EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT
Demonstrated ability to “see the big picture” through a financial operating and business profitability standpoint. Highly adept at managing through corporate change, economic volatility and competitive markets. Recognized for strength in building high-performance teams, tenacious pursuit of corporate objectives, and impeccable integrity demonstrated in all endeavors. Excel in assessing Latin American and European market trends and business operations before implementing solutions that “make things happen.”
CAREER PROGRESSION
Major US Tier 1 Telecom Carrier operating all over the world
June 1997 to December 2003
Regional Managing Director (Southern Cone South America), 11/02 to 01/04
Oversaw all sales, marketing, operations, finance and administration, business development, human resources and legal/regulatory functions. Responsible for all subsidiaries within Argentina managing the activities of 225 employees/six direct reports.
Realized EBITDA improvements consistently (negative $6M in 1999, negative $2.3M in 2000, breakeven in 2001 and 2002, and $1.1M positive in 2003).
Led deal structuring, negotiating and selling the shares of two subsidiaries.
Started a subsidiary from scratch becoming its Vice President and President (2/2001 to 04/2004).
Operationally and financially merged four subsidiaries, resulting in streamlined processes and cost savings of over $1M including headcount of 25 budgeted employees.
Sustained employee performance and financial solvency despite three major issues concurring during 2003: Chapter 11 filing of parent company; a major economical and political crisis in Argentina that resulted in defaulting with the IMF; and a crash in the internet and telecom industries.
Added 103 new contracts during 2003 that resulted in new sales increases of 46% with respect to previous year. Played role in securing key contracts.
Participated and was trained and tested in a worldwide program regarding the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Regional Finance Director (Southern Cone South America), 11/99 to 11/02
Expatriate to Argentina charged with turning around financial loss of businesses within region. Directed reorganization efforts process while fostering employee performance through motivation and change management strategies. Focused on USGAAP compliance while managing general/cost accounting, financial analysis, planning/reporting, budgeting, treasury, A/P, business development, collections, credit, taxes, inventory management, billing, IT, order fulfillment, payroll and HR functions.
Delivered positive EBITDA and FCF, reversing a prior $10M/year negative cash flow operation; implemented cost savings program within first three months in position, delivering $1M savings over subsequent six months.
Maximized and turned around 300% currency devaluation by renegotiating 90% of customer contracts; gained competitive advantage by being first Telecom Company to have revenues in USD and costs in local currency.
Slashed cash investment by approximately $10M by aligning revenue generation and respective costs for individual entities. Prevented US $4M in new capital and operational investment for IP hubs in most prevalent cities by implementing more creative approaches using third-parties’ infrastructure.
Slashed Line Costs from 120% of revenues to just 51% in a two-year period. Captured $3M annual savings by discovering major overspending/overcapacity and leading renegotiation efforts of prices.
Identified approximately 5,000 unbilled customers by introducing revenue assurance procedures including automatic system reconciliation for 70,000 units of service.
Trimmed inventory days from 300 to 45, gained capital expenditure savings of $1M vs. previous year purchases and reduced inventory models sold from 18 to three without compromising sales ability.
Regional Audit Manager, Latin America, 06/97 to 10/99
Created formal internal audit processes (COSO framework) for region based on overall corporate objectives and to reverse revenue loss, overspending, workflow inadequacies, asset control and fraud. Prepared internal audit plan and budget for the region, identified internal shortcomings, recruited/trained internal audit staff and coordinated activities of all country auditors across 12 Latin American locations. Served as key representative in due diligence of projects for the region.
Led Y2K compliance project for the Latin American Region reporting to the worldwide leader ($2M budget)
Recovered $4M by identifying thousands of unbilled customers detected during comprehensive revenue assurance reviews.
Generated over $1M in overall savings by ensuring implementation of all procedures and audits.
Uncovered fraud activities of local key executives as well as bribes accepted by local regulators that may have resulted in retirement of company licenses.
World’s leading and largest publicly traded apparel company
September 1995 to May 1997
Senior International Auditor
Directed all internal audit and group service activities for divisional facilities and contractors (strongly followed COSO and BRA programs). Reengineered processes and procedures, performed comprehensive business risk assessments, work closely with licensing/promotional areas, and led efforts in division compliance with US Customs laws and regulations. Prepared 1997 budget for the region.
Reduced audit time by 66% (average of 25 manufacturing audits conducted on annual basis) by creating more effective audit programs.
Gained additional $1M/year championing regional project designed to switch production to centralized location from three prior locations.
Generated $2M annual savings by revamping overall management practices, focusing on fabric management operations and vendor relationships among four factories.
Played key role in due diligence project related to company purchase at $6M less than original offer by identifying obsolete inventory in remote location initially not part of inventory due diligence process.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, Madrid, Spain September 1989 to August 1993
(One of world’s leading audit, tax and consulting organizations, over 1000 employees in Spain)
Senior/Junior Auditor
Accountable for leading the planning, supervision and execution of large-scale audits for manufacturing and financial companies. Coordinated activities of financial, IT division and tax auditors; supervised team of up to six; audit hours spanned from 300 to 2000. Authored internal control reports outlining operational and financial inefficiencies. Verified USGAAP compliance.
Reduced client audit fees by average of 20% by closely managing all audit projects and hours worked; all audit projects delivered on time.
Secured new client business based on a $2M cost savings for client; client hired PW to implement report issues to encourage further savings.
Proven history of providing accurate assessments; detected adjustments to financial books of over $100M during tenure.
Education
University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN 1995, MBA, Cum Laude, Finance & International
Basque Country University, Spain, Bachelor Degree, Economics
Computer skills: Hyperion, Peoplesoft, SAP, Siebel, Microsoft Office
Bilingual: Spanish & English. Working knowledge: French & Portuguese
US Resident/ Permanent Green Card Holder |
