SUMMARY:

• Innovative, strategic - minded leader with years of experience in domestic and international operations, consistently delivering multimillion-dollar cost reductions, process improvements, and increased profits. Innate ability to design profitability plans, engage colleagues, grow existing business, and drive operational excellence.
• Focused on building strategic relationships in order to produce excellence financially, operationally and in customer service. Recognized for business transformation planning, deployment of best practice strategies that support goals, and integration of fully functional solutions.
• A team leader driven to develop and manage mutually respectful relationships with clients, suppliers, and staff.
• Successfully drove cultural and operational changes through team-building and divesting antiquated business processes and organizational philosophies. Designed and led the new vision strategic implementation integrating operational controls, timely delivery, accurate financials, and empowered staff to leverage expertise while targeting core business objectives.
• Designed optimal data integrity management systems by integrating knowledge of SAP infrastructures with expertise in operational processes including use of internal controls, process mapping, and establishing interdependent teamwork. The overall result achieved efficient, simple, and accurate financial data that drives strategic decision making.
• Led the transformation of unprofitable organizations. Built strategic roadmaps and facilitated plans to implement improvements that delivered profit improvements within first year of plan execution.
• Team leader in the design and implementation of two Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system overhauls employing SAP Business One. A collaborative effort with a third-party consultant in stream-lining current operational processes while simultaneously ensuring full utilization of system software within 6 months of starting the project.
• Slashed health insurance cost and saved $100,000 annually by evaluating multiple plan options and negotiating consistency in benefit options for employees.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE:

• Operational Leadership & Development
• Team Building & Professional Development
• Continuous & Quality Improvements
• Budget & Financial Accountability
• Relationship Cultivation & Maintenance
• Cost Reduction & Avoidance
• Lean Manufacturing & Quality Systems
• Business Model Architecture
• Turnaround Planning
• Operational Efficiency & Process Improvements
• Global Supply Chain
• Logistics, Warehousing, & Distribution
• Offshore Manufacturing

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Confidential, Auburn Hills, MI

Regional Controlling Manager

Responsibilities:

• Hired to direct financial reporting for 5 manufacturing plants that earn $1.5 Billion in annual sales in the North American operations of Confidential .
• Manage cost improvement activities across all plants and partner with purchasing to ensure realization of material cost reductions.
• Oversee training and development for all plant controllers with a focus on finance, accounting, and SAP systems and processes.
• Manage investment capital forecast for region.
• Direct reports include financial analysts and dotted line responsibility to plant controllers.
• Report to the Vice President of Finance.
• Launch and manage regional annual budget process through collaborative efforts involving Sales, Purchasing and plant Controlling teams
• Champion the Action-Oriented Planning ( Confidential ) tool that tracks cost savings ideas. Identified underutilization of tool due to confusion in use causing overall ineffectiveness. Developed plan to effectively track cost savings for each plant,
• Enhanced capital tracking process and systems to improve communication and accuracy of budget, forecast and actual capital investment expenditures, while simultaneously focusing on improving process simplicity.
• Drafted and proposed SAP process improvement, to executive management in Germany, that simplifies work center/cost center/profit center structures, establishes solid internal controls and gateways for improved master data management, and eliminates siloed use of SAP by driving an interdependent departmental use of the SAP system.
• Manage SAP reporting at regional and plant level; ensure implementation of changes related to SAP reporting for monthly actuals, forecasts, and budgets; summarize and analyze major discrepancies in SAP.

Confidential, Troy, MI

Chief Financial Officer

Responsibilities:

• Cultivated strategic domestic and global partnerships building open communication and trust to drive value-added opportunities for new and existing clients, integrating enhanced quality management, inventory management, and distribution/warehousing.
• Interacted directly with global Asian partners to re-establish supplier relationships currently in jeopardy, communicating company vision to gain buy-in from long-term partners, garnering positive feedback from partners.
• Spearheaded the implementation of a robust SAP Business One ERP system to improve management of business operations and financial data, realizing efficiency improvements and accurate distribution of data across the organization.
• Improved stressed relationships with banking partner to maintain current line of credit and investment needs.
• Transformed the role of the sales force with the realignment of production/quality responsibilities directed to the Quality Teams in North America and China, allowing sales teams to focus on prospective sales opportunities.
• Collaborated with sales team to consolidate customer industries to realize improved vendor consolidation pricing and negotiate better contract terms.
• Evaluated current domestic and international staff to identify deficiencies and made changes in key leadership roles. Created a new organizational chart with appropriate division of work roles and responsibilities.

Confidential, Rochester Hills, MI

Chief Financial Officer

Responsibilities:

• Achieved first ever fiscal year 2012 profit after consistent losses since inception in 2003.
• Engaged colleagues to restructure business through creation of processes and controls utilizing the new ERP system strengthening Operations, Sales, and Product Management, eliminating $1 million in annual losses.
• Forged partnership with Phoenix LTL Shipping to establish warehouses in numerous ports to minimize origin fees, maximize cargo loads, eliminate product flow disruptions, and better manage inventory, delivering a savings of $75,000 a year.
• Eliminated a multimillion-dollar warehousing/fulfillment partner through absorption into the organization’s current central warehouse operation, generating a savings of $140,000.
• Saved millions of dollars in inventory write-offs year-over-year (YOY) by closely managing supplier relationships, hiring industry specific expertise, and collaborating with the product development team to drive more focused product strategies.
• Partnered with owner to analyze gaps in brand positioning and implement changes to the marketing of the brand.
• Partnered with Warehouse Manager in transitioning to onsite warehousing, allowing for more standardized controls and processes for overall inventory management and accountability.
• Instituted weekly meetings with Asia to manage production and minimize scrap to enforce accountability of raw material inventories.
• Developed organic Purchasing Manager who successfully negotiated competitive pricing with logistics providers, such as UPS, FedEx, Phoenix International, to achieve volume/bundling pricing savings of 20%.

Confidential

Operations Manager

Responsibilities:

• Redesigned an ineffective supply chain by introducing a freight forwarding system partnering with Phoenix LTL Shipping to create ordering power visibility, open channels of communication with China, and launch a shipment management process that maximized the return for every dollar spent.
• Implemented a management structure through reorganization of supply chain staff. Formalized processes and procedures, putting hard line controls in place to reduce cost, increase efficiency, and streamline product movement.
• Facilitated improved lead-time management and communication process with trading partners in China.
• Partnered with the product management team to identify new suppliers offering lower manufacturing cost.
• Anticipated cost savings projected to reach $500,000 annually.

Confidential, Sterling Heights, MI

Responsibilities:

• Supervised and reviewed annual year-end physical inventory, monthly accruals, preparation of quarterly/yearly submission schedules, and internal/external audit documentation, and reviewed bill of materials standards annually. Realized a 96% or higher accuracy rate on physical inventory.
• Developed and presented annual budget and re-forecasts to senior management at Magna Powertrain. Conducted detailed analysis of departmental expenses for 6 departments including production cost variances for materials, labor, and overhead, which cost $40 million annually.
• Evaluated expenses actively to initiate focus for divisional cost savings measures and facilitated initiation of Lean Manufacturing philosophy through a focus team consisting of members from all departments. Recognized for supporting QS, ISO, and TS compliancy, and utilizing Standard Accounting System (SAS).
• Integrated Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) internal controls compliance in less than 9 months and managed internal controls structure to ensure continued compliance.