CEO Insights Magazine

Irrespective of how large an organization is or the cutting-edge technologies, it has adopted when it comes to driving an organization's growth, the finance leader plays a vital role in leading it through the complex business ecosystem today which is also largely globalized. And, CFOs are the top C-suite levels bolting all the loose ends. It's no secret that the role of the CFO has dynamically evolved over time now. In addition to managing costs and profitability, investing in growth and talent, and holding people accountable, the purview of the Chief Financial Officer role today has expanded across the technology transformation, and most importantly ESG reporting. Mushtaq Hussain, CFO of NAJMAT AL-SAMAWA (Subsidiary of ASLIL, UAE) - a cement manufacturing plant, actively perceives this and is effectively leveraging his experiences to drive the company toward sustainable growth. Recently, CEO Insights ASIA engaged in an exclusive discussion with Mushtaq Hussain to know more about him and his leadership stint as the CFO leading NAJMAT AL-SAMAWA. Below are the snippets.

Could you give a brief account of your professional background and experiences? What is the motivation that fuels your daily routines?

I have done my CPA and MBA/MBEcon from reputed educational institutes and have rich and diversified experience in the multi-cultural environment of MENA & war-zone areas with multi-millions of dollars financing arrangements for Mega Projects over the last two decades. I have also implemented ERP/MRP systems in multiple organizations as a Change Master Expert. My motivation factors are a sense of responsibility, integrity, new challenges, and dealing with industry Leaders/Top Tier companies around the globe.

You possess over twenty-three years of experience. How has been your path to success and what is your success mantra?

Success means different things to different people, and if you ask this question to different people you meet every day, you will get different answers. My success factors are continuous hard work, training & development, team building, DOAs & developing seamless process.

How would you define NAJMAT AL-SAMAWA as an organization and its current position in the market?

NAJMAT AL-SAMAWA is blended with experience-oriented teams having multicultural exposures. NAS is a vibrant organization always aligned with state-of-the-art technology, greenfield plant, automation, and digitalization. NAS started its cement production in March 2021, focusing on quality parameters, along with business partnerships with reputed distributors and retailers. ‘Quality is our redline’ with client satisfaction being our aspiration. NAS successfully achieves its yearly sales targets within all cities of Iraq and showed its presence under the name of quality. Everything at NAJMAT AL-SAMAWA revolves around its clients and we never say ‘NO’ to our clients. Our visionary leadership identified Digi-tech in cement manufacturing long before others and connected quality and digi-tech all together.

As the CFO, how do you determine the profitability of an investment of the company?

Being CFO, I always focus to bring VALUE to the company. A strong CFO knows how to add value to an organization. There are numerous tactics such as reviewing tax information or analyzing every financial statement involved with the company, but from a strategic standpoint, it’s very simple how a CFO brings value to a company. I perform it in five ways - growing the company faster, improving profitability, improving cash flow, obtaining increased leverage from banks, and providing leadership and direction throughout the company. A good way to measure profits and cash flow is to follow your bottom line — your EBITDA. EBITDA is one of the best measurements of the value of a company and it determines operating performance as well.

Tell us about your leadership approach. What are the guidelines or methodologies you follow to lead your team?

Transformational approach, you can say change management through training, continuous brain-storming, delegation of authority, and building trust. Having this transformational leadership style enabled my team to address an overall company goal and improve the overall quality of our work.

What is the future destination you are heading towards?

Commonly said that ‘The future is not a destination, it's a direction’, but I am strongly ambitious to travel become true leader of an organization who depicts deep impact with an aim to increase the profitability, and cash flows, linking finance to operations, mitigate financial risks, compliance management, excellent team development, close collaboration among all stakeholders with a clear vision, mission, and direction towards sustainable growth.

In light of your strong experience within the industry, what advice would you give to budding industry leaders?

I will advise the new team leaders to challenge themselves and take risks, have learning attitude & share positivity in any organization culture. This is also the voice of time to command artificial intelligence with digitalization, as digitalization gives trust in process improvements. Leaders of tomorrow need to understand business drivers with digi-technique and big data.

Mushtaq Hussain, Chief Financial Officer, Najmat Al-Samawa

Mushtaq is a CFO of NAJMAT AL-SAMAWA Company for the Cement Industry, in Iraq (Subsidiary of ASLIL, UAE) having diversified experience in multiple industries (like Construction, Manufacturing, Retail, Hospitality, Contingency, and Consultancy Services) in MENA & war-zone areas. He has done CPA and MBA from reputed educational institutes and has experience in multi-million dollar financing arrangements for Mega Projects. He has also implemented several ERP/MRP systems in multiple organizations as a change management initiator. His favorite quote is "Capital is not scarce, Vision is".

Hobbies: Reading business journals, Gym

Favorite Cuisine: Baryani & Dolma (Iraqi cuisine)

Favorite Book: The Butterfly Organization

Favorite Travel Destination: Niagara Falls Canada), Turkey

Awards & Recognition: Humanitarian Award