CFO of Cipla Sub-Saharan Africa Nishant Saxena has been nominated for the 2017 CFO Awards for his executive role in ensuring ongoing success at the pharmaceutical giant. The annual 'Oscars for South African CFOs', to be held on 11 May, recognise CFOs of listed companies, large corporations, state-owned entities and government institutions, and awards them for outstanding performance and leadership.
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- Till Streichert (Vodacom) has been nominated for the 2017 CFO Awards.
Holding MBA and engineering degrees from the Indian Institute of Management, Nishant began his career with Proctor & Gamble and gained global experience working in Japan, Philippines, Singapore and South Africa. He is an award-winning social entrepreneur and has lectured at leading universities on a part-time basis. Nishant joined Cipla India as CFO in August 2013, before joining the company's South African division in May 2014 as CFAO. He assumed his current role in April 2016.
Cipla is the third-largest pharmaceutical company in South Africa and produces a broad range of products. It has revenues of R3 billion, 900 employees, five offices and a manufacturing location in Durban.
In an interview with CFO South Africa, he expressed his view on how CAs can progress to becoming CFOs:
"One of the things I have noticed is that CAs are strong accountants, and very hard working but often weaker on soft skills and business orientation. Those things you learn much more when you do a business course, for example, or with experience on the business side."
