SENIOR FINANCE & OPERATIONS PROFESSIONAL

OBJECTIVE

Seeking a position as COO, Chief Administration/HR Officer, or Director of Finance within a company seeking to grow or enter new markets. Companies in transition due to merger or rightsizing operations would also be of interest.

QUALIFICATIONS

Hands on senior business executive with 25 years of multi-industry experience in Bahrain, Dubai, London, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. Insightful and proactive management style in both team and independent environments. Track record of success in deals/company formations completed. Strategic and Mission planner with the ability to recruit and retain talent to achieve corporate goals. Developed metrics to gauge performance improvement in growing operations while maintaining financial discipline. Knowledge of spoken and written Spanish and Arabic.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

A.R.M. Consulting, UAE

2008 – Present

Managing Director

Maintained profitable operations for 6.5 years.

Managed the development of a green field merchant banking group (the Belleau Wood Group), consulting for three years on strategic projects, compliance, and financial controls.

•Created and deployed processes and procedures for managing operations and evaluating potential clients.

•Developed human resources practices and employee evaluation criteria.

•Implemented a set of financial controls in line with global best practices.

•Set up the IT infrastructure for the firm.

•Managed all regulatory and compliance functions.

•Developed new business and provided consulting services.

•Assisted in fundraising for both debt and equity, raising $1.5MM in debt and $300K in equity.

Seconded as CFO for six months at the Arab Youth Venture Foundation (non-profit).

•Secured $273K funding from the Emirates Foundation, providing metrics confirming the Foundation’s outreach goals.

•Managed S.T.E.A.M. (science, technology, engineering, astronomy, and math) events at various malls throughout the U.A.E.

Provided business advisory services for an oil and commodities trading company.

•Developed a financial model to determine project and investment feasibility based on production and transportation inputs.

•Designed the work flow processes for working with partners in order to set expectations for each counterparty and support the investment decision.

•Advised a US based franchisor on expanding to the GCC.

•Analyzed market opportunities to determine the best approach to entering the U.A.E market and determine price points for franchisors.

•Localized the U.S. business plan for implementation in the U.A.E.

Consulted on operations and HR management for a family owned business.

•Addressed business performance obstacles that were negatively impacting long-term business strategies.

•Provided risk management analysis, including business continuity planning.

Saffar Capital, Manama, Bahrain & Dubai, UAE

2001 – 2008

Chief Operating Officer

Managed 6 direct reporting staff. Maintained administrative and operational responsibility for 20 full time staff.

Performed pre-acquisition operational, legal and financial due diligence and post-acquisition integration and operational improvements for investments. Ensured legal and regulatory compliance to prevent financial penalties.

Performed due diligence on fund of funds, including alpha attribution to determine investment viability. Used for $10MM cost avoidance.

Maintained regulatory information, budgeting, and managed financial reporting, including audits; presented internal and external reporting to management and shareholders for all group companies. Enabled valuation of assets for $43MM capital raise from existing shareholders.

Developed procedures to maintain regulatory compliance required by the Dubai Financial Services Authority.

Managed human resources, and devised and executed a talent management plan, linking pay to performance and developing career growth plans, resulting in 15% reduction in staff turnover.

Conducted treasury activities of the company including cash flow management and the maintenance of collection channels. Recovered $4.6MM in expense and deal completion fees from partners.

Portfolio investment activities for Zawya:

•A key member of the transition team with primary responsibilities for integration of operations and financial controls. Ensured adherence to budgets

•Served on the Board of Directors for six years. The company was later acquired by Thomson Reuters for a 26% CAGR on investment.

•Organized the integration of data collection to enhance the product offering. Used to drive revenue growth from $0.25MM to $10.7MM (2002-2007).

Portfolio investment activities for Credit Suisse Saudi Arabia:

•Supported the development of the business plan to get a brokerage license in Saudi Arabia, resulting in award of one of the first three new licenses in 23 years.

•Successfully managed the operational deployment of a $27MM financial services firm in Saudi Arabia, resulting in fees of $4.5MM. The company was acquired by Credit Suisse.

•Supervised the creation of brokerage operations manuals, to avoid compliance penalties.

•Managed the office build out and IT systems in line with Credit Suisse best practices and standards, including redundancy and business continuity.

•Directed the regulatory certification process in order to start full revenue generating operations.

Lehman Brothers, New York, USA

1991 – 2001

Vice President/Chief Administrative Officer, Business Support Services (BSS)

1999 - 2001

Managed staffing and total compensation for a department with a staff of 237 in offices in New York, London, Tokyo and Hong Kong, linking total compensation to employee performance.

Restructured BSS and expanded and enhanced services, including qualitative service level agreements to Investment Banking, Equity Research, and Capital Markets business units, resulting in a transfer pricing model that accurately allocated costs to end-users and rationalized the department’s cost structure resulting in lower costs and improved service offerings. Planned to self-fund a $3MM bonus pool.

Created a rigorous benchmarking process to ensure price competitiveness with external providers and guide outsourcing of inefficient services, reducing costs by 20% ($5.4MM) through rightsizing measures, including reducing headcount in inefficient areas.

Prepared and implemented a business plan with a $27MM global budget for all BSS areas including Project Management, Research Services, Internet Development, Graphic Design, Computer Graphics, and Digital Media.

Developed training programs and provided assessments for employee job advancement and to retain key personnel. Reduced voluntary turnover by 30%.

Established measurable performance objectives for 14 direct report staff, focusing on career development within departmental and firm wide needs. Supervised senior managers to develop the same.

Vice President, Financial Data Services

1995 - 1999

Managed research in support of Investment Banking deal flow, saving time and expense.

Developed new models to support valuation of securities needed for corporate deals.

Assistant Vice President, Financial Data Services

1993 - 1995

Operations Analyst, Financial Data Services

1991 - 1993

EDUCATION

New York University (NYU)

Stern School of Business, New York, New York

MBA (Finance)

1998

Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

BA (Politics)

1991

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