After eight years of promotion within the Siemens Smart Infrastructure finance team, Saanchika Weerasinghe has a new challenge. It is the main finances of Brightly Software, a Siemens subsidiary.
Bright is an acquisition, but it's not new. It was closed in 2022. However, integration into the infrastructure of corporate giants like Siemens is unfinished. Because Brightly is a smaller, more dynamic organization, the best practices and KPIs used in the Siemens smart infrastructure cannot be overlaid on top.
Weerasinghe's work incorporates what he absorbed as Vice President of Financial and Financial Integration Lead in Smart Infrastructure, and applies it to more dynamic and growing businesses.
In the next Q&A, Weerasinghe shared (1) her insights into the success metrics of a bright SaaS business, (2) her approach to building a high-performance organization, and (3) the “unlearning” required when Siemens best practices don't suit less assistance.
How did your experience with Siemens prepare you for this CFO role and what unique perspective will you bring brighter?
At Siemens, I worked under it. [global] CFO and lead the executive office. One of our major initiatives has been to surpass our profitability benchmarks against our competitors.
By watching leads through strategic portfolio management and scalable growth strategies, I have taught me practical tools and leadership techniques. Having a strong mentor has shaped my leadership style. It's invaluable to find someone you admire and emulate aspects of their style that resonate with you
My experience with Siemens has given me the insight and discipline that guides the organization's resources towards sustainable growth. I'm excited to brighten my perspective as I navigate the dynamic stages of growth and transformation.
How do you approach it to shape the unit's strategy and ensure it meets its growth and performance goals?
I envision my role as driving optimal investment strategies, both organic and inorganic. It focuses on building a scalable organization and leveraging Siemens' expertise and capabilities. Establish a set of KPIs and ensure that your team understands how to meet and go beyond it to achieve it and set it up for success.
The comprehensive KPIs Siemens uses to measure success have evolved. At the highest level, we assess organizational growth through revenue and order intake metrics. Let's take a closer look at profitability and cash flow. Public companies like Siemens have always had a mix of these categories. The notable shift at Siemens focuses on digital revenue, tracking the percentage of total revenue from digital services.
Another important area we value is resilient revenue. Reconfigure streams from recurring service contracts or software subscriptions that are resilient to market fluctuations. For example, tariff and supply chain challenges tend to affect hardware businesses more than software. These types of structural advantages are key to long-term stability.
When we think about digital transformation in finance, we dig deep into operational metrics that drive financial outcomes. SAAS business tracks key metrics such as customer acquisition costs, lifetime value, and recurring annual revenues, which are essential to understanding performance and growth. The most recent addition to the KPI set is the number of AI use cases implemented.
Ultimately, operational KPIs should be tailored to strategic KPIs. There is an act of balancing a certain balance between daily operational focus and long-term strategic direction.
You are passionate about developing high-performance organizations. How do you achieve that within your finances?
Development of a high-performance organization starts with having people who are capable, motivated and empowered in the right seats to work with the whole team. Leaders create this high-performance environment and culture to promote success.
It's easy to use quantifiable KPIs in some departments. For example, the sales feature has measurable allocations that need to be hit. In finance, it is difficult to establish practical and measurable goals. I aim to drive my team to achieve the set priorities agreed at the beginning of the fiscal year. These priorities are linked to the overall company strategy. When there are agreed priorities, it will stick to the timeline and deliver as an organization.
The finance team does not work in silos, and their priorities affect the broader organization. When I address my team, I always ask myself: “What do I want to see?” [were] With their shoes? “It helps me remember where I'm leading and I'm coming back from bringing me back too [far down] “To the weeds.”
Motivation also affects team performance. Staying motivated by your team requires a clear and transparent direction from management and communication. Communication must be carried out multiple times, not just once. I'm a fan of famous proverbs. “You have to ask something seven times before you remember it.”
What career lesson did you apply for in this role?
Don't hesitate to “unleash” anything. We tend to get used to doing things in a certain way from habits and traditions. [However],The majority of continuous learning is to let go of outdated practices.
For example, I moved from a large, established organization with its own foundations and rhythms. [Siemens] For smaller, more dynamic businesses that are still integrated into Siemens infrastructure [Brightly]. Siemens was an oiled machine. There were so many teams working in parallel at Siemens that I didn't have to think about everyday life.
When I came bright I quickly realized that Siemens practices did not conform to bright constructions. I had to take the time needed to dig deeper, evaluate new best practices, engage with the team and learn how to succeed.
