ARTHUR CALDERON

CFO // COO

+** (0-424-***-*** – Sydney, AU – adzpq4@r.postjobfree.com – LinkedIn Profile

SUMMARY

A commercially minded and analytical CFO with experience in Retail, Wholesale, SaaS, IT and Ecommerce, leading transformation and change with a track record in business turnarounds. Strengthening operations and processes by identifying and addressing inefficient practices and channelling investment into growth opportunities. I bring a CFO skillset to general management, optimising performance and informing strategic decision-making driving EBITDA delivery. I ensure stringent cost control while investing in bold initiatives to drive growth using an entrepreneurial perspective. Always thinking beyond the 'now', I understand the imperative to invest and create to ensure long-term profitability, not just cut costs.

SKILLS & SPECIALISMS

Commercial Strategy // P&L Management // Budgeting // Forecasting // NPD // Product Launch // IT Implementation // Business Turnaround // Change // Transformation // Growth & Profitability // Negotiation // SAP Power User // Mergers & Acquisitions

Retail // Ecommerce // Wholesales // Manufacturing // SaaS // IT

Leadership Culture Development // Communication // Coaching // Analytical // People Engagement

WORK EXPERIENCE

COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR (FINANCE) ANZ

02/2022 – Present

CENTRAL INNOVATION Pty Limited SYDNEY

www.centralinnovation.com

A SaaS and IT Solutions organisation that offers leading products such as SolidWorks, Archicad and Solibri, used in the architectural, engineering, construction, and manufacturing industries, along with the best quality hardware and training. Responsible for all Finance, IT, Share services, order processing & HR operations in the ANZ region. The business has an annual turnover of $65M and over 115 employees. Reporting to the Board of Directors, I manage a direct team of 14.

This role sees me provide financial data and interpretation on the software and SaaS industry to the Exec and Board of Directors. Responsibilities include conducting analysis, producing reports on a range of product, competitor and pricing matters, developing and delivering the board pack, and managing capital and OPEX budgets.

Oversaw EBITDA growth of 5% YTD through creation of a strict customer discounting approval process and expenditure control

Led the project to improve the quality and the time to deliver Budget as well as Monthly Reporting

Oversaw the upgrade of the accounting software Sage v8 to Sage v13 and integrated this with our existing systems

Led the due diligence of a competitor company acquisition and oversaw integrating that acquisition into our current system. This process would usually take 6 months, but it was handled in 8 weeks due to the Board's urgency to be the dominant player in the market and stop the margin erosion.

GENERAL MANAGER ANZ & SOUTH PACIFIC 08/2017 – 12/2020

CORELLE BRANDS (FORMERLY WORLD KITCHEN) SYDNEY

General Manager ANZ & South Pacific // Corelle Brands Pty Ltd (Formerly World Kitchen) // August 2017 – December 2020

US kitchenware company with brands such as Pyrex and Corningware, employing 3K people and sales of US$1.3BN+

Brands: Pyrex, Corelle, Corningware, Visions, Snapware, Chicago Cutlery + Instant Pot

Partners: David Jones, Woolworths, Big W, Myer, Coles, Aldi, Costco, Amazon + Independent Retailers

Reporting to the VP of North America, I managed a total headcount of 60 and a direct team of 9. Responsible for all operations in the ANZ region across Retail, Ecommerce and Wholesale. Promoted to GM whilst the business was in a 7-year decline in sales; this was a turnaround role tasked to improve business profitability, delivering sales growth, reducing overheads, and improving EBIT% over net sales.

All targets were achieved in the first year, growing sales in USD by 3% despite significant challenges presented by the US/AUD FX rate depreciating by nearly 10% and growing the business unit by 11% EBIT in 2018, the first growth recorded since 2012; Delivering $40M in revenue and increasing sales and EBITDA year on year from 2018 to 2020.

Led the 3-year strategic plan, including strengthening internal culture, increasing sales, opening new channels, reducing OPEX,

Drove team changes across sales, marketing and finance to uplift performance and internal culture.

Identified unprofitable SKUs, including plans to replace the SKUs in the 3-year strategy

Exceeded all targets in year 1, growing sales by 3% despite significant challenges presented by the US/AUD FX rate

Oversaw sales growth after the appointment of a new distributor for NZ. Sales were 2017 of US$400K grew to $600K at the end of 2018 and US$1.6M at the end of 2020.

Designed an ecommerce strategy to achieve market dominance online, working with marketing to find a platform for an online store and identifying ranges for customers' online platforms.

Grew eCommerce from $150,000 to $1,000,000 in sales in just 11 months, reaching $2m in 2020 with a Gross Margin of 53%

Launched NPD Instant Pot Multi-Cooker, becoming Amazon's #1 selling brand for electrical appliances in Australia

Returned $1.5M to the bottom line by reviewing operations and closing 3 underperforming factory outlets whilst opening a new profitable one.

Selected new 3PL provider and freight vendors, saving $1M p.a, negotiating a 5-year deal that increased value for money.

Voted best business unit to work for after transforming team culture

Awarded Big W Supplier of the Year in 2018 and member of the Gartner CEO Group, and a regular speaker at industry events

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER (ANZ & SOUTH PACIFIC) 04/2015 – 08/2017

CORELLE BRANDS (FORMERLY WORLD KITCHEN) SYDNEY

World Kitchen, a wholesale distributor of homeware before rebranding in 2018 as Corelle Brands. Reporting to the CFO & VP of Finance for Asia Pacific in Singapore, responsible for a team of 13, providing leadership to accounting, finance, logistics, supply, and HR, through a period of transformation. Accountable for $1M CAPEX, $5M control expenses, $5M inventory control and $3M freight distribution expense control.

Maintained EBITDA levels of 20% over net sales, despite the significant loss on the exchange rate and no sales growth, driven by tight spending control and identifying efficiencies.

Reduced overhead spending consistently from 2015 to 2017 across operations and stores and achieved inventory, turns and inventory value targets.

Led the search for a new 3PL provider with the joint goals of savings and improvement of service levels. We also secured lease renewals for the 3 more profitable retail stores.

Engineered cost savings by outsourcing the IT function, improving service to the business by providing 24/7 IT support, most notably to Retail stores in Victoria and Queensland.

Consistently rated the best department to work for since 2010 by improving finance team culture.

Implemented timely reporting on SKU profitability, liaising externally with banks, legal and audit firms, the ATO and ASIC.

FINANCE CONTROLLER (ANZ & SOUTH PACIFIC) 08/2010 – 04/2015

CORELLE BRANDS (FORMERLY WORLD KITCHEN) SYDNEY

Promoted to a new region where I gained responsibility for improving the process to provide corporate HQ with more transparency over the region's cash management; Leading the annual budgeting and forecasting, I implemented spending control for all departments, coordinated internal and external audits, managed cashflow strategies and bank relationships along with providing support to the Managing Director.

• Delivered EBITDA targets resulting in dividends of US$21M from 2010 to 2014, up from the US$3M paid from 2007 to 2010.

• Provided SAP training for the logistic and finance teams, automating manual processes.

• Reduced AR and AP processing times by almost a week through automation.

• Implemented retail best practices, negotiated leases to open new factory stores and deployed a new POS.

Older Positions //Financial Controller MX & LATAM, Corelle Brands // Financial Controller, Hiab (Cargotec) Mexico // Financial & Accounting Manager, CHEP // Cost Analyst, Gillette de Mexico INC // Tax Analyst, General Motors // Auditor, Arthur Andersen & Co

EDUCATION // AWARDS // CERTIFICATIONS

Master of Business Administration (MBA) // RMIT Australia

Certified Practicing Accountant (CPA) (9360688) // CPA Australia

Certified Practicing Accountant (CPA) (023570) // Mexico College of Certified Public Accountants

Bachelor of Accounting // Tecnologico de Monterrey ITESM, Mexico City

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