REGIONAL HEAD, FINANCIAL PLANNING & ANALYSIS
General Electric - United Arab Emirates
Total years of experience :19 years, 2 Months
Regional Head, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)
GE Corporate Shared Services - Middle East, Turkey, North & Sub Sahara Africa (2012 - Present)
Devise effective strategies for managing key operational domains, including accounting, tax, supply chain, properties, commercial, and legal/HR. Manage global delivery team in Saudi (an All-Female BPO center which is a GE JV with Tata in Riyadh) by proactively holding dual role as Governance & Relationship Manager. Conceptualize strategic planning, generate accurate forecasts, and establish cost discipline for controlling overall financial processes with prime emphasis on transparency.
• Effectively administered a sizeable budget of $230M+ (allocated for 55+ countries and ~1K employees) by spearheading/directing multicultural team of six, including Senior Finance Managers.
• Achieved synergy targets of $16M by overseeing transforming last mile shared services from business into Corporate.
• Increased operations by ~$90M and doubled team size by consistently integrating African region.
• Improved financial results by developing/establishing closing and reporting model for Middle East, NAF, and Turkey.
• Ensured proper utilization of 120M facilities assets through robust planning. Played a pivotal role in successful execution of restructuring initiatives as well as contributed to the contractual negotiations.
• Minimized capital expenditure by 50% by implementing cost-reducing strategies.
• Supported global operations (across US, Europe, Asia, and Africa) for digital, supply chain, and controllership activities by overseeing Operating Performance and governing BPO activities of 480+ contractors in Saudi.
• Streamlined overall operations as well as drove maximum accountability and financial transparency by executing corporate policies and controllership procedures.
GE Corporate Shared Services - Middle East, North & Sub Sahara Africa (2009 - 2012)
Drove Compliance & Controllership excellence through policy implementations with the goal of eliminating process risks & variations, such as petty cash, vacation, end of service & vendor accruals. Monitored internal communications within shared services as well as led meaningful actions and productive conversations with internal customers by developing and executing performance metrics.
• Reduced Travel payment turnaround by 15%, vendor payment from 67 to 31 days, and strengthened process controls through successful execution of Lean Six Sigma projects.
• Majorly contributed to the business integrations by spearheading pricing and contract sign off.
• Increased the Net promoter score (NPS) across the region by 12%. Identified key focus areas and aligned projects to fulfill customer needs and support business growth, ultimately decreasing detractors by 23%.
GE Oil & Gas - Middle East & Egypt, Doha, Qatar (2006 to 2008)
Drove and managed Cash Collection past dues efficiently and optimized cash inflow from factoring. Ensured proper allocation/utilization of resources by effectively administering annual operating budgets. Generated deliverables for statutory filings, corporate/management reporting under a complex business matrix structure as well as managed monthly, quarterly, and year-end closing activities.
• Provided Cash Outlook projections of receivables from customers. Regularized/minimized Qatar past dues from 43% to 14%.
• Avoided penalties on historical tax payment delays for Qatar (~$1M savings) through prompt and accurate submissions of Statutory & Income Tax across the region.
• Drove significant improvements to financial systems by leading simplification initiatives that included digitization, automation, and integration projects. Ensured smooth flow of local operations by optimizing HQ and corporate relationship.