"EVERY BUSINESS NEEDS A FOUR- QUADRANT INVESTMENT FRAMEWORK"

VAIBHAV SURANA, CFO, Lubrizol IMEA, is a finance veteran who has worked across consultancies, engineering firms, automation companies, and FMCG. In a chat with BW Businessworld's Savi Khanna, he discusses why capital discipline is no longer about cutting costs, how sustainability and margins must be treated as one conversation, the four-quadrant investment framework he carries from Honeywell to Lubrizol, and more. Excerpts

- VAIBHAV SURANA, CFO, Lubrizol IMEA, is a finance veteran who has worked across consultancies, engineering firms, automation companies, and FMCG. In a chat with BW Businessworld's Savi Khanna, he discusses why capital discipline is no longer about cutting costs, how sustainability and margins must be treated as one conversation, the four-quadrant investment framework he carries from Honeywell to Lubrizol, and more. Excerpts

In today's volatile global environment, what does capital discipline mean?And how has that definition changed from a decade ago?

Capital discipline today is not about belt-tightening. It is about spending with intent — choosing where to play and where not to, doubling down on high-return opportunities while deliberately cutting low-value uses of capital. The goal is to make every dollar count.

A decade ago, capital discipline for most CFOs meant freezing budgets when times were difficult. That was the reflex: tighten, conserve, wait. The modern CFO operates with a fundamentally different mindset. Every investment must meet strict return-on-investment criteria, it must align with the organisation's long-term strategic initiatives, and it must be stress-tested for payback periods. The question is not just whether we are cutting costs — it is whether the savings we generate are being reallocated to something more innovative or more strategically valuable. Reducing repairs and maintenance spend in the short term, for instance, may look like discipline on paper, but if it compromises long-term asset performance, it is the opposite.

What has also evolved is the shift from approval processes to full ownership of the investment cycle. CFOs are no longer gatekeepers who sign off or decline. We own the outcome — including cash flow returns — from the moment the investment is conceived to the moment it delivers.

You have worked across sectors and geographies. Most finance leaders pick one lane. What drove your cross-industry journey, and how has it shaped your perspective as a CFO?

The journey was not planned as a deliberate strategy — it evolved. What I can say is that working across industries and geographies completely transformed how I think about financial modelling and business partnership.