pEOpLE

On the Fast Track

core of its operations. The logic of their merger was driven not just by the complementarities of their functionality, but also by the challenging market conditions, following the dot-com bust. Together, they had a more compelling value proposition for organisations in the area of procurement, sourcing, collaborative commerce and spend management. In 2007 the company made a decisive shift; it started offering its software as a service on a subscription model, and not as license software on a CD which is deployed in-premise. Ariba became one of the first companies to embrace cloud computing before even the term had become fashionable. Though risky at that time, it proved to be the right decision; it has grown at a CAGR of 25 per cent in the APJ region between 2008 and 2013. Between 2005 and 2012, its stock price zoomed from just about 5 USD to 45 USD. Then, in 2012, SAP, the business software giant, best known for its ERP software which has a commanding market share, acquired Ariba. Ariba, though tiny in comparison to SAPs over 16 billion Euro revenue at that time, gave SAP two crucial advantages a presence in and the knowledge of cloud computing technology and business model; and deep functionality of supplier relationship management. SAP, like most established software powerhouses was struggling on the cloud computing front, and its own SRM solution was not as dominant as its ERP was in the marketplace. SAP rightly decided against immediately assimilating Ariba into the larger organisation. This would have extinguished its uniqueness and the skill sets it brought with it. Instead, it decided to set up a cloud unit with Ariba and SuccessFactors, another cloud business it acquired. SAP expects revenue from its cloud businesses to grow to Euro 2 billion by 2015. Before its acquisition by SAP, Ariba had made two important decisions. It divested its sourcing services business to Accenture in 2010 and then acquired a privately held procurement support company named Quadrem, which

Mayank Kalla, Senior Director Finance,

Southern Hemisphere & Asia Pacic Operations, Ariba

ayank Kalla grew up in Indian Railways housing colonies in multiple cities. That is perhaps why he has been on a fast track career-wise. Starting as an intern in 2000, he currently leads the finance function for Ariba, an SAP company for Southern Hemisphere & Asia, including AsiaPacific, South America and South Africa. He has been part of the remarkable evolution of not just a company, but also an industry. Starting in the heady days of dot-com, Ariba has defined and continuously redefined the spend management industry it founded. However, it was not at Ariba where Mr Kallas journey started, but at Freemarkets, another dot-com baby, which was later acquired by Ariba. Freemarkets pioneered reverse auction and sourcing services, where sellers outbid each other in response to a buyers stated need and the one who offers the lowest price wins. This simple idea caught on and Freemarkets grew rapidly. In India, S.B. Billimoria & Co. was handling finance, accounting and taxation for them, and this is where Mr Kalla landed up to do article-ship, after completing his graduation. He was absorbed by Freemarkets, where he was the 13th employee and he reported to CFO, Asia. From scratch, Freemarkets built a sizeable business in India. Then, three years later, Ariba acquired it. Since Ariba did not have much of a presence in Asia at that point of time, it was Freemarkets that formed the

provided business network solutions to mining companies, mostly in Australia, Africa and South America. Like most businesses, Ariba faced challenges when the global economy slumped in 2008. However, unlike most, it emerged from this period stronger. Mr Kalla worked closely with the APJ MD to put together a plan that resulted in a doubling of margins even as revenue fell for a year. There was a sharp focus on cost management through a cut-back on facilities footprint, a squeeze on discretionary spend and flexi working hours, among others. More importantly, the organisation shifted its focus from pure top line growth to profitable growth. It let go of many opportunities where the ability of the customer to pay was suspect. As a result, revenue fell for a year, but then, not just the revenue bounced back, but profitability also zoomed. In 2012, he was promoted again and was made responsible for finance for South America, South Africa and APJ. Along the way, promoted every two years, Mr Kalla has got several accolades and awards, but he finds more satisfaction in the company transform and grow through challenging times. He aspires to develop emerging markets credentials and wants to see himself moving into a business leadership role. After all, several CFOs have moved to CEO positions, he points out. He is lucky to have found mentors who believed in him and shaped him professionally, especially Ravi Kumaraswami, former MD of Ariba in APJ and now SVP for Global Procurement Cloud Sales at SAP and Ahmed Rubaie, former Ariba CFO who left after SAP acquisition. He adds that without the support and understanding of his spouse, he would not be able to manage the complexity of the role, a wide time zone band he works in and the extensive travel he needs to make. He loves to run, and he also encourages his team to focus on fitness. He is also an avid trekker and misses no opportunity to trek in the hills. He has covered all the three Pindari, Kafni & Sunderdhunga glaciers among other treks. He has had a great ride on a superfast train that has many interesting stations in store ahead. n

46 CFOCONNECT April 2014