Project Electrical Engineer

Joseph F. Lanzel

******@*******.*** 781-***-**** (cell) www.linkedin.com/in/joelanzel

Strategic Finance Executive

• Extensive experience in budgeting, planning, decision support, strategy development,

financial evaluation & analysis, and mergers & acquisitions

• Proven ability to communicate and interact with executive management to design,

negotiate and implement strategies that drive corporate savings, achieve performance

metrics and generate new revenues

• Strong qualifications in project management and leadership in multidisciplinary team

settings

Experience and Accomplishments

Finance Director, Northeast Utilities (formerly NSTAR), Westwood, MA 1999 – 2012

Director of Strategic Planning (3/2009 – 7/2012)

• Directed cross-functional teams evaluating renewable energy strategy, energy policy,

smart grid and electric vehicle strategy including financial evaluation of greenfield wind

and solar projects, utilizing NPV/IRR analysis as well as return on rate base models.

• Led a large team that developed a business plan, regulatory recovery strategy and

associated financial evaluation for a $70 million upgrade to an LNG manufacturing facility

including new liquefaction train and vaporization facilities.

• Divested an electric cogeneration plant for $340 million, achieving a $100 million gain on

sale

o Overall project lead in charge of negotiations, due diligence/data room, terms and

conditions, and working capital adjustments

• Project managed pre- and post-merger activities related to the $18 billion

NSTAR/Northeast Utilities merger, including due diligence, financial evaluation and risk

analysis, and leadership of a integration planning team

• Project managed the successful application for an $18 million DOE smart grid grant

• Appointed President of NSTAR Communications, responsible for engineering,

construction and operation of fiber optic systems. Overall P&L responsibility included

business strategy, marketing and net income growth:

o Doubled earnings in three years, from $5 million to $10 million through

marketing creative deal structures to telecommunications companies

o Met or exceeded all operational metrics; saved $2 million through settlement

negotiations

Director of FP&A (5/2005 – 3/2009)

• Led the annual corporate planning and budgeting process, collaborating with executive

leaders to ensure appropriate spending goals, and kept CEO & CFO updated on monthly

performance

o Improved analytics by implementing new corporate financial planning software

o Worked closely with Accounting to ensure proper revenue and expense

recognition and adherence to GAAP

o Led the project authorization process for multi-million dollar project approvals (e.g.,

combined cycle gas turbines, new substations, breaker replacement programs,

and major information system investments such as outage management and a

new front-end for the mainframe based customer system)

o Rewrote the corporate project authorization policy and approval documents to

ensure investments not only met financial hurdles, but also had appropriate project

governance, risk mitigation plans and adequate project milestones.

Director of Billing, Meter Reading and Remittance Processing (9/2003 – 5/2005)

• Led organization of 140 employees, with a $20 million operating budget, billing over $3

billion in receivables annually

o Architect of department-wide culture change that refocused the organization on

customer service and achieving performance metrics while cutting costs by 20%

Director Regulatory Finance (12/2001 – 9/2003)

• Presided as the company's expert witness for revenue requirements matters in several

state and federal regulatory proceedings. Prepared rate cases for filing while pursuing

creative settlements. Designed and secured regulatory approval for a creative pension

tracker mechanism that achieved a new $25 million revenue stream. Led FERC filing to

modify tariff to increase transmission depreciation recovery and to have construction

work in progress included in rate base.

Manager of Long Range Planning (3/1999 – 12/2001)

• Produced and published 5-year Financial Forecast and Strategic Plan through

collaboration with executive leadership team

• Assigned to CEO for special crisis management project to oversee electric operations

performance recovery

Senior Financial Advisor, BP (ARCO), Dubai, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas 1990 – 1999

• Increasing responsibilities in economic and financial analyses and transactions in multiple

domestic and international locations, progressing from financial analyst, senior financial

analyst, financial advisor to senior financial advisor

o Coordinated FP&A for operations in Dubai, Qatar, and Pakistan

o Negotiated commercial terms for international oil & gas exploration and

development projects

o Analyzed several M&A opportunities, both foreign and domestic

o Negotiated and completed a $15 million divestiture transaction involving an Alaska

oil pipeline

o Coordinated a $280 million divestiture program of over 1,000 non-core oil

properties

o Economic evaluation of exploration and production as well as refining and retail

marketing projects

Electrical Engineer, Texas Instruments, Dallas, TX 1987 –

1988

• Designed hardware and software systems for defense applications

Education and Professional Development

University of Chicago, Booth School of Business 1988 – 1990

MBA with a specialization in Finance, 3.8 GPA

University of Pittsburgh 1983 – 1986

B.S. in Electrical Engineering, 3.83 GPA

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