What does financial discipline look like when an institution scales from millions to hundreds of billions?

In this episode of The Exchange, Carlos Obeid, Chief Financial Officer at Mubadala, shares how financial strategy evolves alongside institutional growth, and how the role of a CFO extends far beyond reporting into shaping capital allocation, governance, and long-term resilience. 

Carlos explains why traditional planning frameworks often fall short in dynamic investment environments, and how agility, disciplined execution, and strong financial architecture become essential at scale. He reflects on Mubadala’s journey from a lean organization with a single mandate to a globally diversified sovereign investor, and the systems required to manage increasing complexity without losing clarity of purpose.

Drawing on his experience since Mubadala’s early days, Carlos discusses how to build financial structures that support long-term investing, enable strategic flexibility, and maintain accountability across a growing global portfolio.

From foundational decisions in the early years to navigating scale today, this conversation offers a practical perspective on embedding discipline, adaptability, and resilience into the core of an institution.

Episode Chapters:

(00:00) What does financial discipline look like at scale?

(00:34) Mubadala’s origins and rapid growth journey

(05:25) Scaling across sectors, geographies, and complexity

(10:37) Why traditional financial models fall short

(16:02) Building a global institution and partner of choice

(26:42) Reflections on resilience and the future

Listen to the full episode here:
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