أحمد حيدر

Shemas International (Private) Limited is a financial consulting, trading, and management firm that provides its expertise to both large and small and medium-sized businesses.

Responsibilities and selected accomplishments:
1. Managing the finance and administration departments to ensure smooth operations;
2. Facilitate the team's administrative activities, including management of payables and receivables, reporting and consolidation, and general business procedures;
3. Monitor month-end closing and financial reporting, the creation of monthly operating and financial statements and their comparison to the budget and forecasts;
4. Encourage the finance team to spend time in other departments and have a thorough understanding of the business and KPIs. This promotes a deeper, broader awareness of the company's growth goals and the roles each team plays in achieving them.
5. Disseminate critical KPIs across all the departments and distribute them to the operating team: This fosters an environment of open communication and information exchange, which makes it easier for staff members to identify areas in need of improvement and to feel a sense of responsibility for finding solutions. Additionally, it makes it possible for proactive insight to be made available for peer decision-making and collaboration, supporting other company leaders.
6. Developing and implementing risk management plans;
7. Assist clients in meeting their short- and long-term financial objectives by providing financial and business advice, analyzing their fundraising plans and capital structures, and assisting them in creating presentations for potential investors;
8. Provide assistance and advice to clients in order to help them meet their financial needs by setting up working capital, structured and term loans, and rescheduling their current loans;
9. Devise a strategy for clients' upcoming investing plans;
10. Depending on the nature of the business, advise clients on insurance, tax, and legal framework decisions;
11. Monitor clients' financial statements and budgets and advise them on internal controls;
12. Maintaining investor and vendor relations;
13. Leading the finance and administration teams, providing coaching, and guidance, to boost productivity and performance.

Halmore Power Generation Company Limited is a combined cycle power station comprising General Electric machines with a capacity of 225 MW with a project cost of US $250 million. Responsibilities include overall supervision of finance, corporate, commercial, and administration departments, reporting to both internal and external stakeholders, the CEO, and the Board of Directors.

Responsibilities and selected accomplishments:
1. Performed as a competent leader and manager of disciplines for continuous development;
2. Collaborated with the other C-Level executives and gained their support;
3. Ensured financial and operational systems are standardized, automated, accurate, accessible (in real-time) and in sync across the business.
4. Provided summary metrics with business narratives to make sure C-Level executives comprehended the KPIs and the next measures to improve performance;
5. Participated in leadership roles in the organization's effective day-to-day operations, financial planning and analysis (FP&A), policy development, financial forecasting, and strategic decision-making;
6. Administered the company's finances strategically, in terms of liquidity, and in terms of financial controls and accounting and financial management;
7. Designed, validated, and implemented corrective measures to keep operating and administrative costs in accordance with activity levels and predetermined targets;
8. Continued to communicate and engage with stakeholders in an effective manner;
9. Arranged and closed a US $250 million loan for a 225 MW power project;
10. Successfully restructured long-term debt of US $250 million and increased working capital lines for smooth operations by about US $20 million;
11. Calculated and approved the power generation tariff in collaboration with the regulator and the power purchaser within the predetermined criteria;
12. Supervised departmental and cross-departmental teams and recovered two significant insurance claims totaling US $15 million in one year, avoiding a large capital loss and a non-performance penalty of around US $5 million from the power purchaser;
13. Administered the Halmore Power expansion project, which included 450 MW of Combined Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGT) with Siemens Germany equipment and Hyundai Engineering Korea as an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor at a cost of approximately US $500 million;
14. Supervised monthly opening and closing ensuring IFRS and GAAP compliance;
15. Appraised current investments, liquidity, and liabilities and allocation of capital funding; monitored cash flow and cash management processes to ensure sufficient cash availability and best practices in cash management;
16. Stimulated a culture of change and development by championing and promoting it; developed a high-performance culture centered on employee empowerment, quality, productivity, and standards, as well as collaboration.

Wärtsilä reciprocating engine technology power plant with a capacity of 225 MW and a project cost of US$150 million, reporting directly to the CEO, the Board of Directors, as well as internal and external stakeholders.


Responsibilities and selected accomplishments:
1- Prioritized weekly meetings with C-level and mid-level management provided a regular forum for debating and agreement on top-level strategies and tactical details;
2- Spearheaded the finance & payroll department ensuring the smooth running of operations;
3- Created, altered, and implemented all necessary audit and internal control procedures and business policies by highlighting issues and inconsistencies to management's attention;
4- Supervised preparation of financial analysis and variance reporting, including discussions and reviews with portfolio leadership of the current year's performance relative to the preceding year and budget;
5- Coordinated company audit and compliance activities;
6- Established a US $50 million letter of credit for the import of engines and auxiliary equipment;
7- Managed the available working capital credit lines and suppliers’ credit and acquired extra working capital financing worth US $15 million to ensure machine uptime and minimal downtime, which leads to significant cost savings;
8- Arranged different types of insurance policies for the project during the construction, startup, and operational phases.
9- Advised the cross-departmental senior management in creating and putting into effect the organization's strategic goals in accordance with the regulatory bodies and in cooperation with the board;
10- Maintained strong relationships and governance with financial institutions and other stakeholders.

A general trading and consultancy company that is involved in the supply of diesel generators and their spare parts to power producers.
Responsibilities and selected accomplishments:
1. Incorporated and established the business from the ground up;
2. Developed and put into effect an inclusive financial plan, with effective management and control of all capital and operational budgets to maintain financial stability and resilience;
3. Spearheaded the financial aspects of strategic projects;
4. Ensured that the proper operational and fiscal controls are in place to support cost and income control, and kept a thorough overview of the operations and budgets of all departments;
5. Implemented all accounting procedures and examined the month-end closing procedures;
6. Carefully monitored major client accounts;
7. Recognized deviations from financial projections and strategies by evaluating financial information;
8. Examined financial reports, estimates, and budget to ensure that the financial state of affairs was accurately reported;
9. Created an analytical methodology for locating and developing potential financial development sources;
10. Collaborated with the stakeholders and investors in assessing the company's financial performance and goals;
11. Managed investment-related tasks, including due diligence, risk management, and analysis for decisions;
12. Administered the business's cash management lifecycle.

A joint venture of Toyota Tsusho Corp., Japan & Saigol Group Pakistan. The company is listed on the stock exchanges of Pakistan. It is a 131.4 MW power plant equipped with Wärtsilä reciprocating engine technology, with a project cost of US$120 million. The project is entirely financed by foreign debt, with lenders including the International Finance Corporation (IFC) USA, ABN AMRO Bank in the Netherlands, and a number of European syndicate banks and financial institutions. Reporting to internal and external stakeholders, the CEO, and the Board of Directors.

Responsibilities and selected accomplishments:
1. Ensured that the department's targets and key deliverables are disseminated throughout the departments by holding monthly, quarterly, and annually performance management reviews with the direct reporting team;
2. Stimulated regular and fruitful departmental and cross-departmental team communication that encourages team participation and ensures that information is accurate, timely, and explicit;
3. Developed and carried out a comprehensive financial strategy as well as efficient overall management and control of all capital and operational budgets in order to achieve financial stability;
4. Performed financial statement analysis, review and compared P&L’s to budgets;
5. Maintained compliance with all legal and statutory standards and maintained an up-to-date grasp of financial, taxation, administrative, and operational benchmarks;
6. Steered the accounting and finance functions and provide financial and strategic insights into the organization's growth plans;
7. Negotiated terms and conditions, reached a financial close for US $120 million, and continued to negotiate the debt restructure to account for the company's delayed revenue stream;
8. Monitored and funded offshore accounts in New York, USA for payments made under contracts in foreign currencies, and successfully disbursed the first cash dividend to its foreign and local shareholders after meeting all the contractual and regulatory requirements;
9. Held regular meetings to brief lenders on the company's financial position in Washington, DC, and the Netherlands, and invested excess cash of US $20 million in US government securities.
10. Headed the financial, commercial, and technical teams for a US $150 million expansion project involving Wärtsilä reciprocating engine technology for approximately 142 MW;
11. Prepared a bankable information memorandum and financial feasibility for the new project with the support of financial experts from ABN AMRO Bank Hong Kong;
12. Successfully handled negotiations with financial institutions, including the Italian Export Credit Agency (ECA) SACE S.p.A., and the primary finance arranger, ABN AMRO Bank Hong Kong.

Ernst & Young (EY) is a reputable multinational firm of Chartered Accountants. It belongs to the "Big 4" global professional audit firms. Started working for the firm in 1991 and registered as a trainee student for an article-ship for 4 years. Served the firm in a supervisory senior role and was skilled in providing services for national and international companies in the fields of accounting, auditing, taxation, management consulting, secretarial work, and other areas.