Nazerane Soris Antony
Group Chief Financial Officer
Some of the AIG’s work involves The Address Hotel Downtown in Dubai, Midfield Terminal Building in Abu Dhabi, The Spa at Address Skyview in Dubai, Hotel Deira Waterfront Development in Dubai, Mafraq Hospital in Abu Dhabi, Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi, and many more. Moreover, the company’s high-profile ongoing projects include the Central Bank of Iraq Headquarters in Baghdad, Marsa Al Arab Quay Wall Villas in Dubai, Vida Dubai Mall in Dubai, The Address Harbour Point, Dubai Creek Harbour, The Address Residences Dubai Opera in Dubai, The Address Il Primo in Dubai, and others.
In an interview with CEO INSIGHTS Magazine, Nazerane Soris Antony, CFO, shares his insights on the company’s value propositions, his experience in the contracting and manufacturing industry, and the vision and mission of AIG.
What inspired you to venture into this niche segment of finance as a CFO, and what drives you today?
My journey dates back to the days when I was just 21 years old, I had just started my journey as an accounting professional. Over time, I grew passionate about the accounting and finance industries. I had opportunities working in trading, manufacturing, construction, interior fit-out industries, and a research institution owned by the central government of India.
The areas of my work have been accounting, finance, treasury, audit, international taxation, budget control, credit control, legal, management of finance/business risks, policy-making, import/exports, freight forwarding, pricing of products, commercial, administration & HR, and more. I have been quite enthusiastic in mentoring and coaching my subordinates ensuring that they adopt the best practices in the industry. The assurance I've earned from more than 40 years of real-world experience and professional training motivates me to work harder and more professionally, and it makes it easier for me to make strategic judgments. I enjoy carrying out my professional obligations diligently.
What is the unique proposition that your organization offers to its clients?
Having been in the industry for over fifty years now, AIG has been at the forefront of contracting and specialized manufacturing. Our teams of experienced engineers and architects run the engineering activities by building on AIG's legacy, using the latest construction methods, design tools, and techniques. The professional team of project managers ensures the highest standards while executing projects according to the client's expectations of quality, schedule, and budget. The well-built and reliable supply chain that extends to international sources of high-quality materials is a key feature, adding to AIG's competency. Our manufacturing facilities use state-of-the-art advanced machinery that is being operated according to international best practices of manufacturing management. AIG’s Target Sector Includes Hospitality, Office & Commercial, Residential, Health Care, Retail and Mixed Use, and Airport Terminals.
What were some of the major challenges you faced in your journey?
As I could recollect, I had a big challenge of handling a large number of letters of credit opened through about 15 banks for various suppliers in Europe and Far East countries during the early 80s when I was in my mid-20s and soon I could overcome the difficulties by close coordination with the banks. I also had a challenge in getting the goods cleared on time as I had to depend on the postal services for receiving the shipping documents. However, I managed the situation by expediting the process by telex & telephone.
The implementation of the oracle was another major challenge as this involved a tremendous amount of planning, coordination, continuous discussions with the system analyst and other stakeholders of various departments, and project teams,
What is the unique proposition that your organization offers to its clients?
Having been in the industry for over fifty years now, AIG has been at the forefront of contracting and specialized manufacturing. Our teams of experienced engineers and architects run the engineering activities by building on AIG's legacy, using the latest construction methods, design tools, and techniques. The professional team of project managers ensures the highest standards while executing projects according to the client's expectations of quality, schedule, and budget. The well-built and reliable supply chain that extends to international sources of high-quality materials is a key feature, adding to AIG's competency. Our manufacturing facilities use state-of-the-art advanced machinery that is being operated according to international best practices of manufacturing management. AIG’s Target Sector Includes Hospitality, Office & Commercial, Residential, Health Care, Retail and Mixed Use, and Airport Terminals.
What were some of the major challenges you faced in your journey?
As I could recollect, I had a big challenge of handling a large number of letters of credit opened through about 15 banks for various suppliers in Europe and Far East countries during the early 80s when I was in my mid-20s and soon I could overcome the difficulties by close coordination with the banks. I also had a challenge in getting the goods cleared on time as I had to depend on the postal services for receiving the shipping documents. However, I managed the situation by expediting the process by telex & telephone.
The implementation of the oracle was another major challenge as this involved a tremendous amount of planning, coordination, continuous discussions with the system analyst and other stakeholders of various departments, and project teams,
and careful approval of necessary data and reporting formats prior to sending to the project team. I feel proud of the successful implementation of oracle on the first attempt within the targeted time. The next challenge was creating a DOA (Delegation of Authorities) matrix for the group which involved identifying the business/finance risks, and careful selection of approving authorities in line with the nature of business activities, and the task was successfully completed and implemented.
In light of your strong experience in the financial services industry, what advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
The market is too competitive in winning good projects with a reasonable bottom line, and it has become a big challenge to achieve the budgeted bottom line too. This necessitates a strict budget control system in place to monitor the cost within the budget so that we achieve the budgeted profit. I would want the emerging accounting professional to maintain comprehensive budgeting and budget control to achieve the budgeted profit. Make sure to collect and manage the cash efficiently as cash is the blood of the business.
Nazerane Soris Antony, Group Chief Financial Officer Advanced Industries Group
Nazerane Soris Antony completed bachelor's in commerce and came to Mumbai to begin his accounting profession. He was one of the founding members of Siyaram Silk Milks Ltd. He has updated himself with various professional qualifications including Chartered Global Management Accountant of AICPA & CIMA, UK. In 1996, he joined Depa Dubai as Financial Controller and got promoted as Group Finance Director as the company grew. He was involved in setting up of various departments, policy making, recruiting, and training the staff etc. In 2017 he joined Sobha Interiors group Dubai as CFO and then started working with Advanced Industries Group Dubai since 2018 as Group CFO. He loves reading books, articles in finance evolutions and scientific developments.
Our manufacturing facilities use state-of-the-art advanced machinery that is being operated according to international best practices of manufacturing management
In light of your strong experience in the financial services industry, what advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
The market is too competitive in winning good projects with a reasonable bottom line, and it has become a big challenge to achieve the budgeted bottom line too. This necessitates a strict budget control system in place to monitor the cost within the budget so that we achieve the budgeted profit. I would want the emerging accounting professional to maintain comprehensive budgeting and budget control to achieve the budgeted profit. Make sure to collect and manage the cash efficiently as cash is the blood of the business.
Nazerane Soris Antony, Group Chief Financial Officer Advanced Industries Group
Nazerane Soris Antony completed bachelor's in commerce and came to Mumbai to begin his accounting profession. He was one of the founding members of Siyaram Silk Milks Ltd. He has updated himself with various professional qualifications including Chartered Global Management Accountant of AICPA & CIMA, UK. In 1996, he joined Depa Dubai as Financial Controller and got promoted as Group Finance Director as the company grew. He was involved in setting up of various departments, policy making, recruiting, and training the staff etc. In 2017 he joined Sobha Interiors group Dubai as CFO and then started working with Advanced Industries Group Dubai since 2018 as Group CFO. He loves reading books, articles in finance evolutions and scientific developments.