Anita Bhat-Zutshi is the former CFO, Ice Cream Business at Unilever in Rotterdam. During her career, she has spent over 25 years with the organization, having started out in Audit and Treasury.

Anita explains how she builds psychological safety in her team, shares the epiphany that drives her philosophy, and offers advice for women in senior Finance roles.

What have you learnt as a leader over the past 12 months?

The biggest learning is that I need to go to where people are in their thinking and not try to lift them to think more like me. Everyone has different starting points, different aspirations, and motivations and I should not just tolerate but truly embrace these differences.  

My focus then shifted from, “Why are they not more like me?” to, “Strength lies in differences – not in similarities.” I started celebrating diversity of gender, thought, personality, etc. in my teams, actively seeking it.

I also shifted my leadership style from a 3D (direct, drive, deliver) approach to a 3E (envision, empower, energize) focus – a style I have used over the past few years as a global leader.

It’s important to nurture great talent density in the team and not have a cookie cutter approach based on your own self.

What’s your philosophy on team building, and how do you create an environment where individuals feel motivated and empowered to perform at their best?

I have led large, global teams for the past decade, and firmly believe that honesty and vulnerability promote trust, which - alongside diversity, inclusion, and psychological safety - builds high-performing teams.

As a leader, balancing empathy and drive with talent density, fostering honest yet constructive feedback is essential. I believe in psychological safety by encouraging diverse views, sharing both successes and failures equally, and seeking constructive feedback, including for myself.

I am often an open book, sharing my own challenges and learnings, which makes others feel comfortable doing the same. I make a point of giving my opinion last to ensure other team members can freely contribute; too often, leaders speak first, and through that set the tone of other responses, then we all lose out.

To me, diversity goes beyond gender and includes diversity of thought, leadership style, and personality among others. It's important to value different perspectives and support talent growth, even if it means letting key talent move on to better roles and different experiences, no matter how much you want to keep them.

I am proud of the teams I've built and am happiest when they thrive independently, occasionally remembering me on key occasions with a kind note or text. This, for me, signifies true leadership success.

What role does collaboration play in driving financial success? And how do you ensure Finance is seen as a strategic partner to other departments?

For Finance to be seen as a strategic partner, it must behave as one. For this to be true, there is an important shift from control and compliance to deep understanding of the business, strategy, and on what sits behind the numbers.

Finance touches all aspects of a business, so you must collaborate, constantly build your knowledge through others, understand the drivers behind each part of the business, be driven by value creation, and actively manage disruption to create sustainable value in the long term.

What is the biggest myth about your profession that you want to debunk?

A lot of people look at the role of a CFO as a dream role – which it is. Equally, a CFO role at whatever level is extremely demanding. There is a lot of blood, sweat, and sacrifices needed. At any CXO level, you need to have great passion, resilience, and tremendous energy to sustain not only your own motivation, but of those around you. This is especially true in the tougher times and there are a few of those! The number of hours per week or a work/family balance becomes irrelevant, to be honest – it’s a 24/7 role. Trust me! 

Further, to be successful in these roles, it has nothing to do with your qualifications or what you have achieved – it’s about the future. You need to constantly learn, unlearn, relearn, and reinvent yourselves in the journey to get there and stay successful.

To debunk any myth about Finance as a profession – yes, maybe we love a spreadsheet, we love structure and process, but our value is so much more than that. Listen to your Finance partner, bring them in on your business strategy - they are your best friends!

What risks have you taken throughout your career and how did they help you get to the level you are at?

The most important risk I have taken is to be part of challenging assignments, chasing audacious goals, taking the unsexy career path - which naturally pushed me outside my comfort zone, giving me invaluable experience, while building self-awareness and self-confidence. With these diverse experiences under my belt, I feel confident taking on any task now; I know I will be able to see it through.

What was the most unexpected lesson you learned in your career so far?

In my mid-20s, as I was starting my career and married life, I was diagnosed with a chronic illness, which was devastating to me. I remember brooding, “why me?”, till I had an epiphany that thankfully it was me and not anyone else in my family. I had always struggled to find meaning in my existence as a middle child till then, but in that moment, I realized that my purpose was not to be entitled but to be in service. A philosophy that I live with to this day.

I always believe that I am in service of the business, my team, my friends and family - this guides my approach to work and life to this day.

If you could go back and give your younger self some career advice, what would it be?

I was a fearless girl. My mother nicknamed me after the first woman who fought for India’s independence – Rani of Jhansi. As a young girl, with the naivete of youth, I had strong courage of conviction with a desire for perfection, which made me very stubborn and fiercely independent, placing a lot of pressure on myself, especially as a young working mother.

In hindsight – with years of experience and some wisdom – I would like to tell that young girl that there was no need to be a super woman, to have the courage to stand up, with the wisdom to stand down. Life is all about striking a balance and interdependence.

As a female leader in a traditionally male-dominated space, how do you champion female empowerment in the workplace?

What initiatives have you led or supported to promote women in leadership roles?

As one of the few female Finance leaders in any room, I am acutely aware that I am in a unique position to actively change the status quo, and champion female empowerment and representation. These have always been close to my heart, and I do take this responsibility seriously.

1. As a role model, I help women see the art of possible with my journey. I generously share my experiences including failures with them, helping them navigate similar challenges in their careers – learning from my experiences.
2. As a sponsor, I have very often taken calculated risks on key female talent and have easily achieved 50% gender diversity in my leadership teams for the past ten years. These women leaders have thrived, been successful on their own, moving onto many CFO/leadership roles.
3. As an active mentor and coach to many female leaders including outside of Finance, I make myself available when they reach out. This is my way of paying it forward.
4. As a female representative around the table, my philosophy is to be the voice of reason and call out bias when I see it. I strongly believe we do not need gender quotas, but do need strong advocates and courageous leaders to uproot systemic and largely unconscious bias.

I’d like to also point out that at least two of my big career moves was enabled by two men, who saw the potential in me and enabled a level of flexibility at a time when it was very rare. So, everyone has potential to enable and uplift.

What is your top piece of advice for women pursuing a career in Finance?

Unlike Marketing or HR, which are more women centric, it is true Finance is a tough profession for women. This is reflected in the fact that women occupy less than 15% of CFO roles in top organizations in the world. It will take us more than a century to get gender parity.

In this context, my advice is for women who are in that top 15% already: Please actively lift other women, proactively mentor, coach and support them. We need to celebrate and advocate for our sisterhood, which will be the biggest gift we can give each other. I don’t see that happening often enough.

For all women in Finance: Believe in yourself, keep the fire of ambition burning, actively seek mentors and sponsors, learn the rules and play them well.

Who is the most inspiring person in business for you and why?

Indra Nooyi – former CEO of PepsiCo - has been a truly inspiring role model for me. Her extraordinary success becoming a global business leader of iconic organizations, delivering performance with purpose, while breaking the barriers of gender and race, and remaining true to her roots has been a source of deep inspiration.

I have watched many of her public interviews where she does not shy from sharing her vulnerabilities and the impact of her choices, which working women of color around the world like me can so relate to.

I recently finished reading her book, My Life in Full, which in my view is a must read for all working career-focused women. I hope I get the opportunity to meet her at least once in life.

What is the one book, podcast or external resource you would recommend to all?

I believe that we need to be the change that we want to see. I first read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People in business school (30 years back), but its wisdom on self-development and leadership stays true to this day.

Recently, I came across America Ferrera’s TED Talk My identity is a superpower – not an obstacle – it’s a real tribute to embracing who you truly are. Its hugely moving and inspiring and there was so much that I could relate to. I would recommend it as a watch.

If leadership styles were ice cream flavors, which flavor best represents your leadership approach and why?

I believe in diversity and lots of inclusion – hence my ice cream flavor would be unique, bold, and innovative. Variety, as you know, is the spice of life!

What’s the last thing that made you smile?

Watching little kids perform makes me shed tears of joy with a smile. This happens every single time. There is something about their innocence, camaraderie, and earnestness to the performance at hand that brings back the purest of emotions. I love the feeling it evokes in me.

Thank you to Anita for speaking to Georgia Wright, Director in our Finance & Accountancy recruitment division in the Netherlands.

Views and opinions contained within our Executive Interviews are those of the interviewee and not views shared by EMEA Recruitment.