Meganathan Mark Gounder: Business Leader with a Proven Track Record
Meganathan Mark Gounder, a distinguished financial professional with extensive experience spanning across South Africa, Sub Saharan Africa, the United States, and Europe, stands out as a seasoned business leader. As an accomplished Chartered Accountant (SA), he possesses a remarkable track record of creating value for organisations through his strategic acumen, effective business partnering, and financial expertise, consistently achieving outstanding results.
Senior Executive Achievements:
Hulamin (Listed on JSE) – Group CFO (April 2021 to Current)
Meganathan plays a pivotal role in his position as Group CFO at Hulamin, a company with an annual revenue exceeding R16 billion and over 2500 employees. His responsibilities are multifaceted and revolve around four key finance pillars: strategy, enabling, reporting, and governance. Notable achievements include devising and implementing a new finance operating model to enhance business partnering services, empowering his finance team to reduce monthly management reporting from 26 to just 6 days, and successfully re-engineering Hulamin’s balance sheet to meet additional capital requirements. Meganathan has also been instrumental in steering Hulamin back to profitability after facing challenging trading conditions.
Illovo Sugar (South Africa) Pty Ltd – Finance Director (November 2013 to March 2021)
In his role as Finance Director at Illovo Sugar, a company with an annual revenue of R6.5 billion and over 2000 employees, Meganathan was tasked with driving financial performance, efficient procurement, treasury management, and group tax compliance. He played an integral role in reducing manpower costs by 15% through a new operating model, partnered with the Department of Job Fund to implement a significant development project, and initiated various cost reduction projects, which collectively contributed to the business’s success.
Illovo Sugar Africa – Group Finance Manager (January 2012 to October 2013)
During his tenure as Group Finance Manager, Meganathan initiated several changes to improve finance management reporting for the Illovo Sugar Group operating across six African countries. This included creating monthly executive reports by country and implementing a forecasting software package (TM1), enhancing reporting and integration of forecasting software into the ERP system.
Illovo Sugar (South Africa) Pty Ltd – Finance Manager (September 2009 to December 2011)
As Finance Manager for SA Operations, Meganathan was responsible for consolidated finance reporting, financial statements, taxation, and risk management. His accomplishments include standardising management accounting reporting and rolling out Cognos controller consolidation software in SA operations.
A History of Dedication:
Meganathan’s journey within the Illovo Sugar Group, while completing his qualifications, includes roles such as Corporate Finance Manager, Corporate CA article clerk, Management Accountant, Assistant Management Accountant, Budget Controller, and Cost Clerk. Throughout these roles, he consistently demonstrated dedication and financial acumen.
Meganathan Mark Gounder’s illustrious career is a testament to his strategic thinking, financial prowess, and commitment to achieving excellence in diverse and challenging business environments. His profound impact on the organisations he has served has been marked by improved financial performance, cost reduction, and robust risk management, making him a recognised leader in the field.