Ayas Al Gul-Most Inspiring Global Finance Leaders 2025

Ayass Al Gul approaches finance the way architects approach structure: nothing decorative, everything load bearing. In his role as Group VP – Finance at Yas Holding Technology, he designs financial systems that can withstand growth, volatility, and transformation. His experience across mergers, digital change, and multi-country operations has shaped a philosophy where finance becomes the backbone of strategy—aligning markets, capital, and accountability.

The result is not just control but confidence: leadership teams empowered to act decisively because the numbers tell a coherent, reliable story. In this exclusive interview with TradeFlock, Ayass shares the most important strategies and milestones of his journey that made him what he is today.

What key experiences transformed you from a functional accountant to a strategic finance leader?

My professional journey has been built on a disciplined and progressive career path, moving methodically from accountant to credit controller and into senior finance leadership roles. I have never taken shortcuts; every advancement was earned through consistent delivery, proven capability, and measurable impact. I strongly believe leadership must be earned through demonstrated achievement, not learnt opportunistically. As a result, most of my career progression occurred within the organisations I served, where promotions directly reflected performance and trust. Any decision to move on was deliberate and guided by long-term professional growth.

Across this journey, three milestones were particularly defining. The first was leading large-scale mergers and acquisitions at News Corp. and Rotana Media Group. Working closely with global investors and senior leadership on the integration of more than 62 companies significantly expanded my strategic perspective and strengthened my ability to manage complexity, risk, and execution at scale.

The second milestone was driving digital transformation across organisations such as Alfanar Trading, Body Masters, and Ghassan Aboud Group. These initiatives sparked a lasting focus on technology, data integrity, and adaptive control frameworks, sharpening my risk instincts and enhancing the quality of financial reporting that supports strategic decision-making.

The third was transforming finance functions in technology-driven, multi-country environments, particularly at Fujitsu. Leading a geographically dispersed finance organisation across more than five countries, I repositioned finance from a transactional role to a strategic governance partner, improving working capital, strengthening controls, and delivering sustainable profitability across the region.

How has working in emerging and developed markets shaped your approach to capital allocation and value creation?

My experience across markets has shown that sustainable value emerges from measured action. In emerging economies, I adopt a phased approach to investment—starting small, scaling with validated returns, and avoiding excessive reliance on bank financing. Cash flow discipline, robust controls, and transparent performance measurement ensure that capital is allocated to the highest-value opportunities.

Even in developed markets, the principle holds: disciplined allocation, clear KPIs, and accountability turn strategy into tangible outcomes. This approach balances growth ambition with financial rigour, delivering superior returns while strengthening organisational resilience across diverse economic environments.

How have you used financial insight to shape or sharpen strategy?

Understanding market dynamics and the internal and external drivers behind volatile results is the first step for a CFO to play a truly strategic role. This insight allows strategy to be translated into a clear, actionable plan, supported by relevant KPIs and disciplined execution across scenarios. Sustainable transformation, however, requires more than top-level alignment; it demands changes in practices, habits, and behaviours that may have driven past success but no longer support future growth.

During my tenure with a leading media group in the MENA region, I shifted the management perspective by presenting profitability by business activity rather than by country or region. This approach uncovered previously hidden loss-making areas and highlighted where value was truly created. It enabled targeted organic growth, precise capital allocation, and recruitment of the right capabilities, ultimately doubling profits within three years.

Equally important was simplicity in execution. By focusing on clear priorities, relevant KPIs, and empowering managers at all levels, we ensured accountability, engagement, and sustainable momentum across the organisation.

How do you turn complex financial data into a clear, actionable story for non-finance leaders?

Many non-finance leaders are action-orientated and rely on intuition more than detailed analysis, which early in my career made traditional finance-heavy presentations ineffective. Over time, I learnt that clarity and focus are key. I distil complex data into a single, story-driven message, selectively using facts to support intuitive decision-making.

By simplifying complexity without losing substance, I guide leadership toward shared insights, improve comprehension, and enable informed, confident decisions, turning finance from a scorekeeping function into a strategic narrative that drives alignment and impact.

How do you assess AI investments for long-term value and advantage?

AI has entered a diffusion phase. Despite the impressive capabilities of today’s technology, challenges such as misinformation, data gaps, and immature systems persist. Many organisations rush to deploy AI for short-term gains without investing in high-quality, structured data, governance, and long-term capability development.

I recommend approaching AI as an internal strategic capability, building tailored solutions with skilled expertise. This ensures systems evolve into trusted digital partners, delivering sustainable return on capital, scalable adoption, and a defensible competitive advantage that extends far beyond immediate financial performance.