#82 My Journey to CFO via Sales and Management Consultancy with Manu Gupta, CFO at GridDuck

Manu Gupta has acted as CFO of several high growth businesses including MyDrive Solutions, GridDuck, and Brisk. He shares his unusual journey to his first CFO role and becoming a board advisor. Manu isn’t from a traditional accountancy background. He started his career in sales. A finance-based MBA then took Manu into a career in management consulting. He chose to leave consulting and move to a startup. The startup needed a finance team ahead of a Series A investment. Manu’s job was to create that team. Manu regards himself as a generalist and really enjoys the variety of challenges the CFO role offers him. We talk about how to become sufficiently rounded to do all the things a generalist CFO needs to do well. We also examine Manu’s skills as a management consultant and understand how he applied those to be a dynamic finance leader. Manu talks about the attitudes and skills a modern CFO needs to bring to the role. He has much to share. Listen to the full episode to find out more, including passions and lessons learned that come straight from the cricket field!  Links Manu Gupta on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn Find out more about becoming a CFO The CFO as co-pilot to the CEO Timestamps 00:59 How did you become a CFO? 02:35 From sales to finance 03:35 Manu’s mantra: “I find myself in places I’ve not been before” 04:36 Becoming a well-rounded generalist 05:00 An MBA in finance leads to a career in consultancy 06:10 Opportunity to work in a startup and create a finance team ahead of a Series A fundraise 07:16 Advantages & disadvantages of an accountancy qualification and background 09:22 Leveraging skills learned as a consultant 11:06 What attitudes and skills do modern CFOs need? 11:45 Being a business partner and helping others make decisions 13:36 How to engage with others 16:04 Managing your energy 17:13 Managing situations with customers 20:40 Working with the SLT beyond just finance 22:21 Acting as a non-exec alongside being an operational CFO 25:27 Having an impact 25:51 Ben Stokes – lessons from the cricket field 28:45 What are you passionate about? 31:31 The Godfather and the CFO