MOHAN CHEERALA
Bengaluru
Summary
Dynamic finance leader with extensive experience at Diageo, driving financial governance and transformation. Expert in strategic FP&A and commercial finance, enhancing operational effectiveness and compliance. Proven track record in optimizing marketing spend and improving ROI. Strong change management skills, championing ESG initiatives to support sustainable business growth.
Overview
1
1
Certification
24
24
years of professional experience
Work History
Vice President Financial Control
Diageo
11.2020 - Current
- Served as Legal Entity Finance Controller for Diageo North America ($8B+ revenue), maintained accuracy, compliance, and integrity of financial statements (P&L and Balance Sheet).
- Led financial governance, statutory reporting, and audit readiness for one of Diageo's largest regions, ensuring compliance and accuracy in financial practices.
- Oversee ~$2B marketing and commercial spend governance, improving measurement frameworks and ROI tracking.
- Drove enterprise-wide process improvements and technical accounting initiatives with FP&A, commercial, and marketing finance teams, enhancing operational effectiveness.
- Advised in-market finance teams, strengthening financial controls and streamlining statutory reporting processes to ensure timely and accurate reporting.
- Champion ESG reporting and performance tracking for strategic leadership discussions.
- Participated in integrating brand portfolios and aligning financial processes across business units.
Senior Finance Manager (Commercial & Marketing)
Diageo India
07.2015 - 10.2020
- Contributed to growth from ?2 million to ?200 million within 5 years through innovative business systems and brand performance simulation in partnership with Finance, Supply, Marketing, R&D and Commercial stakeholders.
- Developed pricing strategies for new and existing products from ideation to market launch, enhancing competitive advantage.
- Initiated measurement systems for marketing spend that improved margins and effectively influenced decision-making processes.
- Partnered with Marketing & Innovation to anticipate needs and deliver analytics that generated value-driven solutions.
India Accounts Manager / Finance Transformation Lead
Diageo India
06.2012 - 06.2015
- Led large-scale finance transformation during Diageo-United Spirits integration, redesigning financial and commercial processes.
- Improved working capital by optimizing receivables and cash cycles, enabling better liquidity management.
- Engaged senior stakeholders from Commercial and Finance to align processes before implementation, ensuring a smooth transition.
- Ensured governance by adhering to accounting policies and coaching non-finance stakeholders on processes to enhance compliance.
- Led finance operations for national projects to support Commercial Function for Diageo India.
Regional Commercial Finance Manager
General Mills India
01.2011 - 05.2012
- Directed financial accounting, FP&A, commercial budgets, and taxation activities for the region to ensure alignment with corporate objectives.
- Optimized profitability through cost management in sales and distribution while delivering actionable insights for working capital management.
- Acted as primary liaison with HO for sales data and distribution cost analysis, facilitating informed decision-making.
- Managed regional logistics to maintain statutory compliance and uphold financial standards.
Commercial Finance Manager
Reliance Communications Limited
10.2008 - 12.2010
- Led Shared Services (Finance & Commercial) across multiple business lines, collaborating with functional heads to align financial strategies with business objectives.
- Reviewed business operations for policy adherence while managing treasury, payables, receivables, and accounts to uphold financial integrity.
- Managed fixed assets, insurance, channel payouts, commission processing, warehousing, and supply chain operations to enhance operational efficiency.
Commercial Finance Lead
ITC Limited (A British American Tobacco co)
09.2002 - 09.2008
- Oversaw end-to-end accounting, month-end reporting, commercial taxation compliance, logistics costs, and capex to uphold financial integrity in the region.
- Managed budgeting, vendor management, and procurement to optimize financial operations and drive cost efficiency.
- Managed finance and commercial activities, ensuring adherence to company policies and enhancing operational effectiveness.
- Managed daily banking transactions and treasury functions to ensure financial efficiency.
- Played an instrumental role in setting up FMCG businesses for the company including distribution, supply chain and manufacturing
Education
Certified Public Accountant -
Washington State Board of Accountancy
USA10-2026
Executive Program - Business Management
Indian Institute of Management
Master's - business administration in Financial Management
B. Com - Advanced Accountancy & Auditing
Skills
- Financial Controllership & Governance
- Strategic FP&A & Business Partnering
- Commercial Finance & Pricing Strategy
- Finance transformation
- Financial Governance
- Internal Controls & Risk Management
- ESG & Non-Financial Reporting
- Change management
- Financial Modeling & Value Chain Optimization
Certification
Diploma- The Institute of Cost Accountants of India, Sun Micro system certified Java Professional, IBM Global Services Certified E Commerce Professional
Languages
English, Telugu, Hindi
Interests
Mentoring, Strategic Reading
Accomplishments
- Recognized with Corporate Controllers Group 'JW Blue Label Award' for the exceptional thought leadership and collaboration in setting up the tariff accounting process for NA, for designing the process, establishing and stabilizing through hyper care support to ensure full embedment within NAM business cycles. The total annualized impact is 100 million USD in F26.
- Recognised twice for significant contributions to the Diageo - United Spirits transition program for deliverables in Commercial, OTC, PTP, receivables and cash management processes.
- Delivered turnaround of Treasury operations in General Mills Inc and ITC Limited by introducing a Virtual banking process (Improvement in receivable cycles).
- Partnered with the business team(s) and implemented Go to Market project (Working capital improvements for Customers) at General Mills.
- Instrumental in setting up and stabilizing the Commercial Finance / Taxation for FMCG business in ITC Limited.
- Seamless Transformation and Transition of Legal Entity Financial Controllership structure for DIAGEO's biggest and most profitable region (NAM).
Stakeholders mapping
CFOs, SVPs, Global FP&A, Tax, GBO, Market Leadership Teams
Timeline
Vice President Financial Control
Diageo
11.2020 - Current
Senior Finance Manager (Commercial & Marketing)
Diageo India
07.2015 - 10.2020
India Accounts Manager / Finance Transformation Lead
Diageo India
06.2012 - 06.2015
Regional Commercial Finance Manager
General Mills India
01.2011 - 05.2012
Commercial Finance Manager
Reliance Communications Limited
10.2008 - 12.2010
Commercial Finance Lead
ITC Limited (A British American Tobacco co)
09.2002 - 09.2008
Certified Public Accountant -
Washington State Board of Accountancy
Executive Program - Business Management
Indian Institute of Management