The Three Foundations of Strategic FP&A with Chithra Rajagopalan

In this episode of FP&A Unlocked, host Paul Barnhurst sits down with Chithra Rajagopalan, Head of Finance at Obsidian Security, to discuss what great FP&A looks like in high-growth companies, why strong data foundations matter, and how finance teams can become more strategic business partners. Chithra shares lessons from scaling finance teams, supporting hypergrowth companies, and using data to influence better decisions.

Chithra Rajagopalan is a finance leader with experience across high-growth SaaS and AI security companies. She currently serves as Head of Finance at Obsidian Security, where she oversees financial strategy and operations. Her previous roles include finance leadership positions at Glue, ClickUp, and People.ai, following earlier experience at Deloitte and Ernst & Young.

Expect to Learn:

• Why great FP&A goes beyond reporting.
• How strong data foundations support better decisions.
• What finance teams need during hypergrowth.
• How AI is changing finance roles and workflows.
• Why cybersecurity matters when finance adopts AI.

Here are a few relevant quotes from the episode:

• “Accounting is always going to give you exposure to what already happened. You still need a strong FP&A partner to know what to do in the future.” - Chithra Rajagopalan
• “You can have as much data as you want, but if you don’t utilize it to make decisions, surface risk, or hold people accountable, it’s pointless.” - Chithra Rajagopalan

Chithra explains that strong FP&A starts with reliable data, business understanding, communication, and the ability to prioritize what actually moves the business forward. For finance professionals, the growing use of AI also means shifting from task execution toward an orchestration mindset, where teams understand systems, workflows, automation, and business strategy rather than simply producing reports.

Follow Chithra:

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chithra-rajagopalan-mba
• Website: https://www.obsidiansecurity.com/

Disclosure: Portions of this episode (such as the introduction or promotional segments) use AI-generated voice narration produced under human editorial review.

Earn Your CPE Credit

For CPE credit, please go to earmarkcpe.com, listen to the episode, download the app, answer a few questions, and earn your CPE certification. To earn education credits for the FPAC Certificate, take the quiz on earmark and contact Paul Barnhurst for further details.

In Today’s Episode:

[00:00] - Trailer

[05:07] - What Great FP&A Looks Like

[11:16] - Building Finance During Hypergrowth

[15:19] - Creating a Culture of Data

[17:52] - Three Foundations of Strong FP&A Teams

[29:31] - Inside Obsidian Security

[34:38] - AI, Finance & Cybersecurity

[39:42] - Moving Beyond AI Hype

[44:43] - Why Finance Needs AI Guardrails

[47:24] - The Skills FP&A Professionals Need

[50:01] - The Future of Finance Teams

[57:08] - Why Startup Chaos Builds Better Leaders

[59:15] - Closing Thoughts