Philips CFO Abhijit Bhattacharya shares some of his best career experiences

Estimated reading time: 1-3 minutes

In two interviews in the Dutch and Indian press prior to the summer break, Philips CFO Abhijit Bhattacharya discusses his long career at Philips, together with his most important learnings and most rewarding personal experiences. For Abhijit, being a CFO means ‘making finance as simple as possible for business managers by helping them to identify the levers they have to pull to improve their performance’.

Being an avid marksman, he explains how rifle shooting has shaped his view on life and how the sport has helped him to lead Philips’ finance function. “What this sport teaches you is having a clear and focused mind, setting your targets high, and achieving your targets consistently”, says Abhijit.

And according to him, leading the finance function is no different. “For me they are one and the same, both physically and mentally. It is important to have focus, determination and drive to meet your objectives.”

‘Going to the gemba’

Abhijit also explains why it is important to leave the office if you want to learn how a company truly operates.

“You have to understand how a factory works. You must know how production works. Even though I was an accountant, I was very often on the shop floor,” he says. “It’s called ‘going to the gemba’, and I always encourage my team to do the same – visit factories, warehouses, customers.”

Read the English translation of the Dutch interview here. The original article, which was published on July 20, 2019, can be found here and via this link (copyright Het Financieele Dagblad).

The interview by The Economic Times of India can be read here.

Abhijit Bhattacharya joined Philips in 1987 and has held multiple senior leadership positions across various businesses and functions in Europe, Asia Pacific and the U.S. He has been Philips’ CFO since 2015. Click here for his full profile.