Vice President
Red Sea International Housing
Total years of experience :30 years, 6 Months
A Saudi listed company found in year 1967 with horizontally and vertically integrated businesses of building technology - Manufacture / Construction / Installation, Real estate and facility management, focused on both mass volume and bespoke product. Audited by EY. Assets size not less than US$ 400 Mn. Reporting to the Group CFO.
Vice President, Finance & Accounts (Contract)
Responsible for KSA locations, monitoring business performance, compliance with fiscal laws (VAT, With-holding Tax, Zakat) and oversight of governance, controls, IFRS revenue recognition, contract accounting, risk management, and treasury. Lead seven direct reports and a total team of 32. Managed a US$300 million budget and actively managed Supply chain finance. Company PoC with KSA banks and Auditors. Provided financial structure for $ multi-million contracts to ensure contracts are won and delivered profitably. Used decision tree analysis and financial modeling to quantify the financial impact of potential changes to product & service mix while responding to market disruptions driven by COVID. Reporting to the group CFO, instrumental in generating a vision document for implementing lean manufacturing in KSA with the assistance of external consultants.
▪ Strategized on an 8% improvement in market share through better customer pricing after streamlining operations through LEAN principles and generated a 40% approximate cost reduction by increasing throughput on a pilot project.
▪ Instrumental in securing SAR13.3 million in funding from the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, which enabled a new low-cost source of financing for future needs.
▪ Established profitability analyses across product lines for the first time in company history to help resource allocation and improve profits by 4%.
▪ Instrumental in implementing ERP D-365 across KSA to help improve productivity and facilitate digital insights.
▪ Reduced DSO from 96 to 45 and strategized to avoid diversion of short-term funds for long-term applications, thus facilitating comfortable handling of tight market liquidity conditions.
Company in the business of Manufacture and distribution of Power and Water in the Emirate of Rasalkaimah, also in to the business of EPC.
Accountable for the financial performance of the company. Directly responsible for Finance & Accounting, Reporting, Treasury, Information Technology & ERP, and Stores.
Chief Financial Officer (Contract)
Led a team of 18. Collaborated with management to implement business expansion plans involving policy changes and adjusting accounting practices based on market evolutions. Oversaw banking facilities, comprising of Term loan and working capital, for AED 500 mio. Company’s PoC with Bankers, External auditors and Private equity investor data needs. Actively managed Supply chain finance.
Advised the executive team in defining an organizational vision aligned with growth objectives and setting internal controls and procedures to transform efficiency, margins, and cash flow. Leveraged historical data, current strategies, and future forecasts, including major business drivers in budget preparation activities. Proffering views on valuation of company in context of dealing with Private equity investors. Functioned as the final point of escalation for accounts receivable / accounts payable issues. Reported to executive vice chair and the board.
▪ Secured AED150 million in project financing from banks by instituting governance mechanisms for effective operations management and capacity building for a successful IPO launch.
▪ Enabled evidence-based decision making by presenting status reports to stakeholders, including the promoter and executive vice chair, PE investors, and bankers.
▪ Fostered 100% enterprise-wide compliance with accounting practices and local statutory and fiscal requirements pertaining to day-to-day financial transactions through streamlining ERP processes
▪ Maintained liquidity without compromising on profitability through an array of seamless operations for clients by engaging cross-functionally with internal departments, third-party vendors, and consultants to mitigate risks.
Performing Consulting assignments on Strategy, Finance and systems to SME sector and to former employer Crescent Enterprises.
Select accomplishment
• Acted as an interim CFO for a US $ 100 Million business in Oil & Gas services sector
Company:
Crescent Enterprises Ltd. is an Investment Holding company based in UAE and focussed on the non-energy sector, with a balance sheet size of not less than US$ 1.4 Billion; Sibling of Crescent Petroleum and Audited by pwc.
Role:
Reported to the executive director of the board. Responsible for IFRS compliance and corporate governance mandates across the holding company and the investee organizations, rendering support to investment operations through the performance of financial due diligence, investment appraisals, Valuations, a recommendatory role in buy-side and sell-side, and treasury management for an average size of US$100 million, apart from consolidations, SPV structuring and IFRS challenges. Led two direct reports and a team of four. Member of the investment committee of an investee entity actively assisted in its turnaround through Restructuring and investment exit.
▪ Championed a $75 million buy-side investment reaping a 20% IRR in a turbulent environment through favorable negotiations.
▪ Delivered a three-fold increase in balance sheet size in only three years by spearheading the implementation of a corporate governance framework to enable consolidation in an IFRS environment and scaled-up processes.
▪ Attained a 29% increase in operating profit after leading the commercial turnaround of a sick entity in the healthcare portfolio.
Reason for Change: Move to India for personal reasons, which are no longer valid
Company:
A D T I project manages exploratory oil well drilling on behalf of operator companies for a fixed fee for outcome & part of Transocean group (World’s largest drilling company). Contract size US$ 110 Million.
Role:
Acted as controller for West Africa (team of 3) supporting the Project Manager. Acting as the subject matter expert across Treasury, MIS, compliance, supply chain projects, including vendor negotiations and all customer-related commercial interactions.
Select accomplishments:
• Implemented commercial processes matching the standards of Transocean group
Reason for Change: Seeking a professionally stable role
Company:
A USA-based, closely held deep water drilling player with assets spread across Europe and Africa, leading the drilling industry in safety and performance with an annual operating turnover of $330million from Nigeria. Audited by Deloitte.
Role:
Provided commercial project support, established Nigerian operations from a legal perspective, and ensured compliance, treasury management, MIS and country-level reports, and commercial interactions with vendors and customers. Guided ERP and HFM implementation. Led a team of four with one direct report. Reported to the Country Manager of Nigeria and to the Chief Accounting officer of the global organisation.
• Contributed to a c50% expansion in the scale of operations with the Nigerian Petroleum Development Corporation (NPDC)
• Led an optimisation initiative to leverage idle assets resulting in a c42% increase in operating turnover
• Provided all corporate governance including defining commercial process ready for “listing”
• Led a major change initiative to onboard Oracle ERP and Hyperion enterprise “companywide” (achieved 25% ahead of schedule)
Reason for Change: Company taken over by Noble Drilling
Company:
A US$52 billion conglomerate and the world’s largest container shipping company (Fortune 500) based in Denmark; other businesses include Ports & Logistics, Oil & Gas. Maersk operates in the IFRS environment, and was using Hyperion and DB2RRIS. Audited by KPMG and Grant Thornton
Multiple responsibilities during this period for both Nigeria and Togo covering 3 specific roles (Group Accounting & Reporting Manager + Logistics Business Finance Manager / Country Finance Manager) Total team c20.
Nigeria: Combined business value US$1.4 Billion
Was the Group Accounting & Reporting Manager across multiple business sectors: Liner Principal, Country agency, Logistics, Oil supply vessels and Inland container terminal. Handled banking relationships and hedging. Supported investment analysis and other bespoke projects including PPP bids. Also acted as Business Finance Manager for the Logistics, Oil supply vessels, Inland container terminal businesses:
• Captured a 7% reduction in operating cost/TEU after introducing novel supply chain and vendor management initiatives
• Obtained 2% market share growth in Nigeria by collaborating with Citibank to implement a cash management system with the capacity to process a volume of 1, 000 customers daily
• Provided bid support for the Apapa port privatisation (c$1.2 Billion)
Togo: combined business value US$600 Million
Responsible for the Financials and management of the Information technology infrastructure across multiple business sectors - Liner Principal, country agency, Logistics & Freight forwarding. Reporting to Cluster CFO and the Board, with country P&L responsibility
• Enjoyed a 40% reduction in tax costs after implementing a transactional net margin transfer pricing method
• Drove the post-acquisition integration of a new group asset (P&O Shipping)
Nigeria & Togo
• Facilitated enhanced automation and data quality in rendering ERM process support
• Significantly improved the control environment and provided commercial support for balanced scorecard processes, while significantly helping profit management by c15%
Reason for Change: Professional development - Opportunity to take over a senior leadership role
Company:
USD 35 Billion conglomerate headquartered at Mumbai, the Reliance Group is India’s largest private sector organisation with interests in Oil Exploration & Production, Refining, Petrochemicals & Telecom. Investment in Reliance Infocomm was USD 4 Billion. Joint Auditors include Deloitte
Role:
Worked with the Management Audit Cell of the Group from Mar’01 to Jan’02 and reported to the Senior VP - Management services. Transferred to the Commercial Department of the newly formed Reliance Infocomm, reported to the C C O
Key achievements:
• Identified major areas of savings from the perspective of the Supply Chain, Value Engineering, and Tax during Management Audits which was appreciated by the Senior Management of Reliance. Financial impact of savings was approx. USD 110 Million; findings were thereafter incorporated in the operating processes.
• Spearheaded the Business Process Manual preparation, in tandem with international consultants for the Infocomm business in less than 4 months, helping in roll out for SAP implementation.
Reason for Change: Seeking overseas experience
Company:
Part of USD 3.14 Billion Murugappa group; Company in the business (Cultivation, Manufacture, and Distribution) of Plantations and Nutraceuticals, with a balance sheet size of INR 1, 160 Million, and a PAT of INR 50 Million. Audited by Deloitte
Post restructuring of the organisation, upgraded to the position of Chief Financial Officer (Parry Agro Industries Limited) for external purposes.
Role:
Reported to CEO / Executive Director on Board.
Directed and controlled the Financial, Risk management and Commercial aspects for 9 factories and 300 distribution outlets in India of Parry Agro Industries Limited and Parry Nutraceuticals Limited. Implemented Balanced Score card, corporate planning and Board reporting. Strategizing business portfolio through EVA and Free cash flow techniques. Involved in Insurance and Supply chain initiatives.
Key achievements:
• Instrumental in bottom-line management for INR 12 Million, through substitution of high-cost funds with low-cost funds, and use of innovative financial instruments.
• Termed “Significant Contributor to business” during annual appraisals for commercial support rendered to business. Implemented Balanced score card processes.
• Essayed a major role in the implementation of India’s pioneering SPV. Coordinated with HDFC and ICICI for the Financials, negotiation of terms and assistance in Securitisation for Rs.1.3 Billion.
• Introduced Activity based Costing in the Tea estates, in tandem with Technical and IT consultants. Core member of the team which identified opportunities for Value Chain maximisation through Bought leaf Operations. The initiative generated more than twice the regular annual operating profits and helped achieve revenue targets, despite falling prices.
• Core member of the team that established the Nutraceuticals business. Rendered requisite Commercial support and established blue print for hiving the business. This included setting up around 300 outlets as Distributors, inclusive of establishing the IT system to capture / analyse the information & interaction with VCs for “sell-side”.
Reason for Change: Seeking a challenging experience with India's largest company engaged in new-age businesses
Company:
An Indian Market leader in the Luxury hospitality segment with an international presence.
Role:
Reported to the Financial Controller.
In charge of Working Capital Management.
Key achievements:
• Reduced Debtors’ cover (number of days’ sales in debtors) from 52 to 9 days.
• Realised many non-moving accounts to the tune of INR 2 Million, through an integrated set of measures.
Reason for Change: Seeking a professionally challenging role in manufacturing sector
Member of the team involved in delivering services relating to the improvement of business performance.
Establish Activity Based Costing system for M/s Hindustan Motors Earth Moving Equipment division (Presently part of M/s Caterpillar USA); Carried out Strategic planning for establishing textile units; Establishing country’s pioneering BPO operations and performance of systems audit for M/s Citibank NA
There is no grading system for this Diploma from ICAI, it is just either Pass or Fail.
The diploma awarding institution was created under an act of Indian parliament
This is a professional course awarded after completion of prescribed training and completing the qualifying examinations. The certifying institute was created under a charter of Indian parliament