“Becoming DHL Supply Chain’s CFO has been quite a change, and a very positive one," says DHL Supply Chain Chief Financial Officer Brindha Pillay in an interview with CFO Magazine A/NZ

With a background in medicine, Brindha has risen in the ranks at DHL, from Finance Manager to her prior role as Senior Vice President, Global Head of Accounting and Process Digitalization Finance. In her current leadership position, Brindha develops strategies and sets standards for best practices for creating and delivering value to DHL customers, as well as building the finance team. Driving value for DHL, Brindha focuses on strong financial performance, process innovation, and transformative growth.

Brindha shared her career insights and reflections on her role at DHL Supply Chain, highlighting her strategic approach to financial leadership and value creation.

Influences on her leadership journey

Brindha reflected on how her upbringing, and her previous career in medicine, has influenced her current leadership role at DHL Supply Chain.

“Growing up in a family of Indian descent in an apartheid country was challenging, but it shaped my determination and path to leadership. My cultural upbringing instilled the importance of family, education and an active consciousness for the people around me,” explains Brindha.

“Working as a doctor, your decisions are life or death. This gave me the resilience and fortitude to make important decisions in this role and to accept responsibility for them. In medicine, you learn strong methodology for assessing situations quickly, taking the whole picture into account and staying calm while making difficult decisions. Working in finance, these skills are invaluable," says Brindha.

Discussing the role of a CFO

Brindha also elaborates on her DHL Supply Chain career, including the different responsibilities of a CFO and her strategic approach to financial leadership.

“Key accounting skills and a robust control environment are necessities for any core finance function, and it is a given that these elements must be in place. Leadership, long-term strategy and building a high-performing finance team are areas where I offer much greater value, and where I am now keenly focused," comments Brindha.

“Being influential is not a concern when you’re a CFO, we’re the CEO’s ‘right hand’, so we’re already in a strong position of influence. However, determining how to leverage this influence to help steer the company is the crucial part of the role. Focusing on accounting, compliance and controls is part of a CFO’s role, but equally important is influencing leadership decisions by communicating unique insights gleaned from understanding both the operations and the numbers," says Brindha.

“For me, providing accurate insights to help steer the organization to help determine the best solutions to problems, get things right first time, build customer relationships, set sustainable and competitive pricing and continuously challenging the team to do the best we can for our customers, that is how I demonstrate the value of the role," adds Brindha.

Read the full article with DHL Supply Chain Chief Financial Officer Brindha Pillay.

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