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You’ve had an incredible career that’s taken you from Lebanon to the US and now Saudi Arabia. Can you walk us through your journey and the key moments that shaped it?
I started my finance career young, working full-time during college for a Luxembourg-based oil and gas group. It gave me early exposure to international reporting, IFRS, and real-world consolidation, which was rare at the time, especially in Lebanon. From there, I moved across industries, entertainment, food and beverage, real estate, and renewables, each with its own learning curve. One of the most pivotal roles was with NES, where I stepped in as interim CFO for the US entity, overseeing operations in the Nordics and Central Europe. It was unfamiliar territory, US GAAP, smart metering, international audits, but I said yes before overthinking it. That role taught me how quickly you grow when you take on something you're not quite ready for. More recently, I relocated to Saudi with my family to lead finance for the Middle East at Assystem Radicon. It was a major life shift, but the right one, for both career and personal growth.
You’ve led finance across continents, industries, and major transformations. If someone asked, “What kind of CFO are you?”. How would you describe your approach?
I don’t like to put labels on things, what matters is whether you’re competent or not. In finance, progress depends on more than experience; it’s about technical skills, business understanding, and strategic thinking. I’d describe myself as a strategic transformation leader who’s also hands-on. I believe in continuous learning and staying current, because the world is changing faster than we realize. Numbers aren’t just debit and credit, they tell a story, and I encourage my team to see them that way. Even junior accountants shouldn’t think like bookkeepers. You can’t succeed alone in this role; you need empowered, supported teams. Especially in SMEs, being hands-on means being informed and involved, not micromanaging, but understanding the full picture.
You worked your way up from senior accountant to CFO across multiple countries. What’s one leadership lesson you wish you’d learned earlier?
One leadership lesson I wish I’d learned earlier is how to handle criticism. In the beginning, even constructive feedback would stress me out, not outwardly, but internally. Over time, I realized that valid criticism is often what helps you grow the most. I also used to react quickly, getting frustrated or angry too easily. With maturity, I’ve learned to pause, sleep on things, and revisit them with a calmer mindset. Another key lesson came from a former manager who told me, “No one is indispensable.” At the time, I didn’t fully accept it, but now I understand, no matter how impactful you are, life and business move on. That perspective has stayed with me.
At NES, you led major debt and business restructures. When you’re steering a company through financial uncertainty, what’s the principle you always come back to?
When navigating financial uncertainty, the principle I always come back to is cash management. I once showed a board slide with a tree growing dollars and said, “I wish this were real, but it’s not.” You need to manage working capital properly, collect receivables, plan payables, and control costs smartly. That doesn’t mean slashing headcount recklessly; short-term fixes can backfire. Risk management is just as important. The real danger is not foreseeing issues. I’ve had to manage cash flow daily in some situations, and rolling forecasts are a must. Access to diversified funding is also crucial, even if you don’t need it today, you should be prepared. And relationships matter deeply, especially in our region. Payments often depend on personal connections, so strong communication with stakeholders, customers, and vendors is essential. Finally, recurring revenue can offer stability, if one part of the business struggles, another can carry the weight. It’s never just one fix; it’s a full cycle of planning, foresight, and smart relationships.
With tighter cash positions and rising borrowing costs, how are you thinking about cash flow differently today and what practices do you think more finance teams in the GCC need to adopt?
With tighter cash positions and rising borrowing costs, I know I need to think about cash flow with more agility and foresight. Static monthly forecasts are no longer enough, my team and I need rolling forecasts and near real-time visibility to stay ahead. I also recognize the importance of diversifying funding sources, even when liquidity doesn’t feel like an immediate concern. For me, automation should take over repetitive finance tasks like invoice processing and reconciliation, so that my team can focus on what really matters: strategic planning and scenario analysis. And especially here in the GCC, where trust often shapes business decisions, I’ve learned that maintaining strong relationships with vendors, customers, and financial partners gives us critical flexibility during uncertain times.
AI and automation are changing how finance teams operate. What’s one area where tech has made a real difference for your team and one where human judgment still matters most?
Accounts payable is a good example of where automation helps. We’ve implemented systems that automate invoice entry, payment planning, and other AP tasks. That saves time and reduces errors. It also allows our team to focus on more meaningful work, analysis, reporting, and planning. We’re also exploring tools like Power BI and Copilot to help with analytics and reporting. While we’re not at the most advanced stage yet, we’re evaluating these tools to see how much value they can bring. But even with all that, human judgment still matters. Planning, analysis, strategy, those require a person. You can automate the data collection, but turning those numbers into a plan or telling the story behind them? That’s still a human task. Finance is about answering: where are we now, where do we want to go, and how do we get there?
When hiring for your finance team, what do you value more: someone who knows the numbers inside out or someone who’s not afraid to speak up? In other words, hard skills or soft skills?
Soft skills. Without question. Technical skills can be learned. Integrity and character cannot.
I always ask candidates: If I make a decision you don’t agree with, what would you do? The best answers come from people who say they’d respectfully speak up, share their point of view, and, if needed, put it in writing. One person gave me that answer, and I hired them. They’re now a financial controller in my team. I want people who challenge me, who ask questions, especially when something seems off. It’s not enough to just follow instructions. If someone knows, for example, that a tax treatment is wrong in a certain country and doesn’t say anything, they’re not doing their job. Soft skills also include ethics. These aren’t things you teach in a training session. People either have them or they don’t. Of course, we can guide and mentor fresh graduates. But that foundational integrity has to be there from the start.
Bio
Layal El Hassani is the Chief Financial Officer for the Middle East at Assystem Radicon, a leading engineering and project management firm driving energy transition and infrastructure transformation across the region. With over two decades of experience, Layal has led finance functions across Lebanon, the US, and Saudi Arabia, working in industries ranging from oil and gas to entertainment, real estate, renewables, and smart metering. She is known for her strategic thinking, hands-on leadership, and ability to navigate complex financial challenges with clarity and integrity. Layal believes in building empowered teams, leading transformation from the front, and using finance not just to report the past, but to shape the future.
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