CEO Portrait 2024 – Span of control of CEO

Who reports to the CEO in Indian companies? Discover the complexities and variations in the reporting structure to the CEO across Indian firms, shedding light on emerging roles and the evolution of leadership teams.

Span of control of CEO Infographic

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀?

Just who reports to the CEO is not easy to establish. Typically, company websites list the leadership team, but not all companies do. Even when they do, some just list the KMPs (MD, CFO, CS), while others might extend the courtesy to BU Heads. A few detail the entire team, covering the majority of the functions such as CHRO, Chief Manufacturing Officer, or Head of Ops, etc.

Hence, we have had to extend our research quite a bit to unearth the entire team, often resorting to studying the annual reports, annual returns, and open searches. 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄?

In the Indian context, on average, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝟵 (𝟵.𝟬𝟮, 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲) 𝗖𝗫𝗢𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝗺/𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗨 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀. In comparison, the Fortune 500 seems to have a larger span of control at 11. This is understandable, as Fortune 500 firms tend to be more global and much larger.

That said, 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 – these include Chief Accounting Officer, quite separate from Chief Financial Officer; Chief Sustainability Officer; Chief Risk Officer, just to name a few. Even the more established roles like Chief Digital Officer are yet to catch up fully with Indian firms.

𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗘𝗢, 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹.

𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲: The “CEO Landscape 2024” series is based on an analysis of 100 Indian companies across 20 sectors covering both manufacturing and services. Analysis is based on very detailed assessments of CEOs, CFOs, and the entire CXO team, covering nearly 1100 leaders.

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Anu graduated from DU and subsequently completed her full-time MBA from IMI. Post her MBA, she worked in sales in the BFSI space, with ICICI Lombard, Principal Asset Management, DSP Blackrock and Edelweiss, across bancassurance, and institutional sales. Later, she worked in the start-up space, while pursuing and completing the Master's in Business Law from National Law School. At Resource Bridge, Anu is a Sr Associate in the CEO Practice and has worked closely with Ram on key mandates.


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Ram is currently the Leader for the CEO Practice and also the Managing Partner of the firm. Ram is an Engineer-turned (BE Mechanical, MS Industrial) MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, and brings with him 7 years in corporate, 14 years in top-tier consulting and 10 years in executive search. He was last the leader for Life-sciences at Monitor Group and prior to that, headed IMS Consulting and AT Kearney, starting his career with Ashok Leyland. Brings extensive experience in automotive and healthcare/life-sciences space.


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Dhanlaxmi is a CA and ICWA from Mumbai, and brings with her extensive experience as a practicing chartered accountant, serving clients across industries. Alongside, she also served as a visiting faculty in several institutions. At Resource Bridge, Dhana is an Consultant in the CFO Practice, where she has worked with Saroja on several of the key CFO mandates.


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Saroja is a merit-ranking ICWA and is the Lead for the CFO Practice. Coming from an industrial family, she initally worked in the family business focused on automotive forgings. Later, she set up Resource Bridge along with Ram and grew it from infancy. Just over the last few years, she has led 40+ CFO engagements for a variety of clients, and has one of the best networks within the CFO Community, not only in India but outside too. She brings extensive experience in Retail, FMCG and Manufacturing sector.


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Rachana is an MBA with prior work experience at Reliance Industries for 8 years. In her last role at Reliance, Rachana was the Product Manager for the  $55M Benzene and Xylene portfolio, with responsibility over sales, commercial and client management. Later she was at Sizer Metals, a base metal trading firm, working on hedging, supply chain and account management. At Resource Bridge, she is a Sr Associate in the CFO Practice and has worked with Saroja, the CFO Practice Lead, in delivering key mandates.


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Mona leads the BD & New Client Engagement function at Resource Bridge and is responsible for all client development activities for the firm. She comes from a marketing and brand promotions background, having worked in the marketing function at Matsushita. Mona has done her full-time MBA.


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