Director of Finance

SUMMARY

Finance and accounting executive with diversified experience in financial reporting and controls, accounting operations, budgeting and forecasting, financial analysis, procurement and project management. MBA Graduate with a proven ability to creatively solve problems, achieve savings, mentor staff and execute within fast-paced global environments to deliver:

• Financial reporting & service level metrics

• Controls and governance

• Vendor and contract management

• Process Improvements

• Organizational restructuring/outsourcing

• Systems implementations

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Affinion Group, Trumbull, CT 2005 to Present

Affinion Group is a leading provider of membership services, loyalty programs, direct marketed insurance and value-added checking programs.

Director of Finance

Directed financial and accounting activities to support global Information Technology department with an annual operating budget of $ 90M and annual Capital budget of $ 30M. Managed distributed staff of seven and coordinated all reporting activities though matrixed corporate organizational structure.

• Implemented standardized, value-added financial reporting that communicated greater insight into departmental performance and expedited proactive issue resolution.

• Developed metric-based budgeting and variance analysis methodology for fixed and variable expenses, improving expense control and timely problem identification resulting in cost avoidance and operational savings.

• Transformed procurement function and drove $1M+ in savings through contract consolidation and re-negotiations.

• Implemented asset management tools and redesigned processes to save money through contract rationalization and asset retirement.

• Responsible for administration of IT Project Management Office and re-engineered existing processes around demand management, standards and controls and business interaction.

• Introduced work force management function and facilitated the development of skills profiles for IT workforce. Developed resource forecasting models to facilitate project demand management.

Fisher Scientific, Pittsburgh, PA 2003 to 2005

Fisher Scientific is a leading provider of equipment, supplies and services for the clinical laboratory and global scientific research markets providing an integrated global logistics network and manufacturing facilities with more than 600,000 products to over 350,000 customers in 145 countries.

Division Controller

Provided leadership and control for financial management and reporting of Pittsburgh based Information Technology department with IT operations staff of 200+ and annual operating and capital budget in excess of $ 65M.

• Chaired steering committee with senior management to align and prioritize projects. Provided governance and reporting on all IT projects through implementation of time tracking and portfolio management software.

• Responsible for centralization of IT procurement activities, leveraged consolidated buying power and contractual standards to achieve in excess of $ 500k in annualized savings in first year.

• Developed expense reconciliation and charge-back allocation model for IT services. Worked with business leads to “sell-in” changes in allocation approach and re-stated prior year results to ensure accurate operational reporting.

EnFORM Consulting, Dallas, TX 2002 to 2003

EnFORM is a business and information technology consulting firm specializing in building, integrating and hosting sophisticated back-end systems and architecting advanced web, wireless, and warehousing solutions.

Finance & Management Consultant

Provided contract financial and information technology services.

• Conducted financial analysis and assessment of multiple payroll systems at Dean Foods. Lead team responsible for developing consolidation RFQ and options presentation for Dean Foods Board.

• Designed and implemented a Corporate IT Program Management Office (PMO) for Dean Foods including establishment of standards, roles, responsibilities, tools and templates. Piloted the implementation of the PMO with Sales Data Warehouse project and enabled management to put $ 1M project back on schedule.

• Developed financial business plan for Option Network, Inc. Provided analysis and overview of Non-disclosed technology infrastructure venture started by senior technology executives.

Cadbury Schweppes, PLC, Stamford, CT & Plano, TX 1990 to 2002

Cadbury Schweppes is one of the largest beverage and confectionery companies in the world with over 200 years of experience delivering consumer goods in over 200 countries.

Director of Finance & Administration

Accountable for financial management of Cadbury Schweppes Information Technology Center for the Americas Region (seven major business units in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Argentina) with annual operating budget in excess of $ 54M USD and annual Capital budget in excess of $ 20M USD.

• Created and managed cost allocation/charge-back program in support of IT operations in the Americas Region. Utilized Activity Based Costing principles to ascertain resource usage and corresponding business unit charges.

• Provide oversight, audit, control and prioritization of all IT projects.

• Accountable for management and control of all IT assets deployed within the Americas Region.

• Responsible for centralizing all IT Procurement activities within the region and drove efficiencies and stringent Service Level Agreements.

• Responsible for working with management teams from the business units to define, establish and report on key service Level metrics that were meaningful and critical to the success of the Business Unit’s operations.

Director of Services & Administration

Responsible for financial management of IT operations as well as Program Management services and operational control of outsourced SAP development staff.

• Managed all aspects of development and support activities for two SAP environments through a 5-year, $ 25M outsourcing engagement with Computer Sciences Corp. Managed 30+ outsourced SAP programmers and developers. Chaired steering committee for communication and prioritization of development initiatives.

• Managed maintenance and development activities for the DPSU Fountain Foodservice custom built mainframe application. Managed small staff of mainframe programmers and hardware outsourcing services contract.

• Coordinated all phases of the Financial Planning Cycle including budgets, forecasts, and Accounts Payable.

• Responsible for managing the life cycle of all IT assets including efficient procurement strategies, lease vs. buy analysis with focus on managing the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

Multiple Finance and Accounting positions with ever increasing responsibilities

• Analysis and reconciliation of general ledger accounts.

• Financial consolidations and business unit reporting.

• Accounts payable.

• Fixed asset management and control.

EDUCATION

MBA, Accounting, University of Connecticut, In Progress (May ‘09)

BA, History, University of Connecticut, 1990

Masters Certification, IT Project Management, ESI/George Washington University, 1999

SKILLS

Six Sigma Green Belt (pending certification)

Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Foundations certification

Systems: SAP, Oracle, Lawson, Hyperion, Tenrox, Empire Time, Mercury IT Governance, MS tools

ASSOCIATIONS

Institute of Management Accountants

Project Management Institute

IT Financial Management Association

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