With over 25 years of senior-level experience across various industries and functions, Arif Iqball, known as The CFO Coach®, has a distinguished career that includes serving as Global Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Senior Vice President for Benesse, a $5B public Japanese company. His leadership journey also includes key management positions at renowned firms such as Ford, Delphi, Avon, Becton Dickinson, and McCann Worldgroup. ​
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Having served on the boards of over 15 public and private companies across Japan, China, and the United States, Arif brings a wealth of board experience and deep insight into Asian markets, coupled with a global viewpoint. Committed to solving business challenges with a human-centric approach, he advocates for personal mastery as the essential groundwork for transformational leadership.​
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As an Executive coach, Arif has collaboratively engaged with and fostered the development of senior leaders and high potentials in both multinational corporations and non-profit entities. Delivering tailored leadership coaching and solutions aligned with distinct organizational objectives, he specializes in developing the financial leadership and team skills needed to drive the financial, strategic and business capabilities in an organization.​
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Arif holds the title of Professional Certified Coach (PCC) granted by the International Coach Federation (ICF), and he is a Certified Integral Coach® affiliated with New Ventures West. His coaching expertise is further enhanced by additional qualifications from respected institutions including Marshall Goldsmith, Korn Ferry, Aletheia Coaching, and the Neuroleadership Institute, and he is also recognized as an advanced certified practitioner by Hogan.​
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He earned his MBA in International Business and a Masters in Asian/Japanese Studies from the University of Michigan, complemented by a Masters in Manufacturing Engineering acquired from Northwestern University. Additionally, Arif successfully completed the Executive Development Program at the Wharton School of Business.​
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Arif is also a Professor of Leadership and Management at a major Japanese University and was awarded the President’s Global Education Award for Teacher-of-the-Year.​
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Arif is based in Kyoto and speaks native English, Urdu, and fluent Japanese.