Group Chief Financial Officer
Omzest Group of Companies
Total des années d'expérience :37 years, 11 Mois
Financial Administration of 65+ Group Companies in diverse fields of Manufacturing, Trading, Construction & Contracting, Representations, Services, Training & Education etc. The group companies are decentralized and have independent heads of operations and finance.
Area: Kuwait, UAE, India
More than 25 group companies / businesses under my charge with their finance heads reporting to me functionally.
Since there is no group CEO position, many major operational matters arising through company flow through me for decisions.
Achieved a complete turnaround in a business from a perennially loss making unit to a profit making one by (1) identifying key issues (2) Getting board approval to adopt change plan (3) Executing the plan
Identified & evaluated buy-out targets and acquired some. Also divested / closed some businesses.
Planned & achieved considerable savings by actively managing forex and loan exposures through selective exposures and hedging. Renegotiated cost of banking facilities
Designed & implemented a “clearing house” function for inter company cash management achieving considerable savings.
Developed a unique set of summarized documents for Authorization Matrix cum policies & procedures for easy comprehension tuned to GCC needs..
Streamlined monthly reporting system with emphasis on variance analysis and self-explanations / actions. Initiated long term financial planning.
Initiated a comprehensive review of IT infrastructure and policies to strengthen backup safety processes and overall IT security.
listed shares in KSE
Back Office responsibility for client portfolio management exceeding $3 billion, mutual funds set up & administration, online trading platform administration.
Developed and implemented a business plan for providing value added treasury related services to clients e.g. FX conversions, Liquidity, Cash Funds management, money market fund etc.
Organized a consortium loan through a renowned British bank & facility increases from local banks
Designed Policies & Procedures for Treasury & Operations
Placed / received funds through Islamic products like Wakala, Murabaha & company deposits.
Floated a new GCC wide mutual fund in the Middle East.
Same group co. as Al Kout Food Group.
Area: Kuwait, Mideast, Egypt, Europe
Shares Listed on KS.
Brands : Pizza Hut, Burger King, Applebees, Kababji, Al /Refai Roasteris
Directly coordinated the set up from scratch of a modern tannery plant
Handled the creation of Kout Food Holding Company and listing on stock exchange.
Structured and monitored a JV in Egypt. Acquired Al-Refai operations in Kuwait and franchise ownership for middle-east, set up operations in Egypt & started negotiations for UK and Italy
Complex forex forward deals, accumulators, calls, puts, barrier options, straddle for hedging & speculation with time horizon from one week to two years.
Developed, managed & executed strategies for global investments & Forex profit centers for the group companies & Homaizi family office. Dealt in direct equity investment, options strategies, structured options like auto-calls, range accruals, index structures, private equity, venture & mezzanine capital, emerging market & hedge fund styles etc.
Monitored & critically reviewed the performance of portfolio managers entrusted with non-discretionary mandates.
Dealt with international banks, particularly at Citibank, HSBC, Credit Suisse group, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered etc.
Joined as Finance Manager Overseas ops then promoted to Finance Director.
Supervised accounting & administrative staff of the largest fast food operator in Kuwait having franchises in Egypt & Middle East e.g. Pizza Hut, Burger king, Applebee’s, Al Refai Roasteries, Kababji etc. Responsibilities included financial planning, business plan development, treasury, consumer credit, risk management, insurance.
Created a profit center Treasury function for group funding. Forex activity.
Restructured accounting dept. into franchise lines for better service. Monthly accounts cycle reduced from 22 days to 5 days
Staff strength reduced from 24 to 11
Introduced quarterly performance reviews of national and international units.
Exclusive GM & Daewoo Car Dealers
Direct financial and accounting control of new & used passenger & commercial vehicles of General Motors through vehicle ordering, designing incentive plans & pricing policies
Tested, enhanced and implemented the new Kerrigdge dealership software.
Designed & implemented an aggressive pickup trucks liquidation plan and manpower cost cutting
Worked with team members from various parts of the world.
Developed information dashboards for management information
Established financial control over 8 group companies out of which 3 manufacturing companies were ranked in the top three in India. (Digjam, OCM, Saurashtra Chem.)
Attended as key support staff all Board of Directors’ meetings.
Designed and managed public issue of convertible bonds which was oversubscribed.
Negotiated comprehensive loan lines for group expansion.
Dealt extensively with Direct & Indirect Taxation authorities.
Ensured Audit & GAAP compliance
Largest manufacturer of Calcined Petroleum coke in India
Received thorough grounding in taxation, legal matters, materials management, risk management, and coordination with Indian Railways.
Financial Institution & banking credit line management. Negotiated & reduced cost of funding.
Introduced Personal computers through out the company.
Initiated & fought High Court cases against the Government of India for discriminatory pricing policies of petroleum products like Calcined Petroleum Coke.
Direct supervision of Accounting & materials management functions
Largest manufacturer of Electrical Insulators in India & 3rd largest in the World.
Joined as Accounts Officer and later promoted.
Supervised staff for accounting, costing and budgeting functions directly.
Coordinated a detailed application for reduction of excise duty (Vat) on behalf of the entire Indian insulator manufacturing industry. This company is the largest manufacturer of insulators in India.
Consolidated the divisional accounts of all Indian Rayon Corpn’s group entities.
Initiated detailed costing of each category of insulator products.
Banking credit lines for exports.
I was awarded 16th rank in the All India Final Examinations. Expert ;level knowledge on Accounting subjects, Auditing, Costing Subjects, Income Tax Law and Commercial laws. In addition to those various management level subjects like Operations research, IT, Management concepts, It required a 3 year mandatory internship as articled clerk with a certified audit company
I was awarded 2nd position in the Final exams of the University
