Robert L. Desrochers
**** ****** ***** *****: 541-***-****
Roseburg, OR 97470 Email: ***.*.**********@*****.***
Professional Summary
GE trained Financial Executive with P&L and diversified domestic and international experience in general management, operations, sales/marketing, financial management/planning, corporate development, and IT. Businesses served include aerospace and defense, power generation, home laundry, consumer electronics, HVAC, pleasure boating, kitchen cabinet manufacturing, and forest products.
Senior operational financial leader who designs highly successful strategies to maximize profits, control costs, and expand business. Track record of effectively partnering with other functional leaders to drive change.
Key strengths include driven to succeed, outstanding interpersonal skills, analytical, creative, and effective leader.
• Positions the organization for solid growth and continued product excellence.
• Drives the company forward and consistently meet short and long-term goals.
• Builds, develops, and mentors a dedicated team of professionals and motivates breakthrough performance results and making a meaningful contribution.
• A quick study with a broad range of industry knowledge.
• Infuses a sense of humor into everyday business and views challenges as growth opportunities.
Auditing/SarbOx Inventory Controls
Budgeting Mergers & Acquisitions
Cost Accounting Pension Planning
Credit Start-ups
Financial Analysis Taxation
Forecasting Treasury
General Accounting
Professional Experience
APEX Block Corporation Roseburg, OR 2010-present
Privately held “green” building product company in start up. Single plant operation seeking investor funding to expand production of environmentally friendly cement/styrofoam block used for external wall construction.
Chief Financial Officer
Established all best practices accounting and finance routines for start up company. Completed investor packet, including company history, strategic business plan, and product capabilities.
• Established Quick Books chart of accounts and closing process, cash disbursement routines, purchasing, risk management, standard cost, completed all pro formas for investors, established sales order reporting procedures
• Identified, negotiated and closed $2 million contract to purchase suitable manufacturing site for expansion.
Roseburg Forest Products Roseburg, OR 2005-2009
Largest privately held forest products company in the U.S., with peak revenues of $1.3 billion, operating sixteen plants in six states, 650,000 acres of timberland in CA and OR, and employing 4,000. Major customers included The Home Depot, Lowes, Menards, and local lumberyards sold through distribution companies, such as BlueLinx.
Chief Financial Officer
Spearheaded and focused efforts of 85 person staff in operations and financial analysis, general and tax accounting, cash management, treasury and IT functions. Initiated best practices in transitioning from regional privately held company to rapidly growing, national company. Direct reports included Corporate Controller, Manager of Financial Planning and Analysis, Manager-Credit, Manager-Tax, Manager-Benefits, Treasury Analyst and Chief Information Officer.
• Changed company culture from loose confederacy of independent mill mangers in isolated business fiefdoms to a collaborative more centralized and standardized operation.
Engaged executive management to establish end game of profit improvement and asset performance.
Worked directly with plant management to challenge what they had always done in the past and find more creative ways to improve performance.
• Established challenging metrics in operations and asset management to improve operating results and cash flow.
Raised the bar on capital appropriations request, requiring more insightful analysis to create better projections of what asset return could be.
Challenged traditional methods of measuring productivity based upon volume per employee rather than cost vs. return basis.
Reduced inventory from $144 million to $80 million and
increased working capital turnover from 6 to 9.
• Successfully increased bank line of credit from $600 to $825 million to initiate an acquisition, saving more than $2 million in interest expense annually.
Solicited bids from six lenders (incumbent plus five new lenders) and replaced existing debt with longer maturities and much lower rate.
Subsequently, amended credit facility in June 2009 to accommodate business downturn.
• Led financial analysis of $200 million acquisition. Spearheaded integration of financial systems within 6 months; in half the time incumbent company estimated.
First year saw $225 million of accretive sales and $30 million of EBITDDA.
• Recruited team of tax experts to research IRS tax code and disclose R&D credit savings, and energy credits. Tax credits aggregated more than $8 million.
• Served on sponsoring Executive for installation of JD Edwards Enterprise 1, replacing unsupported and outdated software. Upgrade provided integrated order entry, general accounting, payables, receivables, and inventory management.
Platform gave management team access to by-customer/by-product line profitability, provided visibility to aged inventory, and aided in improved inventory turns from 7 to 10.
• Consolidated Union and Salaried Pension funds for investment purposes, negotiating lower rates with service providers. Lowered fees and expenses by $500K.
Masterbrand Cabinets, Inc., Fortune Brands Jasper, IN 1999 – 2004
Largest consolidated kitchen cabinet company in U.S. with peak revenues of $1.5 billion, twelve plants in eight states and two provinces, employing 12,000. Major customers included all big box stores as well as small independent dealers, wholesalers and direct to builders (Lennar, Pulte, Centex etc.).
Senior Vice President-Finance
Challenged and led staff of 100 financial professionals and 60 information technology personnel in operations and general accounting, financial analysis, planning and reporting, budgeting, cash management, credit, tax, and IT functions. Direct reports included VP-Finance (3), Corporate Controller, Director-Strategic Planning and Credit, and Chief Information Officer.
Brought uniformity in accounting and analysis for a business that doubled revenue in three years by aggressive acquisitions. Member of executive operating committee, leading double-digit sales and earnings growth by strategic acquisitions and integration utilizing best practices.
• Key member of acquisition due diligence team. Completed acquisition of five cabinet companies in three years.
Evaluated financial results and product cost, and performed material cost analysis prior to purchase of targeted companies.
Post acquisition: integrated financial results via Hyperion, setting up monthly closing routines to match Fortune Brands requirements, establishing accounting consistency and internal controls.
Sales and operating income more than doubled in four years for a $600 million increase.
• Provided focus on profitability for channel Sales VP’s. Company re-organized along sales channels.
Led implementation of financial system to aggregate sales and profitability by customer/channel, with both direct and allocated expenses. Focus allowed one channel to increase operating profitability by 100%.
Reorganized finance and created channel financial analyst positions to directly support sales vice presidents.
• Worked directly with finance and operating personnel to divide inventory into buckets, including at the commodity level.
Revised purchasing routines and usage algorithms to improve inventory turns from six to almost 11 over four years. Equivalent reduction of almost $70 million.
• Identified routine deficiencies in procurement, shipping, and administrative practices for selling centers. Lack of internal controls created $2.5 million shortfall.
Established stronger controls and provided research to indicate the selling center had a longer useful life than currently used. A change in asset lives brought lower depreciation, thereby offsetting the $2.5 million inventory loss.
• Strategically created plan to extend payables terms by one week per month, generating almost $10 million of free cash flow, thereby offsetting inventory excess.
Inventory levels were substantially higher than budgets because of production changes of component manufacturing between plants. Impact was projected non-attainment of working capital targets.
Bayliner Boat Division, Brunswick Corp. Arlington, WA 1996 – 1999 Bayliner/US Marine-largest pleasure boat manufacturer in the U.S. in terms of units. Manufactured as many as 32,000 boats in sizes ranging from 15 to 57 feet. Peak revenues of $541 million, with nine plants operated in seven states, employing 4,000. All boats sold through an independent dealer network.
Chief Financial Officer
Directed staff of 55 in financial analysis, budgeting, financial reporting, tax, pension plan management, and IT functions. Direct reports included Controller, Director of Financial Planning and Analysis, Manager of Customer Billing, Manger-Credit and Chief Information Officer. Sponsoring executive for installation of Oracle MRP II systems.
• Reduced boat production costs, working with production personnel to establish basic routings standards and purchasing personnel to create bills of material. Created “off line” standard cost system to measure efficiencies and allow focus on improving cost position.
Noted significant labor was expended by “climbing in and out of the boat” to measure, cut, etc., and that no jigs or fixtures were used in production process. Suggested standardization of best practices among plants.
“Off line” system was utilized as there was not a sophisticated labor capture or material usage system. Costs were reduced by $2.5 million.
• Reduced dealer finance companies from eight to three, convinced dealer network that national firms would offer better terms and service, often requiring breaking long-standing relationships.
Improved efficiency in administration and company received significant reduction in interest expense of $1.5 million or 20% annually.
• Revised key analytical model, challenging long standing thinking as business model had been built on total boat volume, with assumption that profits on all boats were essentially the same percent and program expenses (volume, co-op) were uniform.
Under personal leadership, finance team created pro formas for top 20 accounts, demonstrating that volume and profits did not coincide. Changed focus to mix of profitable boats, as well as curbing program expense.
White-Rodgers Division, Emerson Electric Co. Saint Louis, MO
Vice President-Finance
GE Consumer Electronics Indianapolis, IN
(Subsequently Thomson Consumer Electronics)
Revenues $2.2 billion, operating division of a publicly traded company.
CFO - Canadian Subsidiary
General Electric Company
Revenues $50 billion
Manager, Financial Auditing and Staffing, GE Aerospace, Philadelphia, PA
Manager, Auditing, GE Appliances, Caracas, Venezuela
Manager, Budgets and Forecasts, GE Power Systems, Schenectady, NY
Corporate Auditor, GE Corporate, Schenectady, New York, NY
Financial Management Program, GE Aerospace, Philadelphia, PA
Education
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
B.A., Pre-Law
Coursework in Accounting, Finance, Economics, Political Science, and History
Professional Training
Executive MBA Courses
Strategic Leadership, Stanford University
Management Leadership - Darden, University of Virginia
Marketing Strategies - Kellogg, Northwestern University
Business Strategy Workshop - Wharton, University of Pennsylvania
General Electric Business Manager’s Course (General Manager Course)
General Electric Corporate Audit Staff
http://www.ge.com/careers/students/cas/program_details.html
General Electric Financial Management Program
http://www.ge.com/careers/students/fmp/index.html