The CFO Who Leads with Heart

In the bustling corridors of corporate India, where power suits and boardroom battles define success, Richa Singh stands as a testament to the transformative power of vulnerability, mentorship, and unwavering determination. Her journey from a small town called Kalpi near Kanpur to the executive suite of one of India’s most prestigious companies reads like a masterclass in breaking barriers—not just external ones, but the internal walls we build around ourselves. 

Richa’s inspiring story, from a finance professional with marketing dreams to a Chief Financial Officer of Pernod Ricard India who writes from the heart, proves that our greatest strengths often lie not in choosing one path, but in embracing the beautiful complexity of who we truly are, writes Bishan Kumar.

Richa’s story begins in the kind of setting that corporate biographies rarely feature. Born in Kalpi, a small town near Kanpur, a shy girl, Richa spent her early years with her grandmother, who was the local headmistress. This early exposure to education and strong female leadership proved prophetic. 

The seeds of her nurturing leadership style were planted early. “I really like nurturing. That’s what I do back at home also, and even with my teams and family,” she explains. This quality, often seen as a soft skill, would later become her secret weapon in navigating the hard-edged world of corporate finance.

Dreams Dilemma

Like many successful professionals, Richa’s career path wasn’t linear. Armed with a bachelor’s degree in business and clear about her love for commerce, she entered IIM Bangalore with her heart set on marketing. However, during an internship with P&G, a moment of career-defining clarity emerged that would reshape her professional trajectory.

“During my time at IIM, I got an internship with P&G,” she remembers. “They said, ‘You’re so cut out for finance. You’re suited for finance and are analytical, very logical, and to the point. That’s what we really like’.”

This pivotal moment led to a profound realisation: “I think, while my heart was somewhere on brands, my destiny was in numbers.”

Rather than resisting this redirection, Richa embraced it with characteristic grace. “I do feel somewhere that I’m in a good space. Why? Because finance is really evolving,” she reflects. “The age and time where finance was all about reporting, accounting, taking care of auditors, filing—it’s still there, but a lot of it is automated. What finance really does now is influencing decisions.”

Breaking New Grounds

Richa’s career demonstrates remarkable adaptability across diverse sectors. Early in her career, she was thrust into an entirely unfamiliar domain—chemicals and palm oil trading—as the Asia Finance Head based in Singapore. “I was like this little kid and was surrounded by men, who were chemical engineers and veterans. They spoke a different language.”

Instead of trying to compete on their terms, she played to her strengths. “I couldn’t compete with them. I didn’t try to play their game. I focused on my strengths. I started going through contracts, the way deals were structured, what my strengths were. And I was surprised that I was able to find so many savings for them.”

Her advice from this experience resonates with universal truth: “Don’t assume you’re not good enough. They looked so intelligent. They spoke jargon, sometimes we get overwhelmed. That should not overwhelm you. You should know what your strengths are, what your role is in the larger team, and throw that to your strengths.”

The pandemic era brought its own crucible when she stepped into the business head role at Niine India. While the world grappled with uncertainty, Richa found herself navigating uncharted waters in a leadership position that would test every fibre of her being. Recognising she needed an objective sounding board, she enlisted herself as a professional coach, a decision that would prove transformative.

The results were nothing short of remarkable. In a span of six months, she orchestrated the hiring of 1,000 people, turning what could have been chaos into choreographed success. Her coach captured it perfectly: she possessed “infectious energy” that ignited everyone around her. It was as if she had discovered her superpower—the ability to charge people with possibility, the moment she walked into a room.

But perhaps her most daunting chapter began at Pernod Ricard India, where she found herself leading a predominantly male team in an industry where she was essentially a foreign language speaker. “I came from an FMCG background. I didn’t speak the language of the alcohol beverage industry,” she confesses. Imagine stepping onto a stage where everyone knows the script except you.

The first six months felt like scaling a mountain in stilettos. Fortunately, the universe conspired to place two guardian angels in her path. Nitu Bhushan, the CHRO who had joined just months before, became her compass during the storm. Nitu didn’t just offer guidance—she helped Richa embrace accountability and maintain objectivity when emotions threatened to cloud her judgement.

Then there was Helene de Tissot, the global CFO, who became her cultural translator. “She was my biggest mentor at that point,” Richa recalls. Helene’s wisdom was both practical and profound. Sometimes strength lies in softening your edges. Following this advice, Richa consciously mellowed her approach, learning to navigate with finesse rather than force.

The irony wasn’t lost when Jean Touboul, Managing Director of Pernod Ricard India later questioned her newfound quietness. Her response revealed the strategist she had become: “I was gradually blending in and creating the right space.” Sometimes the most powerful moves happen in silence, as you position yourself for the perfect moment to strike.

Richa Singh’s first book, “Powering Success Shaping Leaders: The Mentor Advantage” began as a planned finance manual but as she sat down to reflect on what she wanted to say, her heart went out to all those who had helped her, in her journey and it evolved into a heartfelt tribute to mentorship. “What started as a finance book became a heartfelt note of gratitude,” she explains. “It wasn’t planned, edited, or even overthought. It was raw.”

Her recently launched second book, “Beyond Numbers”, promises to combine analytical rigour with intuitive insights— much like her leadership style itself; and is rich with real stories and learnings.

The Pernod Challenge

When Richa joined Pernod Ricard India as CFO, she wasn’t just taking on a new role she was pioneering change in a traditionally male-dominated industry. “When I entered Pernod Ricard, three years back, this company was undergoing a sort of cultural change within India,” she explains. “They were grown up men, older men, grey suits, cigars sometimes.”

As the first woman CFO, she faced the challenge of establishing authority in an environment where her gender was as notable as her qualifications. “For a bunch of men, you now have a woman calling the shots,” she observes candidly.

The New Finance Paradigm

Richa represents the evolution of the CFO role from number-cruncher to strategic partner. “Finance has become much tougher,” she observes. “Nobody is going to be happy today if finance people just keep issuing reports. The expectation from finance is: how are you helping me do my business better?”

This shift reflects broader trends in executive leadership. According to PwC’s annual CEO survey, modern CFOs spend 40 percent of their time on strategic initiatives rather than traditional accounting functions. She has embraced this evolution fully, positioning her team as business enablers rather than corporate gatekeepers.

When she arrived at Pernod Ricard India, she found the finance function fragmented, with 70 out of 130 finance professionals reporting to other departments rather than finance itself. This structural flaw was impacting the company’s financial integrity.

“My first audit meeting with external auditors was, ‘in this company, finance has no say’,” she recalls. Rather than accepting this status quo, she embarked on a strategic campaign to restructure the department.

The process required patience and diplomatic acumen. “I knew this can’t happen overnight. So, I started gradually canvassing situations and issues that could have been prevented if finance function was strengthened and given a stronger voice on the table, if reporting was made functional”.

“You won’t always get a yes for the right thing just because you’re saying it,” she reflects. “This is where you learn how to do situational leadership and be an influencer.”

Her approach to team development reflects this strategic thinking. Beyond traditional training, Richa created what she calls the “CFO wheel”—a gamified system featuring elements like ‘make a wish,’ ‘travel with the CFO,’ and ‘make a pitch together’. The playful exterior masks serious professional development, creating engagement while building capabilities.

As a modern CFO, Richa recognises the importance of embracing technological advancement while maintaining human connection. She’s implementing AI and robotics in payment processing, forecasting, and analytics; yet she knows her team of 130 people by name and maintains an open-door policy.

Power of Authentic Leadership

What sets Richa apart is her commitment to authentic leadership, even when it means showing vulnerability. “Vulnerability makes you closer to your teams. It makes you a better leader,” she believes. “My way of working is very open. I make a mistake. I admit it. I say sorry. If I forget something, I accept that.”

This approach has created remarkable loyalty. In a telling anecdote, she describes a moment that crystallised her team’s trust: during a company event, she made a joking suggestion to her team. “Immediately, I see three-four senior members running to do that. I was like, what’s going on?” When she questioned them, one responded: “If you tell us to do that, we’ll at least attempt it.”

This moment came “after a lot of hard work, after showing them a lot of wins,” she acknowledges. It illustrates how authentic leadership, combined with competence, creates unprecedented followership.

Today, as Richa Singh sits in her CFO office at Pernod Ricard India, she represents something profound: the possibility of breaking barriers not through aggression or compromise, but through authentic leadership, strategic thinking, and genuine care for others.

For young professionals, especially women entering maledominated fields, her journey offers both inspiration and practical wisdom. Her message is clear: “Be hungry for growth. Reflect. You can improve yourself so much by reflecting on what is not working for you. Don’t let negativity overpower you.”

Preparing for her next chapter of training, board positions, and continued writing, Richa continues to demonstrate that true leadership isn’t about choosing between being soft or hard it’s about knowing when to be which, and never losing sight of the human beings behind the numbers.

Between the endless meetings, poring over numbers, and charting the company’s next bold trajectory, one can’t help but wonder: when does she find time to savour her favourite Glenlivet 18 and let her favourite song transport her to that perfect, unhurried moment?