Christopher D’Costa
Head of Financial Planning and Analysis
Chris started his career with PwC in Audit & Assurance. He then moved to Transaction Services where he spent two years in the Energy, Mining, Utilities and Infrastructure financial due diligence team, advising corporates and private equity houses on various buy and sell side transactions.
He then spent over 3 years at Anglo American Plc within the Performance Reporting team where he was responsible for detailed analysis and reporting of the performance of the group’s commodities to the Board.
Chris moved to Aggreko Plc and spent 5 years in a number of divisional Planning and Reporting roles, finally heading up the Group Financial Planning and Analysis team where he was heavily involved in the public to private transaction to Aggreko Ltd and leading the group cost saving programme.
Chris holds a First Class Honours Masters degree in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College London and is an ACA qualified accountant.
What’s your role at RPC?
I lead the Financial Planning and Analysis team at RPC (FP&A).
This means I’m responsible for activities such as the month end, Budget, Business Plan, cash flow forecasting, company valuation, and communicating financial performance to the senior leadership team and the Board.
What’s a typical working day for you?
There is no typical day! Every day is different as it depends on what I’m working on. However, I do start each day catching up on emails from the night before. During the day, I will spend time with the finance team, brief the CFO or SLT on any key issues and work on/review any financial analysis or reporting which may be due.
What have you found during your time at RPC?
Working at RPC is very exciting. I have learnt a lot about a new industry from my colleagues who are experts in their field. It can also be challenging, particularly working with different stakeholders across the business who sometimes have different views. I like the flat and entrepreneurial organisational structure which allows all employees to express their views.
What’s your proudest career moment?
I worked at Anglo American, a global mining company, from 2014-17. I was the business unit analyst for iron ore, one of Anglo’s largest commodities.
In 2016, I identified an operational issue on Sishen, one of Anglo’s iron ore mines, and flew to South Africa on request of the Group Financial Controller to work with the team there to analyse the financial impact of the issue, identify corrective actions and return the mine to full production.
What do you do in your spare time?
I spend my spare time with my 2 year old daughter, doing exercise and playing guitar (currently lots of nursery rhymes)!
Where’s your favourite place in Europe?
I don’t have a favourite place but I love visiting new cities. Last year, I went to Malta and had a fantastic time!
What’s your favourite clean technology and why?
Wind because I understand it better than most of the other technologies, but I am fascinated with battery storage and am learning more about this!