Vice President Financial Advisor

RON LACEY

Placitas, NM 408-***-**** ***********@*****.***

SENIOR FINANCE EXECUTIVE

Transforming Underperforming Companies into Profitable Entities Analytical Financial Advisor & Leader with extensive experience in delivering uncompromising strategies, tactics, and planning to drive restructuring, reorganization, and improved profitability. Able to cast vision and facilitate cross-functional consensus required to execute that vision. Lead with an inclusive, collaborative style to cultivate harmony enterprise-wide and develop achievement-oriented financial and operational staff that induce success. CORE COMPETENCIES

● Financial & Strategic Planning ● Treasury Cash Management ● P&L Accountability

● Performance Metrics / KPIs ● Organizational & Team Leadership ● Accounting Controls

● IT, Systems, & Implementations ● Board & Investor Relationships ● Mergers & Acquisitions PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Pajarito Powder LLC Albuquerque, NM 2024 – 2025

Manufacturer and designer of advanced catalysts for fuel cells and electrolyzers. Controller

Lead finance and accounting department through transition from QuickBooks to NetSuite ERP system preparing for a major ramp up in product manufacturing.

• Close year end, work with tax firm to finalize 2024 and report to investors.

• Develop grant accounting, cost tracking, and invoicing process to accelerate the bill to cash timeline for government grants

• Member of five-person leadership team – report to CEO and member of five-person leadership team. MediNatura, Inc. Albuquerque, NM 2021 – 2024

Designer, manufacturer, and distributor of homeopathic remedies. Vice President of Finance

Lead finance and accounting department through transition from third-party accounting provider to an internal accounting and finance team

• Lead finance and accounting team through transition to internal team. Team assumed complete control within two months. Established closing process within three months, closed out year in 5 months, and completed reporting within eight months.

• Developed rolling twelve-month forecasting process..

• Lead cost reduction efforts through part number rationalization and reduction. Reduced number of SKUs being manufactured to reduce costs and focus on high volume part numbers.

• Member of five-person leadership team – report to CEO and member of five-person leadership team. Rose Batteries San Jose, CA 2021 – 2021

Designer, manufacturer, and distributor of custom batteries, battery packs, chargers, and power supplies for OEM products and components.

Vice President of Finance & Controller

Lead finance and accounting department through two M&A transactions, an ERP migration and expansion of operations to offshore staffing in the Philippines and Colombia

• Lead financial due diligence of M&A acquisition with international operations in China, US, Japan and Europe. Successfully analyzed contribution margin of various product lines. Identified non-recurring high margin customer contributing to a high proportion of profits. Rose ultimately modified the approach to the acquisition based on risks identified by my team during due diligence.

• Lead financial due diligence of M&A acquisition with high-volume distribution business. Successfully analyzed customer retention rates, pricing variance and price elasticity. Ron Lacey PAGE 2

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• Lead cost reduction efforts through hiring remote staff – onboarded partners in recruiting and offshoring to identify top talent. Digitized filing system and documented processes to enable a “work from anywhere” operation

• Member of four-person leadership team – reported to CEO and member of four-person leadership team. Lead company HR and staffing policy through Covid. Collaborate with VP Sales to review pricing and margins and with VP Operations to develop cost-savings programs.

• Lead successful turnaround of Infor manufacturing ERP implementation project in six months. ERP project was stalled, two years behind schedule and over budget. Established a core team to identify and resolve open issues, and finalized implementation of new ERP system within six months without any disruptions to the core business. Hardesty LLC San Francisco, CA 2019 – 2021

A provider of executive talent solutions for the C-Suite. Partner, CFO consulting services Lucid Motors Inc. Newark, CA 2019 – 2020

Pre-revenue, automotive electric vehicle startup with 1,000+ employees launching production in December 2020. Interim Vice President of Finance & Acting Chief Financial Officer Consultant through Hardesty LLC, a provider of executive talent solutions for the C-Suite.

Responsible for finance and accounting, business planning, budgeting, forecasting, modeling, investor and board presentations, and financial leadership. Implementing controls, improving governance and compliance, completing audits, and assembling the finance and accounting teams. Manage two direct and 18 indirect reports.

• Established a bottoms-up budget for the entire firm to highlight prior budget shortfalls and establish a solid foundation for the Series-E funding raise in process to supplement the Series-D raise of $1.3 billion.

• Satisfied commercial loan and lease requirements by receiving clean audit opinions for four years via identification and correction of material deficiencies in internal accounting.

• Increased controls, grew teams 66%, and embedded financial analysts into operational and functional teams to improve visibility and create accurate budgets, forecasts, plans, and models to yield solid understanding of the needed funds to launch production.

• Enabled company to meet production launch target dates and ensure Series-E funding by facilitating board approval for boosting the cash-to-production budget by 12%.

• 50% reduction in accounts payable headcount accomplished while enhancing accounting controls, financial reporting, and financial analysis by steering the ERP selection process and migrating from QuickBooks to SAP. Account Control Technology Holdings Los Angeles, CA 2017 – 2019 Debt collections / accounts receivable management firm with $100s of millions in revenue and 3,500+ employees. Vice President of Finance & FP&A Consultant

Restructured financial analysis and reporting function, consolidated financials, re-engineered and managed the budgeting

/ planning processes, forecasted P&Ls, prepared balance sheet, modeled and assessed capital expenditure business cases, and reviewed cash flows. Developed board presentations.

• 25% decrease in capital spending attained by revamping board and owner reporting decks and formats to underscore issues and facilitate decision-making.

• 7% uptick in EBITDA achieved despite 4% decrease in revenue, by introducing performance metrics / KPI dashboards with detailed capital expenditures, cost of sales, functional expenses, headcount, and revenue that allowed anticipation of needed spending cuts.

• 78.5% reduction in the monthly rolling forecast time and a 67% improvement in forecasting accuracy achieved by revising budgeting, planning, and monthly forecasting processes. NeoPhotonics Corporation San Jose, CA 2013 – 2017

$400 million international optoelectronic data and telecommunications equipment designer and manufacturer. Senior Director Business Units Controller

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Re-engineered company structure, instituted new cost modeling and reporting tools, advised business unit leaders. Administered budgeting, planning, and forecasting. Led business case analytics for new products and capital expenditures. Maintained full P&L accountability for business units. Managed four direct reports.

• Flipped $35 million operating loss in FY 2013 to a $4 million gain in FY 2015 by modeling and instituting financial restructuring and corporate reorganization to move from operational loss to profitability.

• 48% growth in gross margins reaped by modeling product line P&Ls at standard gross margins, gross margins with variances, and operating income levels to emphasize manufacturing product cost issues.

• Executed a performance metrics / KPI tracking and reporting dashboard that led to focused review of product pricing, product cost, manufacturing costs, variable costs, fixed costs per function, and profitability to support executive decision-making.

• Worked with R&D, Product Management, and Marketing on new product introduction and ramp of 5 new products

• Helped avoid New York Stock Exchange delisting by resolving a material deficiency with inventory and audit issues on inventory valuation and cost of goods sold that stemmed from the acquisition of a Japanese subsidiary. Oclaro, Inc. San Jose, CA 2013

$300 million international optoelectronic data and telecommunications equipment designer and manufacturer. Corporate Controller Consultant

Directed year-end closing and audit, internal reporting, SEC 10-K reporting, SOX compliance, purchase price allocation, and acquisition valuation analysis. Led a team of three direct reports overseeing eight employees.

• Filed financial statements on time with the SEC by solving M&A purchase price accounting and acquisition valuation analysis issues to close year-end books and complete the year-end audit. COGO Optronics, Inc. Boulder, CO 2010 – 2013

Optical chip designer and manufacturer for data and telecommunications equipment generating $3.5 million in revenue. Chief Operating Officer & Chief Financial Officer

Spearheaded manufacturing operations, finance, accounting, business planning, forecasting, cash management, fund development, supply chain, logistics, human resources, information technology, legal, contract negotiations, tax, audit, and compliance. Served as the managing director of the German subsidiary. Managed five direct and ten indirect reports.

• $10 million in series-B funding secured along with closing $3.5 in European loans and $2 million in European R&D program grants.

• $3.5 million in sales gained in two years as the primary customer contact for sales and operational planning for the company’s largest customer.

• Worked closely with VP of Engineering on cost models, product introduction, and production ramp. Celerity, Inc. San Jose, CA 2008 – 2010

$200 million semiconductor equipment manufacturer with 1,000 employees across five countries. Chief Financial Officer

Steered restructuring, planning, and forecasting while managing finance, accounting, bank relationships, debt, cash, contract negotiations, and working capital. Mentored a team of six direct and 15 indirect reports.

• Negotiated the sale of the business to a private equity firm, delivering company owners with desired exit strategy.

• Reduced inventory by $12 million through improved planning and forecasting, negotiated $350,000 savings on insurance expenses, and reduced cash requirements through domestic cost-cutting efforts while saving $3 million annually by closing international offices to reach profitability.

• 50% reduction in cash burn obtained to sell a $54 million per quarter unprofitable company as a $25 million per quarter cash-breakeven business by closing offices and selling divisions in the restructuring success. Avanex Corporation San Jose, CA 2006 – 2007

$210 million optical component and module manufacturer with operations on three continents. Operations Controller

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Reorganized the finance and accounting departments, implemented cost reduction strategies, renegotiated contract manufacturing agreements, led cost and manufacturing accounting, prepared financial statements for internal and SEC 10-K / 10-Q reporting. Presided over cash management, revenue recognition, and international finance and accounting operations. Led 12 indirect employees through five direct reports.

• $11.4 million decrease in write-offs earned by retooling excess and obsolete inventory processes.

• 600% increase in quarterly gross margin percent year over year driven by analysis providing understanding of manufacturing cost and implementing cost reductions.

• 50% reduction in closing and reporting times achieved through process change implementation. Calient Networks San Jose, CA 2006

$10 million startup with 95 employees designing and manufacturing photonic switching products for the data and telecommunications industries.

VP Finance

Oversaw accounting, finance, human resources, legal, risk management, and technology with a team of four direct and six indirect reports.

• $10 million round of funding and $5 million working capital line of credit closed.

• $1.2 million in yearly savings and 50% decrease in wafer costs cultivated by instigating a plan to close the wafer fabrication plant and outsource supply.

• $1+ million escalation in annual sales fostered via renegotiation of reseller agreements.

-PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE-

Iolon, Inc. San Jose, CA

Tunable laser manufacturing startup that ramped to $7 million in revenue and 95 employees. Vice President of Finance Treasurer

Led accounting, finance, general administration, HR, IT, risk management, supply chain, and treasury with staff of seven.

• $15 million in equity funding and $2.4 million working capital loan closed that allowed the company to complete its manufacturing cleanroom to begin producing and shipping product.

• Worked with R&D and Manufacturing Operations to successfully introduce and ramp the tunable laser to $7M in sales

Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. Atlanta, GA

$2 billion manufacturer of cable TV hardware and software with 3,500 employees. Operations in seven countries. Director of Operations Controller

Managed manufacturing operations, supply chain, contract negotiations, logistics, financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, M&A integrations, accounting, cost accounting, working capital, and P&L with a team of 73.

• 57% reduction in time to complete monthly close and reporting incurred by leading installation of SAP and Hyperion.

• Conducted due diligence, negotiated and integrated two acquisitions, and led both to profitability within six months of deal closing.

• Grew the division from $60M in revenue to $250M over a 4 year period through NPI and market penetration EDUCATION

Master of Business Administration in Finance & Accounting University of Tulsa - Oklahoma

Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration & English Vanderbilt University - Nashville, TN

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