Chief Financial Officer
American University of Beirut
Total years of experience :32 years, 9 Months
EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATIVE LEADERSHIP
Over the course of the past 21 years, I have had the privilege of working with one of the finest universities in the region. As an American senior finance executive specialized in higher education, I currently oversee the finances of the American University of Beirut which is a New York chartered university founded in 1866 consisting of 8, 000 students, 800 faculty members, a 360-bed medical center, a $1 billion endowment and total assets in excess of $1.7 billion.
As CFO, I oversee and enhance the financial management of the university with emphasis on resource allocation, financial strategy, capital plans, debt management, cash flow optimization, and financial information systems. I am currently responsible for approximately 125 employees in the Office of the CFO, Office of Financial Planning, Office of the Comptroller, Procurement and Auxiliary Services and New York Office. My business responsibilities encompass the areas of treasury, investment, budgets, planning, accounting systems, external audit and accounting oversight of the endowment. In order to successfully achieve these activities, I play a central role within the senior administration in allocating resources annually and strategically. My most important role is to serve as an adviser to the top executives of the organization on both financial and non-financial strategic issues.
* UNIVERSITY AUXILIARY SERVICES
In addition to duties in financial planning and budgeting, in June 2008 I assumed the responsibilities for Auxiliary Services which includes:
* Food Services
* Fleet Maintenance and Licensing
* Motor Pool
* Central Duplicating Center
* Campus Bookstore
* Parking
* Post Office
* ID Center
* Bid Administration
* Office Equipment Maintenance
Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer, I served as the chief budgetary advisor on policies and procedures, regulations and statutes promulgated by the Board of Trustees and President on current or potential areas of concern.
* STRATEGIC FINANCIAL PLANNING
As Director of Financial Planning, I had oversight of developing and compiling the university’s $380 million annual operating budget as well as managing the long-range capital planning requirements for multiple construction projects for an organization with a $550 million endowment and 8, 000 students. While liaising with senior administrators to resolve problems as they arise, I provided guidance as necessary to keep the university within fiscal balance. Long-term strategic planning took place through multiple-year scenarios for operations and capital as well as through ratio analysis for past and projected key financial performance indicators.
* BOARD OF TRUSTEES REPORTING
One of the principal duties as Director was the preparation of regular reports and plans to the Board of Trustees. All regular deliverables to the Finance Committee emanated from the Office of Financial Planning which were presented to the trustees several times per year at regularly scheduled Board meetings in New York.
In 2002 an opportunity arose for me to switch industries and move from food processing and production into higher education. I joined the American University of Beirut in the financial planning office reporting to the Director.
* OPERATIONAL PLANNING
In this administrative position I assisted the Director in managing the operational budgeting function for the organization as a whole which included the main campus, medical center and New York office. This included preparing the consolidated operating budget with periodic forecasting and monitoring to the senior administration and Board of Trustees. I also worked in coordination with other administrative offices to develop budgetary processes for the allocation of resources in order to meet institutional strategic goals.
* CAPITAL BUDGETING
As Deputy Director I was responsible for the preparation of the annual capital budget and multiple-year capital plan, for developing financial capital analyses for senior management and the Board of Trustees, for providing comprehensive analysis and reporting on all capital projects and for maintaining related capital policies and procedures. Responsibilities also encompassed collecting, analyzing and interpreting financial data, and identify corresponding policy implications and recommendations.
* SERVICE EXCELLENCE AND PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
Additional duties included coordinating the Financial Services Advisory Committee (FSAC) which met regularly with internal customers of the Finance group to improve its internal processes. I also worked with several operating units to coach them through the development of their departmental balanced scorecards.
Reported to the Vice President and managed five direct reports (Chief Accountant, IT Manager, HR Manager, Procurement Manager, Inventory Manager). In addition to the duties that I maintained from my previous position as Controller, the following responsibilities came with my promotion to Assistant Vice President.
RESPONSIBILITIES
* Formed and directly managed a collections department to address receivables problems.
* Orchestrated all procurement activities including importation of goods and related customs & clearance procedures.
* Oversaw human resource activities including personnel, payroll, social security, performance appraisal, incentive schemes, training and development.
* Responsible for insurance of company assets and legal affairs.
* Developed and oversaw a HACCP management system at the processing plant.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
* Revamped the policy of credit limits and days and linked this directly to the computerized invoicing and pricing system for a tighter control on pricing, credit ceilings, doubtful debt, delinquent payments and returned checks.
* Introduced a tender bidding system and formalized purchasing policies and procedures.
* Created a performance appraisal system for the managerial staff of the company.
* Reduced the energy consumption of the main processing facility by 8% through a successful implementation of an energy audit that was conducted by experts in this field.
* Improved the processing facility's food safety audit score from 43% to 89% awarded by Tricon International (appointed quality auditor for KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell) qualifying the company as eligible for exportation.
Reported to the President with three individuals reporting directly to me (Chief Accountant, IT Manager and Inventory Manager). In addition to monitoring the daily activities of accounting, information technology and inventory, I also had the following main responsibilities.
RESPONSIBILITIES
* Monthly financial reporting for senior management and partners along with quarterly financial reports and project progress reports for the International Finance Corporation (private-lending arm of the World Bank).
* Control of financial and production data entered to information systems.
* Annual operating and capital budgets with quarterly variance analyses.
* Treasury, cash management and working capital needs. Liaising with banks for loans, cash flow, letters of credit and foreign exchange.
* Development of policies and procedures to ensure adequate internal controls.
* All aspects of the annual audit.
* Cost accounting data, procedures and accuracy.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
* Introduced an integrated Oracle-based financial management system that streamlined access to information and reduced inventory wastage.
* Implemented a 70-user wide area network to multiple retail locations throughout the country along with the main production facility in the Bekaa valley and with Beirut headquarters.
* Initiated a standard costing system for products at all stages of the production cycle which lead to a materials requirement planning solution for procurement.
Prepared monthly production, sales and financial reports to partners along with overseeing all MIS activities.
RESPONSIBILITIES
* Prepared annually three-year operating and capital budgets and pro forma financial statements for the group including periodic budget variance analyses. Oversaw MIS needs of the group of several companies.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
* Developed three customized database applications to monitor and control production, sales and foreign currency exchange data.
Evaluated corporate proxy statements, annual reports and SEC filings (10-K, 10-Q, 8-K) for publicly-traded companies. Analyzed board of directors, anti-takeover measures and corporate financial performance for institutional fiduciaries.
RESPONSIBILITIES
* Reviewed company documentation and recommended votes on corporate ballots.
* Maintained database of economic studies related to corporate governance and co-ordinated this with company's analytic policy for voting of proxies.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
* Creation of database related to the strategy of corporate governance that formed the basis of supporting documentation for voting of proxy statements and known anti-takeover measures for each company.