Senior level executive with extensive Operations, Financial and Administrative expertise. A history of improving business operations and results
Summary:
- Currently serve as Chief Executive Officer of a venture capital start-up company.
- Previously worked for 16 years at a hospitality company, leaving as Vice Chairman. Other roles included Chief Financial Officer and Controller of the parent company, and President and Chief Operating Officer of various subsidiaries.
- Prior to that, was Controller for a $250 million (revenues) insurance company/brokerage operation. Also spent two years as VP in charge of company-wide strategic planning.
- Started career at “Big 8” accounting firm., overseeing audits of public and private companies in banking, insurance, manufacturing, real estate, investment services and brokerage industries.
- B.S. in Accounting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Certified Public Accountant, Kellogg Management Institute at Northwestern University.
Experience:
2004-May, 2005: Current company is a venture capital start-up company that utilizes patented technology in an entertainment-related concept. I was recruited and hired after a proposed joint venture deal between my current employer and my previous employer fell through in late 2003.
- Key participant in the initial Private Placement Offering, raising $8.0 million in late 2004
- Generated multiple new business prospects throughout the U.S. that are being actively pursued, subject to obtaining additional funding.
- Negotiated a long term lease on the first property.
- Secured governmental approvals for conversion of this site, in what is regarded as one of the toughest regulatory jurisdictions in the country.
- Negotiated construction contracts for this $4.5 million project.
- Oversaw the take-over of existing operations, including on-site staff.
- Assembled a quality team of out-sourced consultants to assist on this project, as the company did not want to commit to a corporate infrastructure at this point in time (I am the only corporate employee in the U.S.).
1988-2004: Company is a privately-held owner and operator of 70 facilities, with over $125 million of assets under management and 3,000 field staff (45 in home office). I started with the company when it had only six properties in its portfolio.
- As the “right hand” person to the Chairman/Owner of the company, I actively helped set and implement a long term strategy that increased company’s annual cash flow while decreasing volatility. This was accomplished through focusing the company’s resources on securing third party management contracts, which ultimately turned negative annual cash flow into a positive annual cash flow.
- While serving as President of a subsidiary, developed and implemented a strategy to better balance the resources of the owned property division, at no incremental cost, from a highly operationally-based mentality toward a more sales-based mentality. Achieved a reversal in the back slide of same store sales, despite an intensely competitive environment in the overall industry.
- Established strong banking relationships and leveraged these relationships to renegotiate $40 million in property debt, extending the term by 6 years and saving over $1.2 million in annual interest cost in the first year after the refinance.
- Pushed for and then oversaw the sale of two under-performing properties at a sale price of 30X trailing EBITDA, while at the same time eliminating over $300K of annual negative cash flow.
- Analyzed, underwrote, developed the operating strategy for and then served as Chief Operating Officer for a portfolio of 29 assets acquired out of bankruptcy in 2000. These assets were acquired for 21% of book value. Integrated all of the properties onto a common operating and financial platform.
- Sourced and negotiated the acquisition of two fee simple properties and four management contracts while working in the New Business Development area. The owned assets contributed over $1.5 million in annual EBITDA, and the management contracts contributed in excess of $800K in annual fees. One of the owned assets returned the initial capital outlay within six months of acquisition; the other exceeded a 25% ROE within two years of its opening.
- Directly responsible for overseeing the initial privatization of an eight property portfolio, achieving a $1.0 million financial turnaround in the first year after takeover.
- While managing the Finance/Accounting, Human Resources, Information Technology, Payroll, Office Management and Legal areas, kept headcount growth at less than 25% while assets under management grew by over 200%. Accomplished this by upgrading the talent level of the staff and by identifying and utilizing more efficient financial and management reporting systems.
- Served as CFO for the public relations subsidiary.
- Resolved several potentially costly lawsuits without the company ever having to go to trial. Aggregate cost of these settlements was under $30,000.
- Maintained the company’s external relationships with its auditors, insurance providers, legal counsel and bankers.
- Youngest officer of company at the time of my election.
- Revamped the entire budget process, saving an estimated 3,000 man-hours per year in the field.
- Developed a sophisticated acquisition analysis model that systematically identified potentially undesirable targets, thus saving significant time and resources on further due diligence efforts.
1982-1988: Company was a professional liability insurance company/brokerage operation that generated in excess of $250 million in annual revenues. I was recruited and hired by this company in 1982, where I had been on their audit for the previous two years.
- Key liaison with A.M. Best & Co., whose favorable annual ratings were critical to the overall financial success of the business.
- Oversaw the company-wide strategic planning function for two years, ultimately leading to a sale of the company at a multiple of book value. Worked with the underwriters in generating the initial offering memorandum, and was involved in negotiating the ultimate sale of the company in 1988. As a result of the sale, I made a decision to leave the organization in that same year.
- Performed due diligence on the acquisition of two insurance brokerage operations.
- Member of the newly formed Employee Morale Committee, whose focus was on recruiting and retaining key talent in the organization.
- Initially managed 30 financial and accounting employees, including eight CPAs. Within 18 months in my new role, I had reduced head count by 25%, which was achieved through upgrading staff and implementing technology initiatives.
- Youngest officer of company at the time of my election
- Extensive knowledge of, and experience in, operating within a highly regulated environment.
1979-1982: Company was a “Big 8” international audit and consulting firm.
- Promoted to a Senior Auditor after only two years with the firm, managing both SEC and non-SEC engagements in the banking, insurance, manufacturing, real estate, investment services and brokerage industries.
- Actively involved in recruiting of new auditors, including on-campus recruiting
Education
B.S. in Accounting - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1979)
Certified Public Accountant (Illinois, 1980)
Northwestern University Kellogg Management Institute Executive Program (2000) |
