The challenge of controlling costs in large-scale operations whilst maintaining service quality requires more than traditional budget oversight—it demands innovative thinking about how spending decisions are made and monitored. Gaurav Walawalkar, who recently joined a major technology company as Finance Manager, has demonstrated exactly this capability, driving savings of over £30 million by establishing mechanisms to identify and reduce egregious costs across the organisation.
Walawalkar’s achievement represents a masterclass in proactive financial management. Rather than simply reviewing expenses after they’ve occurred, he developed systematic approaches to identify cost anomalies before they accumulate into significant financial impact. “The key isn’t just spotting wasteful spending—it’s creating sustainable mechanisms that prevent it from happening in the first place,” he explains. “When you’re managing finances for operations with hundreds of millions in revenue, even small percentage improvements in cost efficiency translate to substantial savings.”
His approach draws on nearly a decade of experience in financial planning and analysis across diverse sectors. At American Airlines, where he served as Technology and Cargo Finance Lead for seven years, Walawalkar honed his ability to identify cost reduction metrics through collaboration with technology managers and business management offices. That role involved managing monthly capital and operational expenditure budgets, building allocation models to demonstrate total cost of ownership, and coordinating capital planning activities to ensure compliance with corporate strategies.
What distinguishes Walawalkar’s methodology is his integration of technical understanding with financial analysis. His background includes not only sophisticated financial modelling—from discounted cash flow analyses to leveraged buyout structures—but also direct experience with technology infrastructure from his early career in telecommunications. This combination enables him to evaluate whether costs are justified by technical necessity or represent inefficiency that can be eliminated without compromising capability.
In his current role, Walawalkar manages financial close, planning, and budgeting for revenue exceeding £580 million. The scale demands rigorous frameworks for financial oversight, and he’s implemented systems that provide visibility into spending patterns across the organisation. His £30 million cost reduction didn’t come from arbitrary cuts that might undermine operations; it resulted from identifying specific instances where spending exceeded reasonable parameters and establishing controls to prevent recurrence.
His communication approach reinforces the impact of his work. Walawalkar presents financial performance to business and finance leaders on weekly and monthly bases, ensuring transparency and shared understanding of both challenges and opportunities. This regular cadence of communication creates accountability whilst enabling rapid course correction when issues emerge.
“Financial leadership isn’t just about the numbers—it’s about ensuring everyone understands what the numbers mean and what actions they suggest,” he observes.
Beyond cost reduction, Walawalkar has focused on resolving finance process defects and simplifying finance tools across the organisation. His experience as product owner for Apptio, a technology business management platform, during his time at American Airlines provided direct insight into how the right tools can transform financial visibility and decision-making. He’s applied these lessons to identify opportunities for process improvement that make financial management more efficient and effective.
His analytical capabilities span a comprehensive toolkit: advanced Excel techniques including VBA macros, database analysis using SQL and Tableau, business intelligence platforms like Power BI and Cognos, and financial data sources including Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters. This technical proficiency enables sophisticated analysis that can identify patterns and anomalies across large datasets—essential for managing finances at the scale of his current operations.
Walawalkar has also developed data-driven recommendations for market positioning and resource allocation, helping to maximise business opportunities in the most promising segments. This strategic dimension of his work extends beyond cost control to revenue optimisation, ensuring that financial resources are deployed where they’ll generate the greatest return.
As organisations face increasing pressure to demonstrate financial discipline whilst pursuing growth, executives like Walawalkar who can deliver substantial cost savings through systematic mechanism design rather than blunt cuts become increasingly valuable. His £30 million achievement illustrates how financial leadership, when combined with analytical rigour and process innovation, can transform organisational efficiency.
