Leigh M. Warner
Dallas, Texas 708-***-**** cell *****.******@*******.*** LinkedIn Profile
Vice President of Finance
A hands-on results-producing leader with exceptional experience in accounting, finance, and administration within engineering, construction (EPC), manufacturing, and select oil and gas industries. Experience includes managing the financial program for large to medium size publicly traded or privately held organizations, including international operations. Additionally, as a key member of the Executive Leadership Team, I have played a strategic role in the overall management of several organizations with primary responsibility for planning, implementing, controlling, and reporting all financial-related activities. This has included direct responsibility for accounting, treasury, strategic planning, human resources, information technology, risk management, debt restructuring, SOX compliance, and mergers and acquisitions.
COMPETENCIES
•Financial Reporting
•MSA Contract Negotiations
•Cash Flow Projection
•ERP Implementation
•Oracle, SAP, HFM, Essbase, BI,TM1
•Shared Service Center
Oversight
•Revenue Recognition SME
(POC, IFRS)
•Six Sigma Green Belt
•SOX 404
•International Oversight
•KPI Improvement
•Operational Business Partner
•D365
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
•Staff Leadership,
Development and Mentorship
•M&A Due Diligence
•IT Systems Oversight
•Banking Relationships
•External Audit Oversight
•FP&A Leader
•Insurance/Risk Oversight
•Restructured the operations finance group by emphasizing a business partner approach at all levels of the organization.
•Developed an enhanced weekly/monthly reporting package and a monthly project review rigor, thus providing a more KPI-based approach to project performance.
•Jacobs Engineering - Generated additional client revenue streams ($5M-$10M) (DuPont, CP Chemical, Exxon) as it relates to providing front-end contractual input impacting the commercial terms of the sales contract.
•Jacobs Engineering - Achieved a 20% reduction in SG&A facility costs via improved "triple net" lease terms and "footprint" consolidation.
•Sierra Hamilton - Restructured Asset Based Loan (LOC), thereby enhancing liquidity while positioning for subsequent growth.
•Sierra Hamilton - Increased EBITDA by 25%.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
KELLER NA, INC 2020 – Present
$100m Division of $1.9B Geotechnical Engineering Business headquartered in London
Hands-on role leading Midwest and Florida Business Units within the KUS Americas geography.
Geotechnical construction and engineering for commercial and industrial plants specializing in foundation and earth retention.
VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE – Midwest BU
•Report to the US CFO with local functional oversight of Finance, IT, HR, Administration, Risk, Tax, and Annual Audit
•Reduced overhead from original run rate by $1.1m, annualized
•Saved shop costs of 10% over the previous year's spend
•Adept at pivoting quickly between the tactical and the strategic to optimize results
•Restructured business unit in terms of upgrading talent while streamlining processes
•Business Partner to CEO, COO, as well as the entire operational leadership team
•Reporting Enhancements - Weekly KPI Reporting, Weekly Project Operating Profit Reporting, Actionable MD&A Review
•Decreased DSO and over 90-day aging to optimize free cash-flow - 25 Day Reduction
•Increased backlog by 25% from $40m to $50m through enhanced customer relationships
VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE – Florida BU
•Reported to the US CFO with local functional oversight of Finance, IT, HR, Administration, Risk, Tax, and Annual Audit
•Implemented functional KPI review as it relates to AP and AR
•Improved DSO through insourcing a dedicated collections FTE - Implemented weekly DSO calls with a 10-day reduction
•Improved operating income during a pandemic year (2020) as well as during the "One Keller" restructuring. – 10%
•Turnaround Florida Business Unit - Restructured business unit in terms of upgrading talent while reducing significant overhead spend - $.5m
•Reporting Enhancements – Weekly Project Operating Profit Reporting, Actionable MD&A Review with a “Deep Dive” into KPI’s driving shop cost efficiency
•Financial Business Partner to CEO, COO, as well as the entire leadership team
SIERRA-HAMILTON, LLC - HOUSTON, TEXAS – PRIVATE EQUITY BACKED 2018 - 2019 International Oilfield Services Company – $180MM Revenue
CFO/SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE
•Responsible for a $200MM PE-backed oil field services business
•Reported to PE Owned Board of Directors with functional oversight of Finance, IT & HR
•Participated in the 2017 restructuring of the business in a debt-to-equity transition
•Business partner to CEO, COO, as well as the entire leadership team
•Significant KPI reporting enhancements, i.e., weekly KPI, monthly operating review, weekly DSO review DSO Improvement - 70 days to 55 days
•Treasury, Lending, and Tax responsibility with external oversight (Asset Based Lending / LOC)
•Negotiated Asset Based Lending Line of Credit, saving $500K/annum in debt service expense
•$1.5M of improved liquidity
•ERP implementation - Great Plains Dynamics 365 as a cloud-based backend ERP solution
•Upgraded the finance and human resources departments along with ADP / CRM implementation
•Migrated all IT data repositories to the cloud, thus saving the company $100K per annum plus reducing cyber security
risk
•Improved labor reporting and weekly top 5 KPI development for the entire US operation
•Led business expansion into Mexico, thus capturing the evolving E&P consulting market (PEMEX)
•Risk Management - Business and Health Insurance oversight, including the execution of a captive insurance plan
•Established Captive Insurance implementation, thus saving the company 10% of annual business insurance cost
LMW CONSULTING SERVICES 2014 - 2018
Jacobs Engineering Construction Group – Interim Business Unit CFO
•Supported the senior leadership team for engineering services
Inland Pipe Rehabilitation – Interim CFO
•PE sourced CFO during the post-distressed audit period. As a result, resolved audit issues with PWC and sourced a strong Controller to continue establishing best practices.
AECOM – Interim Regional Finance Director for $500M Gulf Coast Division.
•Established the regional finance director role in the gulf coast (Austin) while setting up procedures to improve financial transparency as well as liquidity
Parsons Brinkerhoff – Interim VP of Finance for a $250M commercial construction business. (Power Generation, Storage Wells, Civil Construction)
•Proactive financial Business Partner to Division President
•Complete FP&A, treasury, SOX, audit, and financial reporting responsibility
•Streamlined financial transparency as well as operational rhythm at all levels within the business
•Implemented KPI reporting accountability
JACOBS ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION GROUP - HOUSTON, TEXAS 2011 - 2014
International Engineering, Procurement & Construction Company – $14B Revenue
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
•Responsible for direct/indirect staff of 25 finance professionals in support of a $500M revenue organization
•Project oversight ranging from $1M to $10B (Motiva)
•Business Partner to President and VP of Engineering, VP of Operations
•Significant KPI, Utilization, and reporting enhancements and SOX compliance improvements
•Improved reporting transparency within the region (AR, month-end reporting, unbilled)
•International financial oversight (US, Mexico, KSA, UAE)
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE continued…
•Operational process improvements around project handoff from business development to operations
•Saved $5M through enhanced LD contractual negotiations with the client (DuPont)
•Led the development of improved labor reporting and Top 5 KPI development for the entire US Operation
•Banking, Insurance, Audit oversight, IT, and all Financial Systems
IES - HOUSTON, TEXAS 2008 - 2011
IES is the 2nd largest national electrical equipment manufacturer, providing total contracting solutions for commercial, industrial, and residential markets.
SENIOR FINANCE MANAGER
•Attracted and developed finance talent in support of a consolidated organization; implemented significant P&L improvement initiatives
•Expanded the level of financial analysis to be forward-looking to provide empirical direction to the business to drive sales volume
•Key leader of operations excellence that eliminated multiple operating and capital lease agreements by consolidating equipment to more geographically optimal locations
•Key member of SAP (R3) ERP implementation team- completed on time and within budget
•Initiated and directed SOX 404 audit with PWC while improving initial deficiencies through quick and decisive remediation efforts
KOCH INDUSTRIES - INVISTA - HOUSTON, TEXAS 2006 - 2008
$5 Billion chemical division specializing in the core capabilities of producing nylon for Stainmaster Carpet and airbag material for the auto industry.
SENIOR PROJECT CONTROLLER
•Developed financial controls and reporting for $2.5B of upstream intermediate Petro-Chemical projects
ØBuilt finance organization to report meaningful KPI's that were leading indicators of project performance
ØDeveloped and initiated financial accountability with the project management staff – earned value, reporting, monthly projects reviews
•Led financial implementation of an international project in China associated with a new plant build at the Shanghai Chemical Industrial Park – Wholly Owned Foreign Enterprise (WOFE) – $1.5B
•Implemented “Project Score Card Reporting Tool” – implemented throughout Koch business units
•Credited as the best practice driver of the upstream finance support model that was implemented in the ”downstream” project organization
PLANT CONTROLLER
•Saved $6M (5%) of raw material cost savings through improved SLA contractual language with DuPont, as well as presenting analysis in support of installing Custody Transfer Meters at the cost of $150K
•Saved $2.3M associated with Hurricane Rita costs through improved invoice review and substantiation of services and goods received from DuPont
ORACLE / SUN MICROSYSTEMS - ITASCA, ILLINOIS 1998 - 2006
Sun is the leading technology provider of open-source software with unmatched experience developing communities, integrating software, and supporting products.
FINANCIAL ANALYST PROMOTED TO ACCOUNTING MANAGER
•Implemented an improved "Data Filter Tool" to auto-apply cash from the 5 lockbox tape feeds. Saved the company 5 FTE's generating $250K per year
•Developed KPI dashboard in support of providing transparent daily metrics to the finance community
EDUCATION
BS Finance University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
COMPUTER SKILLS
Oracle 12x ● SAP ● Great Plains ● CRM ● Excel ● Outlook ● PowerPoint ● Word ● Access ● D365
FCPA Training ● Code of Conduct Training ● Power Business Intelligence