Since December 2023, Anna Tanganelli has served as Chief Financial Officer of Iveco, the commercial vehicles business that was spun off from CNH industrial in 2021. Tanganelli started her career at UBS, then moved to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), where she held various roles, primarily in Business Development and M&A. In 2019, she was appointed CFO and Head of M&A for Magneti Marelli and CFO for the EMEA region within the broader Marelli Group. In 2021, she took on the role of CFO and Head of M&A at the Iren Group, a multi-utility company listed on the Italian stock exchange.
Global Finance: You have been the financial head of Iveco Group for almost a year now. What has been the biggest challenge so far?
Anna Tanganelli: Iveco Group is navigating through a rapidly evolving external market and geopolitical context, bearing new and disruptive complexities which affect the very way in which we do business: from supply chain interruptions to fluctuating market demand, from volatile macroeconomic fundamentals to operating in a “polycrisis” global scenario, while remaining at the forefront of innovation and leading the automotive industry’s transformation journey towards electrification.
As CFO, the biggest challenge has been—and is still today—to ensure that our financial objectives and processes fully align with Iveco Group’s long-term growth ambition, and at the same time enable the company to safely weather any storm and complexity that may lay ahead.
And since the Iveco Group 2024-2028 Strategic Business Plan was scheduled to be presented a little more than three months [March 2024] after I joined, I had to come up with a solid financial strategy quickly.
GF: Most of your career has been in the automotive industry. Are there specific aspects of this business and industry for a Chief Financial Officer?
Tanganelli: Everyone who works for the automotive sector knows that this industry is not “for the faint of heart.” It’s cyclical, labor-heavy, capital and R&D-intensive, fiercely competitive, and in the midst of a remarkable, all-encompassing transformation—it never stands still.
This requires a CFO to be flexible in adapting financial processes and strategies to changing external and internal conditions, and quick in making decisions, sometimes accepting a reasonable, calculated level of risk.
At the same time, you must have a constant focus on cost control, operational efficiency and cash flow management. In an industry with tight margins, significant capital investments and sometimes long supply chains, optimizing cash generation and ensuring a disciplined liquidity management is vital.
The rapid pace of technological advancements and regulatory changes highlight the need for a forward-thinking, more strategic approach to financial planning and risk management. CFOs must understand the importance of factoring less traditional financial metrics in their decision-making process, such as innovation, connectivity and ESG.
GF: Where do you devote most of your energy and time?
Tanganelli: Besides my core, day-to-day finance-related activities, I spend most of my energy and time on people and processes. This includes identifying and developing our finance leaders of the future, attracting and nurturing talents within the organization, stepping up accountability and strategic thinking, and, above all, being a female leader in a still substantially male-dominated industry—fostering and widening diversity.
GF: How do you see the use of artificial intelligence (AI) evolving in finance?
Tanganelli: AI has the potential to revolutionize finance by enhancing data analysis, improving forecasting accuracy and automating routine tasks. I see AI evolving to become an important part of the decision-making processes, providing deeper insights and enabling more strategic, data-driven decisions. At Iveco Group, we are exploring ways to leverage AI to optimize our financial operations and drive innovation.