Unnikrishnan Nair

Chief Financial Officer at AMWAJ CATERING SERVICES

• Qatar - Doha
• November 2009 to June 2020

Major Achievements:
 Effectively carried out transformation of challenges and successfully administered various tasks at various levels.
 Assisted in optimizing costs and enhancing profitably due to recent price crisis affecting the oil and gas industry by various measures such as cost reduction, manpower optimization, logistics and procurement optimization and commercial and marketing optimization.
 Accomplished annualized benefits of 8% of the total spend, retaining 85% market share by achieving 33% success rate in winning tenders.
 Accomplished reduction in payroll cost in excess of US$ 6.4 Million and overhead with benefit of US$ 1.48 Million annually. Won/Retained contracts worth of US$ 346 million for the year 2016 and 2017 leading to maintaining existing market share.
 Worked as Project Coordinator with QNB Capital (Qatar National Bank) for the due diligence, valuation, transaction structuring and implementation to acquire 100% share of AMWAJ by Gulf International Services from Qatar Petroleum.
 Negotiated and finalized finance requirement with banks for working capital requirements of US$21 Million during the period (FY 2011 & 2012).
 Designed and implemented Balance Score Card and KPI’s to measure performance by considering the criteria of criticality, measurability and availability of bench mark and time orientation for the selection of KPIs.
 Functioned as member of the Permanent Procedure and Policy Committee (PPP&C) involved in reviewing HR, Bonus policies & procedures, delegation of authority of the company.
 Interacted with Consultants for Compensation Market Study & Structure to Bench Mark the staff compensation packages & benefits and structure followed by subsequent board approval in 2011.
 Worked on major capital investment analysis to build a Central Production Unit and Central warehouse in 27, 000 square meters and to build and operate an authentic Dutch restaurant cum coffee shop for a period of 15 years (US$ 3.8 million).
 Assessed buying or leasing major assets as alternative options e.g. vehicle requirements, generators for large camp operations and equipment requirement during World petroleum conference and Pan Arab games.
 Drafted and presented commercial proposals and assessed financial performance of major projects for catering and allied services such as World Petroleum Conference (WPC); Pan Arab Games 2011 and Qatar Marine Festival in 2011.

Finance Director at AMWAJ CATERING SERVICES

• Qatar - Doha
• November 2009 to June 2020

Continued from the previous section
Job Profile:
As Finance Director
 Assisted the senior management in finalizing corporate vision and business strategy based on evaluated monthly/ quarterly financial statements, forecasts, budgets, reports.
 Interacted with the board members for ensuring effective implementation of future strategic direction and financial plans for developing and growing USD$ 300M (1 billion QR) turnover company.
 Rendered consultancy to the senior management on potential financial impact on business by external and internal influences by assessing long term financial trends/ prospects for future growth of income.
 Defined/ implemented financial strategies encompassing contractual obligations, financial management & systems for enhancing organizational bottom lines including decision-support, internal control, KPI metrics and board reporting frameworks.
 Set up commercial plans for growth, capital investments, M&A targets, tender bids (pricing models). Evaluated investment opportunities related to major contracts like Ras Laffan facilities; 110, 000 man days.
 Liaised with other members of the senior management team in evaluating financial or management information and other related factors including contract negotiations or setting up strategic partnerships.
 Implemented effective internal controls for effectively resolving potential risks and anticipated losses. Set up financial benchmarks by implementing remedial measures, comparing budget Vs actual.
 Guided team members in finalizing balance sheet, managing working capital and month-wise annual budgets.
 Managed administrative aspects related to cash & receivable management, creditors management & payments, preparing monthly projects statement, monthly analysis of various project cost and various reports for the group company.
 Coordinated activities related to drafting agreements, legal notice and other correspondences, evaluating/ implementing internal controls & company policies. Assess/ optimize day to day accounting and fund requirements.
 Maintained updated knowledge of legislation, rules, regulations and court decisions pertaining to financial functions of the organization. Focused on developing teams including recruitment, mentoring, training, succession plans.
 Represented the organization in steering committees / direct liaison with Board Audit Committee as well as Executive Board.
 Actively participated in management committees like Policy & Procedure Committee, Working Capital Committee, Tender Committee (Supplier & Client Tender Oversight), Investment Committee (Major Investments & M&A Opportunities).
 Update the senior management on regional operational, financial and legal issues using detailed reports/ presentations to enable effective decision making.

Finance Manager & Acting Finance Director at AMWAJ CATERING SERVICES

• Qatar - Doha
• January 2008 to January 2009

As Finance Manager & Acting Finance Director
 Rendered support to the senior management in defining and implementing corporate strategy by setting up integrated 5-year business plans, annual budgets and future direction, including financial proposals, detailed projections, key actions and investments for USD$ 300M company.
 Participated in Quarterly Board Reviews (QBRs) for corporate strategy development and presented rolling 5-year financial plans, P&L and M&A targets.
 Functioned as member of the Senior Management Team involved in presenting monthly financial reports to Managing Directors for monitoring performance, target actions, year-to-date, forecasts and KPI analysis.
 Represented the department in Policy & Procedure Committee; Working Capital Committee; Tender Committee (Supplier & Client Bid Selection); Investment Committee (Major Investments; Evaluating M&A Opportunities) to enable senior management decision making from financial perspective.
 Ensured effective leadership of 100+ employees across finance functions, including management-level reports (i.e. Senior Finance Manager, Cost Control Manager), transactions (AR/AP), general ledger, payroll and stores aimed at maintaining seamless operations.
 Liaising with Investment Bankers & stakeholders for M&A activities worth of QR 500 Million and ensuring funds for such activities.
 Enhanced organizational profitability by implementing effective cost control measures across 140 catering outlet locations with implementation of monitoring variable cost on daily basis and guiding the outlet teams in managing cost structures and project overheads.
 Prepared and ensured compliance to monthly operational plans and budgets using daily operational cost statement, financial statements, balance sheets, cash flow forecasts and variance analysis.
 Maintained adequate working capital by implementing effective control on stock (FIFO system), invoicing (AP/AR), cash flow and procurement based on evaluated requirement forecasts as well as CAPEX / OPEX to support investments in catering and other operational facilities.
 Assisted the senior management with regards to capital investments, tender management (pricing models, bid selection, long-term contracts and deal approval).
 Interacted with the Board Audit Committee and external auditors in preparation for annual audits as well as ensuring implementation and compliance to internal controls, accounting policies and procedures.
 Collaborated with various support teams in configuring ERP modules of a start-up company as part of a wider KPI reporting framework for sales, finance, procurement, HR and recipes with data validation (accuracy / integrity); business intelligence.
 Enhanced operational efficiency by implementing organizational best practice policies, procedures and internal controls, including cost management, process automation and workflow optimization.
 Ensured seamless operations in coordination with board executives, functional heads (Managing Directors, Operations Director) and external auditors and banking institutions.
 Focused on recruitment, grooming and mentoring the finance team and rendered support to other team members and peers on training, professional development, coaching and succession plans.
 Prepared and presented financial reports including executive dashboards, KPI metrics based on Board-level requirements and statutory obligations.

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