The success of any company depends on proper management of its finances and using them for the betterment of every individual involved. An enterprise can reach the heights of success through planning, implementation, managing, and running all the finance activities. This is where a CFO steps in, who helps in business planning, budgeting, forecasting, sand negotiations. The leading CFOs also help in obtaining and maintaining investor relations and partnership compliance.
A prominent CFO who is steering elEVAte Business Solutions to financial stability and success is none other than Mr. GT Kannan, the Founder & CEO. Popularly known as a man of action, he frames plans and works towards performing goals for his clients to drive professional excellence and success in their businesses.
The Journey Begins
elEVAte Business Solutions started in 2011. At that time, the CFO Solution was at its nascent stage in India. During this time, Mr. G.T. Kannan was carrying out trial and error, and testing the potentiality of this business in the market. Furthermore, he was working as a CFO during that time.
Mr. G.T. Kannan transitioned from his previous company and joined elEVAte on a full-time basis in 2015. He states that CFO solution is similar to institutional CFO services. He does not call it a virtual CFO service because virtual CFO services are applicable to freelancers as well. He believes in describing it as an institutional CFO service.
An Experienced Frontrunner
Mr. GT Kannan is a commerce graduate with MBA in finance. He has a rich experience spanning over three decades across a gamut of functions in the corporate world including business management and leadership, change management, and across the spectrum of corporate finance. His deliveries include private equity transactions, debt funding, corporate restructuring, process driven financial controls, and business operations to increase productivity and efficiency resulting in bottom line profits.
Mr. G.T. Kannan works with diverse sectors including sunrise industries such as real-estate, hospitality, and infrastructure. He is further associated with defined and impacting industries such as auto components, plastic injection moulding, machine components, aluminium castings, electronics, and steel plus niche segments.
Mr. G.T. Kannan is adept at corporatizing the legacy business operations and breaking barriers of mindset in industries with his vast and varied experience at Autoliv-IFB as Country Financial Controller, Stokvis Tapes as CFO, and others. Now he fuels his entrepreneurial venture, elEVAte.
A Recipient of Several Laurels
An out of box thinker, Mr. G.T. Kannan is a popular face in the CFO circle and has to his credit awards and recognitions from the fraternity; the CFO institute awarded him for Winning Idea among finance thinkers. He also received Roll of Honor CFO 100 Year 2014 in recognition of the exceptional contribution to corporate finance.
About elEVAte
elEVAte is centred on the theme to provide corporate financial advisory and services. It is a passion driven professional organization with a core value to enhance EVA (Economic Value Addition) of a business aspirations run high at elEVAte and so do its core competencies.
With an enjoined experience of several decades across various industries – Auto Components, Automobiles, Software Development, Hospitality, OEM, Steel Industries, SCM and many more the sheer depth of experience and networked presence across the nation qualifies the company to be ‘the go to consultants’ across India.
elEVAte offers a comprehensive package of corporate financial services. Each solution is well customized carefully, not only to cater it to the business need, but also create a maximum impact and economic value additions.
Mr. G.T. Kannan states, “If you look at our name itself, it starts with a small letter and you can see in between capital letters EVA”. He adds, “EVA is meant for Economic Value Addition. Yeah. I wanted somebody to pay attention. So, I made this in capital letter in between the elevate.”
Mr. G.T. Kannan states, “Everybody asked me this question. In fact, I wanted them to ask this question. elEVAte is in the CFO business services to elevate businesses and lead them towards excellence”.
Strong Faith in CFO Services
Mr. G.T. Kannan believes that CFOs need not necessarily be confined to just crunching the numbers and be limited to one analytical skill alone. One of the advantages of CFOs is that they are free to enter any industrial segment. Still, they hand numbers which are useful in every industry.
He opines that CFOs have the opportunity to become good economists, experts in financial and analytical skills, a good entrepreneur, and can gain knowledge in all the commercial aspects. They do not have to be constrained putting a lot of energy on the technological front unlike a technical CEO. This thinking has made Mr. G.T. Kannan put efforts into the finance sector, especially after gaining a rich experience from cash rich company to cash trap company.
He feels that be it small or big, companies need to be more structured in a complex and dynamic situation for achieving success. He put efforts, implemented innovative methods, and introduced processes which were useful to the company. Mr. G.T. Kannan adds, “I feel blessed to continue with this profession. I ask every CFO to change their mindset and be proud of what you do and what you think while doing your assignment. It is not an entrepreneur alone who works, an entire group of people coordinate and work together as a team”.
A Dedicated Visionary
Mr. G.T. Kannan believes in putting efforts and delivering the very best. He is of the opinion that customer satisfaction is of utmost importance. He believes in making use of every situation well and transform them into the favour of the company.
Mr. G.T. Kannan states, “Along with entrepreneur, CFO’s success is also important for the company to add good quality of life to the people around the company”.
