization: Centralized treasury operations, optimizing financing costs via project financing, hedging, cash pooling, and factoring.M&A Leadership: Successfully led due diligence and M&A initiatives across Europe, Russia, Africa, and Asia, aligning investments with growth strategies.Tax & Legal Strategy: Resolved complex tax issues in Russia, Africa, and Asia, ensuring compliance and mitigating risks including simplified Legal entities structured and restructured contracting model to drive growth, reduce cost and improve complianceInvestment Decision-Making: Played a key role in evaluating and executing large-scale investments, aligning with long-term growth objectives and maximizing ROI.