Balkishan Sahni

Senior finance & commercial leader with 20+ years of experience driving profitable growth, capital efficiency, and investor confidence in large-scale, service-led businesses. Proven partner to CEOs in shaping financial strategy, scaling P&Ls, optimizing cash flow and working capital, and leading fundraising, M&A due diligence, and post-merger integration. Brings strong command of FP&A, treasury, and commercial decision-making translating financial insight into business momentum while ensuring financial integrity, scalability, governance and long-term value creation.

Head - Finance & Commercial (Media Investments) at WPP MEDIA (2025-01 – Present)

Leading finance & commercial for WPP Media's most critical business vertical, accounting for over half of enterprise revenue. Tasked with strengthening governance, & global policy compliance, and institutionalizing scalable FP&A, revenue, and contract frameworks, while acting as a strategic advisor to leadership on high-value vendor negotiations, risk management, and capital-intensive commercial decisions within a US$2.5Bn billing environment.

• Strengthened global policy compliance and audit readiness by reviewing commercial and financial practices against global policy frameworks, materially reducing audit observations and stakeholder risk concerns.
• Institutionalised disciplined deal governance for inventory commitments by standardising evaluation templates, approval workflows, and risk assessment criteria, improving transparency and approval turnaround times.
• Unlocked ~US$20Mn in long-outstanding cash by resolving aged accruals and receivables through cross-functional reconciliation, contract closure, and vendor coordination.
• Elevated enterprise governance standards by strengthening documentation, approval hierarchies, exception handling, and post-deal monitoring, establishing clear accountability while supporting scalable growth.

Managing Partner – Finance & Commercial Essencemediacom / Managing Partner – Finance & Commercial (Mediacom) / Finance Director – Mediacom at WPP MEDIA (2019-12 – 2024-12)

Worked as Finance Director following consolidation of accounting into a Shared Services Centre to own strategic finance, commercial governance, and client profitability. Rapidly promoted to Managing Partner within two years, and later appointed as Managing Partner for Essencemediacom post-merger, reflecting sustained leadership in budgeting & forecasting, pricing, contract governance, and finance business partnering during rapid scale growth and global client complexity.

Reporting to: CEO | Team Size: 8

• Built a strategic finance and commercial governance layer after SSC consolidation, enabling leadership to manage growth, pricing, and profitability with real-time performance visibility and reviews. Frameworks supported rapid scale and improved executive decision velocity.
• Engineered margin expansion by redesigning product monetisation, specialised services mix, and client rebate structures, lifting gross margins by over 90% while strengthening pricing discipline and commercial accountability.
• Partnered with leadership to scale the business 3.5× in billings and 5× in net sales over five years by entering under-penetrated sectors, and structuring finance-led growth plays with low conflict risk.
• Led seamless integration of Essence and Mediacom following global merger, doubling business scale without client disruption by resolving legacy issues, managing client conflicts, and executing disciplined change management.
• Strengthened cash flow and risk governance by instituting rigorous working capital reviews, tightening credit exposure, and improving collections to over 95%, materially reducing default and bad-debt risk.
• Built and developed a high-calibre finance and commercial team from the ground up, hiring qualified professionals, embedding accountability-led operating rhythms, and creating a scalable leadership bench to sustain long-term growth.

Vice President – Finance at PEARL ACADEMY (Part of Laureate International Universities) (2014-09 – 2019-12)

Brought in as Vice President – Finance to professionalize controllership and governance following Pearl Academy's acquisition by Laureate Education. Tasked with replacing transactional finance with enterprise-grade controls, US GAAP–aligned reporting, disciplined capital allocation, and business partnering, while supporting multi-city expansion, complex funding structures, and heightened global audit, regulatory, and stakeholder expectations. Reporting to: CEO/ CFO | Team Size: 11

• Spearheaded capital structure optimization initiatives, designing innovative debt frameworks aligned to cash cycles and regulatory constraints, achieving a 50% reduction in financing costs.
• Directed enterprise-wide cost optimization programs, restructuring non-core operations and renegotiating commercial terms, delivering US$2 Mn+ in recurring cost savings.
• Led capex governance and investment discipline, partnering with projects and vendors to optimize spend, achieving a 20% reduction in expansion capex without compromising growth plans.
• Established US GAAP–aligned financial governance and controllership, closing long-standing audit gaps and strengthening global reporting and stakeholder confidence.
• Enabled scalable multi-city expansion through finance-led business partnering, aligning funding, leases, and commercial structures to support growth under not-for-profit constraints.
• Led ERP implementation & other automation projects, end to end SAP implementation to enable scalability & effective financial controls and bringing operational efficiencies.

Associate Senior Manager – Finance at COLT TECHNOLOGIES INDIA PVT LTD (2013-07 – 2014-09)

Finance Controller – NDTV Lifestyle at NDTV LTD (2007-10 – 2013-07)

Manager Finance at BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED (2006-12 – 2007-10)

Manager Corporate Finance & Treasury at RAK CERAMICS (2002-09 – 2006-12)

Chartered Accountant – Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (2002)

LLB – Maharishi Dayanand University (2024)

PGDM in Finance – All India Management Association (2004)

MCom – University of Delhi (2002)