The role of the modern CFO, as an enabler of change and co-shaper of the future, was spoken by OTE Group Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Babis Mazarakis, at the 19th KPMG CFO Conference. In his speech entitled “Financing the future: The best way to anticipate the future is to invest in it”, Mr. Mazarakis used the example of OTE Group and its course over the last decade, to map out how the modern CFO must always be one step ahead of developments, looking to the future, and ensuring that the resources are available to finance change.
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"For a company to move into the future, it needs, above all, vision, but also resources, to make the right moves at the right time, and executives ready to make decisions that involve risk," said the Head of Financial Affairs of OTE Group, and focused on three milestones for the company: the total transformation that began in 2010, the digital transformation that began in 2016, and the creation of new sources of revenue.
"OTE Group has changed a lot in the last 10 years. If we had not thought about the future in 2010, we would still be there (…) In the midst of an unprecedented economic crisis, we began the transformation of OTE Group. We saved resources by limiting expenses, sold assets and invested. We made difficult decisions. We took risks. And we have continued to invest every year until today. We spent the decade of the economic crisis investing continuously. In total, from 2011 to this year, we invested €5 billion. By 2030, we estimate that OTE will invest as much more," said Mr. Mazarakis.
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Regarding digital transformation, the CFO of OTE Group noted: "In 2016, when the term digital transformation was almost unknown, the management of OTE Group presented the vision of becoming an example of digital transformation. As a financial department, we saw the investment in digitalization as securing the future of the company, and we acted as enablers. We increased the budget, and of course we also carried out our own digital transformation. Because you start the changes with yourself."
Mr. Mazarakis also referred to the creation of new sources of revenue, as another strategic decision that led OTE to where it is today: "Our market is extremely competitive, prices are falling and, especially in the technology sectors, disruption, sudden change, can come from anywhere. At OTE Group, we have been working continuously on new projects for years. On services that will take us into the future, such as optical fibers, pay TV, ICT, the online food ordering service BOX, COSMOTE Insurance, e-payments. Even the creation of three separate subsidiaries for contact centers, stores and field technicians was, to a certain extent, done in the context of creating new sources of revenue. Entering every new market has costs and risks. As a financial department, we support new ventures on principle and work hard to transform risk into calculated risk."
Finally, Mr. Mazarakis emphasized that investing in the future also means investing in sustainable development. "For OTE Group, sustainable development is an integral element of its business strategy. The ESG criteria, which demonstrate our positive performance in environmental, social and corporate governance issues, have been integrated into all our operations and, above all, into our strategy."
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Concluding his speech, the Head of Financial Affairs of OTE Group emphasized that the modern CFO is an enabler and accelerator of change. "Vision, investments, non-stop change and a strong stomach. This is for me the secret of success. For the CFO, the starting point and destination is the future. And the journey towards the future is eternal."
