Ranjan Raj Ranjan

Results-driven senior finance executive with 20+ years of progressive leadership across P&L ownership, FP&A, business finance, supply-chain finance, capital raising, and corporate governance. Deep sector expertise in FMCG, D2C consumer brands, retail, media, e-commerce, and financial services. Proven ability to scale high-growth businesses, drive margin improvement in capital-constrained environments, lead cross-functional teams across matrix organizations, and serve as a strategic business partner to CEOs, Boards, and institutional investors.

Adept at ERP implementation, digital finance transformation, and cross-border treasury management.

Founder & Finance Head - 41GRO - New Delhi, India

(2021-04)

Omni-channel B2B2C FMCG Supply Chain – Successful Exit (Acquired)

• Owned end-to-end P&L, FP&A, budgeting, cash-flow management, pricing, and working capital for an omni-channel FMCG supply-chain business operating across B2B and B2C channels.
• Designed and implemented supply-chain finance models covering procurement, inventory turns, logistics costs, credit cycles, and last-mile delivery economics, enabling data-driven operational decisions.
• Achieved profitability in a structurally low-margin FMCG environment through rigorous margin discipline, unit-economics optimisation, and strategic cost control.
• Reduced product returns and wastage to near-zero, materially improving gross margin and cash conversion cycle.
• Led scenario planning, liquidity management, and capital allocation under capital-constrained conditions; engaged with institutional investors and advisors on funding strategy and completed a strategic acquisition

Head of Finance - Farmley - New Delhi, India

(2019-06 - 2021-04)

FMCG / D2C Consumer Brand

• Led the end-to-end finance function for a fast-scaling D2C FMCG brand, reporting directly to the CEO and Board; built the finance team from the ground up and established strong financial controls and governance frameworks.
• Managed 15%+ month-on-month revenue growth by aligning FP&A, working capital, and cash-flow forecasting with aggressive operational scale-up requirements.
• Successfully raised USD 20M+ (USD 12M equity + USD 8M debt) from venture capital firms, commercial banks, and institutional investors; owned all financial modelling, due diligence, and investor negotiations.
• Implemented Oracle NetSuite ERP, significantly improving reporting accuracy, internal controls, process automation, and scalability.
• Delivered cost optimisation and margin improvement across procurement, logistics, and overheads; managed Big-4 audits, statutory compliance, MIS reporting, and investor communications.

Group Finance Director – Indo-China - Havas Group - Phnom Penh, Cambodia

(2017-01 - 2019-06)

Global Advertising & Media Network

• Served as regional finance leader for three operating companies across Southeast Asia, managing consolidated P&L, budgeting, forecasting, and cash flow; business partner to Board and Global CXOs on turnaround strategy and growth planning.
• Improved EBIT by 6–20% through contract restructuring, revenue-recognition clean-up, and targeted cost optimisation.
• Delivered 18% revenue growth through commercial finance insights and cross-sell analysis across service lines.
• Led post-merger financial integration across entities and ensured alignment with global IFRS-based reporting standards.

Associate Vice President – Finance (Group Financial Controller) - AXA - Paris & Bangalore

(2016-04 - 2016-12)

Insurance & Financial Services

• Led cross-border finance teams supporting group-level FP&A, budgeting, forecasting, advanced analytics, and executive reporting; served as finance business partner to Country CFOs across Europe and the US.
• Owned shared-services P&L; improved cost efficiency and reduced employee attrition from 30% to 6% through structural and engagement initiatives.
• Supported enterprise-wide €5B expense optimisation program through analytics-driven insights and scenario modelling.
• Improved month-end close efficiency via pre-close analysis, reducing post-close workload by 25%.

Manager – FP&A - Thomson Reuters - Hyderabad, India

(2015-01 - 2016-04)

Global Information Services

• Managed FP&A for a USD 1.5B global business unit across multiple geographies, including budgeting, rolling forecasts, variance analysis, and KPI reporting.
• Supported commercial finance, pipeline forecasting, and strategic market expansion decisions for senior leadership.
• Delivered executive-grade financial reporting and insights to global C-suite stakeholders.

Senior Manager – Finance & Business Operations - Harbor Freight Tools - Los Angeles, USA

(2013-03 - 2015-01)

USD 5B Retail Chain

• Owned P&L and CAPEX planning for 500+ retail stores across the US; led supply-chain finance initiatives, reducing cost per unit by 6%+ through end-to-end supply-chain visibility.
• Delivered 5.5% margin improvement and 2% OPEX reduction through pricing analytics, product-mix optimisation, and cost rationalisation.
• Supported store rollout decisions via rigorous ROI, NPV, and IRR analysis.

Manager – Finance & Business Planning - Rent.com (TPG Capital) - Los Angeles, USA

(2012-03 - 2013-03)

E-commerce / Real Estate

• Led finance integration post-acquisition from eBay to TPG Capital; owned budgeting, forecasting, pricing strategy, and KPI reporting.
• Delivered USD 2.1M revenue uplift and USD 1.7M EBIT improvement through data-driven pricing and collection optimisation.

Senior Manager – Strategy & Finance - Thomas Cook India - Mumbai, India

(2010-06 - 2012-01)

Foreign Exchange & Travel Services

• Owned P&L, budgeting, and commercial finance for the Forex business; led JV structuring and new product launches, improving margins by 38%.
• Secured premium airport retail locations in India and Sri Lanka, adding USD 3.2M EBIT to the group; supported M&A evaluation, market entry analysis, and regulatory approvals.

Project Manager (Senior Scientist) - DRDO - Hyderabad, India

(2003-08 - 2008-07)

Government of India | Aerospace & Missile Systems

• Managed large government-funded defence programs including budgeting, cost control, and vendor management for projects valued at USD 18M+.
• Delivered 35% cost reduction and 20% cycle-time improvement through process optimisation and PPP-based vendor development.

MBA - Finance & Strategy - Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kozhikode (2008 - 2010)

B.E. - Mechanical Engineering - Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (NIT) Nagpur (1999 - 2003)