High energy, senior financial executive with “can-do” operating philosophy
Advanced from Senior Accountant to SVP, Corporate Controller and Treasurer at J. Jill, a publicly traded retailer and direct marketer, during a period when sales grew from $50 million to a projected $550 million and the number of employees increased from 150 in two states to over 3,500 in 35 states. Experience also includes 6 years at Arthur Andersen in Boston.
Core Competencies
• Systems Implementations
• Re-engineered Legal and Tax Structure
• SEC Reporting; Technical Issues
• Spearheaded SOX Initiative
• M&A; Due Diligence
• Enhanced Financial Planning Process
Experience
The J. Jill Group, Inc., NASDAQ; JILL, Quincy, MA
$500 million publicly traded retailer and direct marketer of woman’s apparel.
In May 2006, J. Jill was acquired by The Talbot’s, Inc.
SVP, Corporate Controller and Treasurer (2005-2006)
VP, Finance and Corporate Controller (2002-2005)
Director of Finance and Assistant Corporate Controller (1998-2002)
Assistant Corporate Controller (1996–2002)
Financial Reporting Manager (1994-1996)
Senior Accountant (1993-1994)
Financial Leadership
• Built the accounting infrastructure to support J. Jill’s growth over a 10 year period when sales increased from $100m to $500m by constantly reassessing human capital requirements.
o Increased size of the accounting and finance organization from 10 people to 40+
o Built new internal audit department from scratch
o Rebuilt the FP&A department after the Director and Manager of Retail gave notice within a week of each other
• Set corporate strategic direction, approved operating initiatives, measured results and communicated their impact to CEO and Executive Committee. Increased accountability among business leaders.
• Developed financial reporting and communications to support the new multi-channel and more complex structure of the business and meet the changing needs of management and operations
• Provided financial expertise on new compensation and benefit plans, complex contracts and transactions and infrastructure investments.
Systems Implementations
• Partnered with IT during the implementation of new front end Order Taking system and back end Warehouse Management System.
o Oversaw development of GL interfaces from new systems
o Identified all financial reports generated out of the old system and ensure they were rewritten correctly and more efficiently in new system
o Developed methodology for capturing weighted average cost of inventory in new system
o Oversaw development of physical inventory reporting in new system
• Collaborated with IT on multiple systems projects including
o Implementation of JD Edwards GL and AP modules and subsequent upgrade of entire GL system
o Implementation of Purchasing module in JD Edwards
o Implementation of Retailpro POS system and Datavantage retail system including identification of sales audit parameters, audit criteria and development of automated interfaces to the GL
o Development of Ad hoc reporting to assist in analysis of the business including company-wide gross margin reporting
Financial Planning & Analysis
• Oversaw the preparation of annual plan and 3 year strategic plan each year as well as monthly forecast of the business by division.
• Drove accountability into the organization by identifying and assigning all key drivers of the business to a sponsor at the EVP level thereby clearly defining who had ownership of each driver.
• Improved communication and collaboration between Finance, the EVP group and the operating departments.
• Linked corporate mission statement and CEO/Board vision to the financial goals of the Company and supported those goals with quantified initiatives.
• Provided support to operating departments in quantifying the impact of their initiatives including calculating resource requirements, payback periods and ROI’s.
• Member of Executive Leadership Team responsible for evaluating, approving and prioritizing each operating initiative.
• Designed new Gross Margin reporting detailing all components of GM including, initial markup and the impact of discounts and promotions, full price/ off price mix, merchandising and product development investments and overstock liquidation.
M&A; Due Diligence
• Played key role in the marketing effort and sales process resulting in the successful sale of the company. Sale price was an 88% premium over the closing price of Company’s shares immediately prior to hostile offer.
o Responsible for compiling virtual data warehouse for diligence process
• Conducted due diligence on two potential acquisitions ranging in size from $60 million to $400 million.
Internal Controls; SOX 404
• Directed the Sarbanes initiative for the entire company.
o Chaired steering committee
o Reviewed and approved all controls documentation and prioritized all gaps
• Initiated disclosure committee process and implemented ethics hotline.
• Member of disclosure committee along with CEO, CFO and corporate counsel.
• Received clean SOX opinions from independent auditors since year one.
• Developed authorization and approval guidelines
• Wrote non-inventory purchasing and travel policies
• Created quarterly mini audit process to ensure accuracy and consistence of numbers
SEC Reporting
• Drafted and filed nearly all public filings over 13-year period including Annual reports, 10-K’s, 10-Q’s, 8-K’s and Annual Reports.
• Reviewed and provided financial information for proxies and offering documents.
Taxes
• Implemented “contract retailing” organizational structure to align legal and tax structure with changing business model and lay foundation for significant future tax savings.
• Re-engineered original single entity legal structure in favor of separating the retail and direct operating subsidiaries and establishing a shared-service entity in order to preserve 10-20% of direct marketing division’s top line. Negotiated with the State of NH for tax savings related to new structure.
• Re-aligned financial reporting, employees and operating processes to support new legal structures.
Arthur Andersen LLP, Boston, MA (1987 – 1993)
Senior Auditor (1989-1993)
Staff Auditor (1987-1989)
• Developed public company expertise; became well-versed in SEC rules and regulations.
• Industry focus on retail, financial services and leasing.
Education
BBA - Accounting, University of Massachusetts at Amherst - 1987
• Recipient of the Arthur Andersen Award for academic excellence
Professional Licenses
CPA, Registered to practice in Massachusetts |
