SARA KAUR CFO for Finesse Solutions Inc country
To subscribe, please visit www.finance-monthly.com
2 www.finance-monthly.com Finance Monthly Global Awards 2017 country
Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION CFO AWARDS 2017
Finance Monthly is pleased to officially announce the full list of finalists and, of course, the winners of our 2017 CFO Awards!
It is impossible for a company to properly function if it’s not actively investigating and safeguarding its finances. A CFO must be well –versed in all aspects of financial management, ranging from simple accounting, through risk management and financial strategies, to broad investment and banking operations. Over the past decade, the role of a CFO has undoubtedly broadened and evolved. Today, many CFOs are given a bigger role in corporate portfolio management and capital allocation and have become prominent as the voice of the organisation in communications to the board and relations with investors and as leaders in performance management. In today’s challenging economic environment, Chief Financial Officers are faced with a challenging and complex medium which necessitates immense business acumen and practical knowledge.
With such a diverse set of attributes, characteristics and circumstances to consider and a role that seems to be continuously expanding, how does one determine a great CFO?
This question and many others were considered by the Finance Monthly’s research team when tasked with identifying the most talented CFOs from around the globe in order to produce this special awards edition. At Finance Monthly we are proud to present our 2017 CFO Awards, a celebration of the best in financial leadership.
Congratulations to our winners and finalists!
www.finance-monthly.com 7 8 INDEXINDEX Albin Beauregard Jekaterina Stuge Stoffelen Richard Michael Busse Hoffmann Christopher Susanne Liepmann Christian Labeyrie Bertrand VAZ Timo Pirskanen Emmanuel Van derStichele EUROPE www.finance-monthly.com MALTA LATVIA GERMANY FRANCE FINLAND BELGIUM
ˏ
Introducing the
CFO Finance MonthlyCFO Awards 2017 AWARDS 2017 Ethypharm V Solina Kotipizza Group Goodman Kindred Group plc Amber BeverageGroup CENT proFagus GmbH va-Q-tec AG inci
OGENE AG
Winners... 19 18 17 16
Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017
NETHERLANDS INDEX
Andrew Browne O3b Networks 20 INDEX
John Roelofsen Bencis
NORWAY
Jørgen C Arentz Rostrup Telenor Group
Ørjan Gjerde Origo Exploration AS
SPAIN
Santiago Garrido Hogan Lovells International LLP
SWEDEN
Lena Krauss Eastnine
SWITZERLAND
Patrick Jany Clariant International Ltd
UNITED KINGDOM
Andrew Fabian StatPro 21
Andrew Stoker Rothesay Life Plc
Antoinette Vanderpuije MARWYN INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LLP
Ben Kent Simplyhealth 22
David Brockwell Tusker 23
Huw Spiers Afilias plc
Jeremy Evans Equiom
Jon Marsh Oxygen Finance
Jonathan Thomas OH Assist Limited
Karl Stevens Belfield Group
Nigel Higgs Weedingtech Limited 25
Paul Sheriff NewDay
Peter Knott Green Investment Group Limited
Robin Gregson Lookers plc 26
Ryan Gill UK General Insurance 28
www.finance-monthly.com 9 Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017
Sam Hovey Besso Group 29
Simon Cowie Infinity Partnership Limited
INDEX Timon Drakesmith Hammerson plc INDEX Tony McMurray Ingram Micro 30
AMERICAS
CANADA
Andres Tinajero Bakerville Gold Mines Ltd
USA
Andrew Matsuyama Norican Group
Brian Doubles Synchrony Financial
Daniel Murphy LivePerson 34
David Antonini FineLine Technologies
David Roshak Optiv
Dennis M. McGrath PAVmed Inc. 35
Ivor Ruste Cenovus Energy Inc.
James Fay Matterport, Inc. 37
Jason McCarthy Arbor Pharmaceuticals
John McLean Best Doctors
Ken Grondin Cara Operations Limited
Mark Joyce Corcentric 37
Michael Hawkins MCIG Group 38
Renee Krug GlobalTranz 41
Sara Kaur Finesse Solutions, Inc. 42
Steve G. Filton Universal Health Services, Inc. 47
Teresa Nilsen Hennessy Advisors, Inc. 48
Tom Sansone Kobalt Music Group
10 www.finance-monthly.com Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017
Tony Armstrong Raisbeck Engineering Inc. INDEX
Tyler H. Rose Kilroy Realty Corporation INDEX
Vishal Chhibbar EXL (NASDAQ:EXLS) 49
ASIA
CHINA
Lawrence Tsang Vistra (Hong Kong) Limited
INDIA
Jayesh Jain PNB Housing Finance Limited 54
Mihir Modi Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd
Sriram G Mahindra Comviva
ISRAEL
Ralph Sassun Inovytec Medical Solutions Ltd.
UAE
Ashish Dave The Abraaj Group
Ramiz Hasan Samena Capital 55
AUSTRALASIA
AUSTRALIA
Dr. Lei Zhang Yancoal Australia 60
OFFSHORE
BERMUDA
Michael Schrum The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited
www.finance-monthly.com 11
Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 FINLAND
Timo Pirskanen CFO and Deputy to the CEO at Kotipizza Group
About Timo Pirskanen Timo is CFO and Deputy to the CEO of the Kotipizza Group, having joined them in early 2015 to take the company public and harmonize its accounting practices.
“I was drawn to the Kotipizza Group by our mission that emphasizes responsibility. I bring it to life in my Firm Profile work, whether by communicating openly, ensuring compliance with regulation or eating our MSC- Kotipizza Group specializes in franchising in certified pizza.” the fast casual market. Its mission is to make the world a better place one pizza at a time. From the start, Timo has strengthened the Kotipizza Group’s IR profile. In 2016, it was recognized as the best small listed company in Nasdaq OMX Helsinki by Sijoitus Invest. On Timo’s watch, the Group has The Group’s flagship business Kotipizza, boasted outstanding year-on-year year growth, profitability and share price development. the largest pizza chain in the Nordics, was established in 1987. In recent years, the chain Recently, Timo navigated an unprecedented accelerated book building process in which 63 % of the has been modernized successfully while Kotipizza Group was sold in a single transaction. This raised significant interest in the market, and the generating strong growth. company’s foreign ownership jumped from virtually nil to over 40 %, being currently 47 %.
“For 28 subsequent months, the Kotipizza Group has seen double-digit growth. Next, we plan to Today, the Group develops innovative new increase the number of restaurants in existing chains, launch wholly new restaurant concepts and concepts, brands and products that embrace explore opportunities for M&A to support sustainable, robust growth. global food trends. In this, its teams draw on expertise in customer experience, digital In the fast casual industry, we are dependent on customer preferences and market trends. This makes solutions and marketing. Their newest creation my job exciting: the need, as well as power, to make major decisions intuitively yet knowledgeably in is the Mexican-style restaurant chain Chalupa. ever-changing circumstances.” Goods used in Kotipizza and Chalupa Financial leadership of tomorrow restaurants are sourced by Helsinki Foodstock, the Group’s supply and logistics arm. This Timo takes a holistic approach to his work. At Kotipizza Group, he oversees not only accounting, makes the chains’ operations agile, cost- financing, treasury and cash management, but also tax and legal matters, corporate governance and efficient and transparent. M&A, as well as major HR and IT initiatives.
“A good CFO not only manages the day-to-day financial affairs of a company, but also contributes The Kotipizza Group’s success shows that to overall strategic decision-making. This requires a deep understanding of all aspects of the business, responsible business is also good business. including its strengths and pitfalls. In 2016, its net sales rose to 66.6 MEUR with a comparable EBITDA of 6.73 MEUR. In the same Increasingly, CFOs must look beyond past numbers into the future and find the right tools for other year, the Kotipizza chain boasted net sales of functions to use. There can be no successful CEO without a good CFO.” 89.9 MEUR.
Prior to his current role, Timo acted as Senior Vice President, IR at Rautaruukki Oyj, where he turned Kotipizza Group is listed in the Nasdaq OMX challenging IR performance around and restored fair valuation. For this, Timo was awarded the best Helsinki’s main list. The Group employs 47 Nordic IRO prize in the Nordic Markets 2013 study. people, alongside 300 franchisees and 1650 Timo has a background in investment banking, venture capital advisory and auditing. He has previously staff running the restaurants. worked in senior positions at e.g. Deutsche Bank and D. Carnegie AB, also in international settings. Timo holds a Master of Science degree in Economics, law and accounting from the Helsinki School of Business Administration.
Pedantic yet creative, Timo is highly appreciated by his peers. During his career, he has developed a multidisciplinary vision of the financial landscape of a company. With this insight, he builds bridges between stakeholders and promotes financial leadership of tomorrow.
16 www.finance-monthly.com Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 FRANCE
Christian Labeyrie Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, VINCI
About Christian Labeyrie Born in 1956, Christian Labeyrie is a graduate of the HEC business school and holds accounting qualifications. He began his career in 1980 in Stéphane Lavoué/Media library VINCI. the Paris branches department of the Crédit Lyonnais bank. From 1984 to 1990, he held various financial posts in the Schlumberger group, as Areas of Expertise • Relationships with shareholders, project manager in the Audit Department, then division controller in the investors, banks and rating agencies petroleum department and then joined Rhône-Poulenc Santé as head of the treasury and financing department. He joined VINCI in 1990 as • Strategic financial planning Director of Management Control for the holding company. In 1993, he was appointed Deputy Financial Director with responsibility for financial transactions and for the accounting and tax departments. Christian • Supervision of finance departments: Labeyrie has served as Chief Financial Officer of VINCI since January 1999. treasury - accounting - tax - audit - He was appointed Executive Vice President of VINCI in 2006. Mr Labeyrie is information systems a Member of Vinci Executive Committee. • Management of finance executives
Firm Profile Contact Details VINCI is a global player in concessions and construction, employing more Christian Labeyrie than 183,000 people in some 100 countries. The Group designs, finances, Executive Vice President builds and operates infrastructure and facilities that help improve daily life Chief Financial Officer and mobility for all. Because VINCI believes in all-round performance, it is committed to operating in an environmentally and socially responsible Tel: +33 1 47 16 48 65 manner. And because its projects are in the public interest, the Group [email protected] considers that reaching out to all its stakeholders and engaging in dialogue www.vinci.com with them is essential in the conduct of its business activities. VINCI’s goal is to build long-term value in this way for its customers, shareholders, employees and partners, and for society at large.
In 2016, VINCI generated €38.1 bn revenue and in August 2016, its share entered the Stoxx Europe 50, making it one of the top 50 listed European companies, with a current market capitalization of €47.4 bn (as of 15/09/17).
www.finance-monthly.com 17 18 GERMANY www.finance-monthly.com as wellforitsbusinessmodelinnovations. awardsva-Q-tec has won for multiple its advanced national and energy efficiencyinternational and storage solutions Industry, Building and Mobility. The strongly growing Company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Würzburg. TechnicsFood, & & Appliances as such markets additional addresses va-Q-tec Logistics, & Healthcare Besides chains. supply sensitive temperature in standards protection thermal demanding highly fulfilling boxes and containers of fleet conditions. Within its rental services business, the company has built a global partner network to provide for an extensive from one-way shippers to air freight containers prevent any temperature excursions even at most challenging ambient temperature conditions for up to 200 hours va-Q-tec for the pharma and biotech industry. va-Q-tec´s and insulation. all-season solutions ranging constant control offer which boxes), and (containers temperature solutions packaging thermal passive efficient into PCMs and VIPs integrates energy also and and reliable (“VIPs”) for panels (“PCMs”) insulation materials vacuum thin change innovative, phase sells insulation and and thermal manufactures of company field The the in logistics. chain solutions cold and products tech efficient highly of provider leading a is va-Q-tec Firm Profile from Freie UniversitätBerlinandSciencesPoParis,aswellanMBAfrom ColumbiaBusinessSchool. science political in degrees holds Christopher US. logistics, the on and Germany focus in a both based with industrials, and McKinsey automotive at career professional his started Christopher space. technology European the in investments equity growth several made he where London in Capital Zouk at Principal a was Christopher 2013, in va-Q-tec joining to Prior Switzerland. and UK the States, United the in especially extension, global Group’s the driving is he development, business international for member board executive as role his in 2017, July Since Exchange. Stock the strategic evolution of the company. In 2016, he led va-Q-tec’s successful IPO on the Prime Standard of andits the Frankfurt organization driving the scaling as well as regions, on and industries across platform was technology va-Q-tec’s of growth focus further enable to processes His subsidiaries. international and IT, purchasing IR, function, finance the oversaw he function this In 2017. to 2013 from AG va-Q-tec of Officer Financial Chief was Hoffmann Christopher About Christopher Hoffman CFO ofva-Q-tec AG Christopher Hoffmann Finance MonthlyCFO Awards 2017 Email: [email protected] Web: www.va-Q-tec.com Tel.: +4993135942–0 D-97080 Würzburg Alfred-Nobel-Straße 33 va-Q-tec AG Christopher Hoffmann Areas ofExpertise • • • • • • • • • Areas ofExpertise
industrials Logistics, automotiveand Purchasing IT management Growth strategy development International business Investor relations Accounting, FP&A,Controlling Growth finance Financial management
Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 LATVIA
Jekaterina Stuge CFO of Amber Beverage Group
Firm Profile Part of the global SPI Group, Amber Beverage Group is the leading international wine and spirits company based in Riga, Latvia. Amber Beverage Group unites 1500 employees in 8 companies from the Baltics to Mexico, including the leading producers of alcoholic About Jekaterina Stuge beverages in Latvia and Mexico, experienced distribution companies in Estonia, Latvia, Jekaterina joined SPI Group as the CFO of Baltic Lithuania and UK, a specialized retail chain of around 70 shops operating in Latvia and Units, before ABG was created, and one of the Lithuania and logistics services across the Baltics. first projects where Jekaterina was involved was creation of the unified Baltic holding company. We are rapidly growing business that expands it’s brand portfolio and evaluates new business opportunities via merge & acquisition. In 2016 we stepped into tequila business Jekaterina leads centralised Accounting, and bought a significant equity stake in tequila factory Fabrica de tequilas Finos. In 2017 Treasury, Financial planning, analysis and control we became a co-owners of Cellar Trends Distributor (UK) that supports our export plans and functions for all 6 Baltic companies. new opportunities for our brands. Furthermore, Jekaterina is also responsible for Amber Beverage Group exports to over 170 global markets, offers warehousing space in Group IT function, covering the full scope of the Baltics and owns over 130 beverage brands across most spirits and wine categories, services for SPI Group, the Parent and other particularly being recognized as a specialist in vodka, bitters, brandy, tequila and sparkling related companies of Amber Beverage Group. wine production.
Jekaterina was part of the Management The Amber Beverage Group produces, bottles, markets, distributes, exports and retails team leading several local and international a comprehensive range of spirits and wines of almost 500 brands. We manufacture and acquisitions that helped ABG to become not the distribute our brands such as Stolichnaya® Premium vodka, Moskovskaya® vodka, KAH® Baltic market leader, but also establish strong tequila, AS/DC Thunderstruck tequila, Rooster Rojo® tequila, Riga Black Balsam® bitter and over 100 more. international presence. The most significant M&A transactions in recent years include acquisition We are proud to distribute across the Baltics on behalf of well-known companies such as of the major stake of Fabrica de Tequilas Finos in William Grant & Sons, Remy Cointreau, Mast-Jagermeister S.E., Russian Alcohol Group, Mexico and Cellar Trends Distributor (UK). Berry Bros and Rudd, BeamSuntory, CEDC, Le Grand Chai Group, Marchesi de Frescobaldi, Concha Y Toro, Torres, Delicato Family Vineyards, KWV International, Freixenet, Red Bull, As the CFO of ABG, Jekaterina was leading project Green Cola and others. for implementation of common ERP (Enterprise Reporting Platform) platform for our companies in the Baltics & Mexico, as well as common Document Management system and several other Business Intelligence tools. Implementation of common ERP was a crucial step to unifying and automating processes within our operating companies, which supports our objective to minimize the unnecessary routine tasks.
Prior to Joining ABG, Jekaterina was CFO at NP Foods, the leading chocolate and sweets manufacturer in Latvia, as well as worked more Contact Details than 10 years at Ernst& Young as part of audit and consulting team providing services to clients in www.amberbev.com wide range of industries.
www.finance-monthly.com 19 Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 NETHERLANDS
Andrew Browne CFO at O3b Networks
About Andrew Browne In early 2013, made the decision to move from the position of CFO of SES and board member of O3b, to joining O3b as CFO. The main reason to do so was the desire to assist with the ongoing development of the company and the opportunity to be part of a real endeavour Firm Profile to make the world a better place, in which to live, for billions of people. It was my desire to O3b is a unique company with a unique history. The name stands for the ‘Other Three contribute to making this happen, and joining with the management team at O3b. There is Billion’ people who don’t have high speed much written and several plans under development to bring internet to those in need but the connectivity to the Internet today. O3b is a global difference is that O3b is now actually doing it, today, and doing it very well. satellite and ground based service provider offering a next-generation satellite network for In terms of my own career experience, I worked initially for The Development Bank of telecommunications operators, Internet service Ireland. Having completed an MBA at Trinity College, I joined Advanced Micro Devices the providers, enterprise and government customers semiconductor technology company in Silicon Valley for ten years and ran the worldwide in emerging markets and beyond. The O3b financial sales and marketing operations. I then assumed the CFO position of Intelsat in system combines the global reach of a current 12 Washington DC as the 170 country organisation prepared for privatisation, subsequently satellite MEO (Medium Earth Orbit) constellation, moving to assume the position of CFO of the newly privatised entity Newskies Satellites. We launched in 2013 and 2014, with further 8 satellites took the company public on the NYSE and on Euronext. I have also been on the board of under construction with the speed of a terrestrial OSN, the TV and media operator in the Middle East, and chairman of TomTom, the navigation fiber-optic network. O3b’s services provide technology company. I am a member of the board of the international space university (ISU) the capability for billions of consumers and in Strasbourg. businesses in nearly 180 countries to connect to low-cost, high-speed, low latency Internet and What do you anticipate for the future of O3b Networks? mobile data. O3b is bringing high performance Today O3b is the fastest growing satellite operator in history, and has experienced significant broadband to the hardest places in the world to growth across many customer and product verticals on a fully dispersed global footprint. The reach and positively impacting the lives of many. satellite based technology combined with ground capabilities allows for a fully managed It was also the Fastest Growing Satellite Operator solution in addition to the provision of pure satellite capacity. When combined with the very in History. O3b’s unique and scalable architecture attractive MEO based economics O3b’s system allows extremely competitive price levels can grow to more than 100 satellites without the and capacity that are unprecedented in the traditional satellite based operations. need for more spectrum in space.
O3b has deployed a truly disruptive technology with the concept to connect the Other O3b has built a global infrastructure with Three Billion while also developing multifaceted customer and product capabilities. O3b is gateways, offices and facilities in the Netherlands, the only company that can deliver data with the speed and performance of fiber; and the US, Brazil, Pakistan, Singapore, Australia, Peru and immediacy and reach of satellite. Because there is a highly scalable in-orbit constellation, Greece. Product verticals have been developed to serve customers with IP Trunking, Mobile O3b services can be delivered quickly and rapidly expanded without the need for significant Backhaul, Maritime, Energy and Government. customer investment to build in- ground or undersea cable.
The company originally attracted world-class With the consolidation into SES in August 2016, the company now has expanded resources investors and lenders including SES, Google, available in terms of access to space and financial capabilities. Overall, now creating a new Liberty Global, HSBC, Satya, Northbridge, IFC in global market facing entity called SES Networks. Washington, DBSA (Dev. Bank Southern Africa) and AFDB (African Development Bank), FMO, EAIF, Proparco, DEG, BIl, Natixis and ING.
Contact Details As of 1st August 2016, we consolidated O3b with Andrew Browne SES in a transaction with an enterprise value of Email: [email protected] | Mob: +31 6295 35662 approximately US$2.5 Billion.
20 www.finance-monthly.com Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 UNITED KINGDOM
Andrew Fabian Group Finance Director at StatPro
T: +44 208 410 9876 | E: [email protected] | W: www.statpro.com About Andrew Fabian Andrew graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Engineering Science. He worked in a project management role for two years before Firm Profile joining the management consultancy division StatPro is a global provider of award winning portfolio analytics solutions for the investment community of Touche Ross (now Deloitte), while training founded in 1994. The Group’s cloud-based platform provides vital analysis of portfolio performance, to become a chartered accountant. Following attribution, risk and compliance. This multi-asset class analytics platform helps StatPro’s clients increase qualification and a two year secondment to assets under management, improve client service, meet tough regulations and reduce costs. Deloitte in Canada, he specialised in corporate treasury and advice to financial institutions. The Group’s integrated and global data coverage includes over 3.2 million securities such as equities, Andrew then joined the treasury department bonds, mutual funds, FX rates, futures, options, OTCs, sector classifications and much else besides. StatPro of De La Rue plc (a FTSE 100 company at the also covers most families of benchmarks including MSCI, FTSE, Russell, NASDAQ and the open source time) where he completed his MCT treasury Freedom Index. qualification. He was appointed Group The Group has operations in Europe, North America, South Africa, Asia and Australia, with hundreds of Treasurer at William Baird PLC, a global clothing clients in 39 countries around the world. StatPro Group plc shares are listed on AIM. manufacturer and distributor with revenues of over £500m, later becoming Group Financial Controller. StatPro’s products and services In 2000, Andrew joined StatPro when the business StatPro believes software should be simple. had just floated with plans to expand overseas Simple to implement, simple to operate and simple for its clients to achieve their goals. both organically and through acquisition. At that time, the Group had revenues of around £3 StratPro’s technology, expertise and advanced portfolio analytics make this possible. million and an EBITDA loss of around £4.5 million. An important milestone was to generate positive StratPro has three key areas of its business that help its clients manage their portfolio performance and risk operating cash flow, which was achieved in H2 analytics. 2002 and has been maintained ever since. The Group now has annualised recurring revenues Cloud-based platforms of approximately £53 million. StatPro Revolution is a cloud-based portfolio analytics platform that gives investment managers of all sizes the ability to calculate the performance and risk on all their securities across all their portfolios. Andrew is responsible for the global finance and HR functions, and is also Company Secretary. StatPro Seven software He has completed thirteen acquisitions, and The StatPro Seven suite of products are non-cloud software solutions providing performance and risk several debt and equity fund raisings. He analysis for over 200 clients around the world. Most of these systems are hosted by StatPro across three also managed a debt restructuring during the privately managed data centres. financial crisis in 2008 when StatPro’s Icelandic Data Solutions bank went into liquidation, achieving a debt StatPro market data solutions offer high quality and timely pricing data for global securities around the write off and an improved facility with a new world. StatPro’s market data includes over 3.2 million securities and multiple industry benchmarks including lender. MSCI, FTSE, Russell, NASDAQ and the open source Freedom Index. During 2017, a major achievement was the completion of the acquisition of Delta from UBS Growth for approximately €13 million and increasing the Group’s multi-currency financing facilities StatPro has grown its Annualised Recurring Revenue (“ARR”), both organically and by acquisition, from less with Wells Fargo to £41 million. The transaction than £1 million in 1999 to around £53 million today. Over 75% of recurring revenues are generated outside was innovative as StatPro needed to find a the UK. financial structure for the transaction to allow StatPro completed in May 2017 the first phase of the acquisition from UBS of its risk and performance a staged transfer of the intellectual property analytics service, UBS Delta. rights and client contracts from UBS, and, consequently, deferred consideration, while An initial payment of €8.7 million has been made, out of total cash consideration of approximately €13 developing Delta’s functionality on StatPro’s million, the balance of which will be paid over three years. Delta has ARR of approximately £14.5 million. advanced cloud-technology platform.
Delta will enable StatPro to extend its risk and performance analytics service from the middle office to the Andrew is a Fellow of both the ICAEW and the front office of asset managers. The acquisition is phased over three to five years as StatPro incorporates Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT). In Delta’s cloud-based functionality into its flagship product, StatPro Revolution. Throughout the transition, 2012, he was awarded a ranking in the ‘Hot 20 and until StatPro has fully integrated Delta’s functionality, UBS will continue to operate and support FDs’ in the TMT sector by BDO LLP. Delta for its clients.
www.finance-monthly.com 21 Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 UNITED KINGDOM Ben Kent CFO at Simplyhealth
About Ben Kent Firm Profile Ben Kent is Chief Financial Officer at Simplyhealth and member of its Board. As CFO he Simplyhealth is a UK based everyday has responsibility for Finance, HR, IT, Business Change, and Property and Environment. health company, helping individuals, their families and their pets stay in the Ben has a wealth of financial experience from a wide range of organisations as well best possible health so they can make as a strong understanding of the health insurance market from the UK and around the world. He began his career in senior finance roles in FTSE 100 companies before moving the most of life. to Bupa Group as Director of Finance, and then joining Simplyhealth in 2013. Simplyhealth has been helping people In 2014 Simplyhealth undertook an extensive strategic review, resulting in the decision with their health for 144 years, long to focus on the space of everyday health and the restatement of its purpose ‘to help before the arrival of the UK’s National people make the most of life through better everyday health’. Ben was instrumental Health Service. It provides everyday in engaging all employees in the strategic and financial case for change, with a new health plans, support and advice, to help level of transparency on the market and financial dynamics of the business. people take their health in their hands. Simplyhealth places corporate giving As part of focusing Simplyhealth’s activities on everyday health, he led the successful at the heart of fulfilling its purpose and sale of Simplyhealth’s Private Medical Insurance business to Axa PPP in 2015. honouring its heritage. That’s why it donates 10% of its pre-tax profits to Ben has since reshaped the finance team to create a commercial and capable charitable partners every year. function that seeks to partner the business with effective processes, insightful advice and better capital management, which enable effective commercial decision- making and resource allocation. Contact Details Ben Kent Chief Financial Officer Simplyhealth Hambleden House Waterloo Court, Andover Hampshire, SP10 1LQ
www.simplyhealth.co.uk
22 www.finance-monthly.com Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 UNITED KINGDOM
David Brockwell CFO at Tusker
About David Brockwell Having trained as a Chartered Accountant and qualified with KPMG in 1987, David then spent 18 Firm Profile months working on a number of special projects within the KPMG Reconstruction Department, Tusker has enjoyed five consecutive years of where he assisted funders working with distressed businesses, identifying turnaround strategies organic growth in excess of 50% per annum, across a wide variety of business environments. maintaining their market leading position for Salary Saving Car Schemes in the UK. In He then moved into what he calls ‘the real world’ as Group Financial Controller at a FTSE 250 2016, Tusker were heavily involved in the Marketing Services Group leading the reporting required when integrating acquired business consultation into salary sacrifice for cars to units, thereafter applying the same skills within a Global software house in the city, establishing ensure there was a positive outcome. They a sales and administration service unit in Dublin and then integrating acquired multi jurisdiction successfully lobbied Government, arguing business units into the Group. that Benefit in Kind which applies to cars, was fair and appropriate. Cars, along with David firmly believes that his mix of IT experience and a marketing focus is perfectly aligned with pensions, Childcare vouchers and Cycle 2 the unique culture at Tusker where he has been CFO for the past 11 years. Work schemes, were subsequently treated differently in the Finance Act, 2017 and Areas of Expertise therefore remain a valued benefit for the With a role that spans all aspects of the business, including legal, financial, planning and future. budgeting, David spends much of his time overseeing the development of the business strategy, while managing day to day elements of finance and operations. Because of the nature of Tusker’s business (purchasing thousands of cars every year), David spends a large amount of time with funders, seeking innovative and imaginative funding solutions sufficient for Tusker’s Contact Details expanding portfolio. www.tuskerdirect.com
The challenge for David as a CFO is to promote an environment where he can help the business to move forward, working closely in partnership with the sales, marketing and operational functions. The finance team are a service centre to the business to facilitate a ‘can do’ culture who are accommodating, learn what each department within the business is trying to achieve and take a stance that facilitates initiative and innovation.
Goals for the future David’s goal from the beginning was to try and achieve a business that was a disrupter to the norm in Tusker’s sector, something that was not done successfully before and achieve value for the Investors. Over an 11 year period, David has have helped to achieve that and more, culminating in the refinancing and new investors in 2015. The goal still continues to create a lasting legacy within the benefits and rewards industry and Tusker are now generally regarded as thought and market leaders within the car benefit arena. The challenge is to maintain that status and ensure that all the ‘me too’ businesses that have seen their success and tried to copy are kept at bay.
David’s overriding objective is to continue to help develop the growth and profitability Tusker has enjoyed over the past few years, as well as to continue to innovate and evolve the product portfolio, remaining being several steps ahead of any competition against the background of maintaining ‘family ‘culture within the a fast growing business.
www.finance-monthly.com 23
Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 UNITED KINGDOM
Nigel Higgs Formally CFO / COO at Weedingtech Limited
About Nigel Higgs Nigel is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, and holds a Master’s degree in Finance. Firm Profile Nigel’s background prior to 2004 was at senior level for a mix of small and large multinational Weedingtech is the world’s leading herbicide- corporations both in the UK and Europe. During this time Nigel was involved in numerous free weed control company. Founded in 2011, acquisition and disposal situations as well as turnaround and funding strategies for growth. our primary objective was to develop the
Since 2004 Nigel has predominantly worked with SME’s, both VC and privately funded, world’s best solution for herbicide-free weed, providing a range of services including part-time FD, CEO, COO & Chairman roles, strategic moss and algae control for amenity and utility growth / change management, funding, acquisition & exit and turnaround. markets across the globe. We have established ourselves as the market leader in this space Nigel joined Weeding Technologies Ltd in November 2014 at a time when it was clearly in with our patented hot water and natural foam need of a turnaround plan. process. Continuing to redefine our machine’s
The administrative and financial systems were in a poor state when Nigel joined the company. capabilities, we are always looking to create Nigel was able to transform the accounting systems and ensure that new investors were additional customer value and have done this presented with a highly professional and efficient reporting regime. through developing solutions for street cleaning and gum removal too. Part of Nigel’s role was to provide a sounding board to the executive team around him, many of whom were younger and less experienced. Committed to safeguarding people, wildlife & the environment, we, in partnership with Revenues grew considerably during the turnaround period and the quality and reliability of budgeting and cash-flow management were improved considerably. industry leading experts, develop award- winning solutions to solve industry challenges by Weeding Technologies is a totally different company to the one Nigel joined, operating in pursuing advances in innovation and pioneering new markets, selling to new customers and working with new partners and investors. This led new technologies. Combined with our ongoing to a successful £3 million equity investment by Calculus Capital in December 2016 that will commitment to heavily invest in research take the business through to profitability by allowing it to expand its geographical presence and development, our team of highly skilled and develop new models. individuals manufacture world-class machinery
A final part of the turnaround was the recruitment of a full time finance director in May 2017, and offer unparalleled after-sales support, which Nigel led. working with our partners to ensure that customer support is at the heart of Nigel is now working with other companies, via his advisory business Jigsaw Business everything we do. Performance Management, across the growth cycle spectrum helping them achieve their desired outcomes. Backed by the Goldsmith family, the prestigious Low Carbon Innovation Fund, Calculus Capital and a wealth of other cleantech investors from Contact Details around the world, we continue to be supported Nigel J Higgs in our rapid global growth, allowing us to remain Email: [email protected] at the forefront of the global herbicidefree Website@ www.weedingtech.com movement.
www.finance-monthly.com 25 Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 UNITED KINGDOM Robin Gregson Chief Financial Officer at Lookers plc
Driving home continued growth As CFO for Lookers, Robin Gregson’s bread and butter are numbers. However, he is equally at home casting a critical eye over liquidity and capital structures as he is weighing up the value of the latest supercar parked up at one of the company’s 153 franchised dealerships up and down the country. For Gregson, the role of CFO at a major motor retailer is a marriage made in heaven.
Gregson started his career as an accountant with Deloitte before finding his raison d’être; the motor industry and a role at CD Bramhall, rising to Finance Director, a role which he would successfully occupy for six years. When the firm was acquired by Pendragon in 2004, Gregson decided that the time was right to diversify his range of experience in the privately-owned ATM business.
However, the automotive industry would work its charms once again in 2009, when Gregson secured the position of FD at Lookers.
It’s a role that Gregson is obviously relishing, having helped Lookers to oversee eight consecutive years of growth, with annual revenues growing to £4.3bn, complimented by a robust capital structure and a strong cash flow. And while market forces have always played a major part in the prevailing conditions of the motor sector, the general health of Lookers’ finances is anything but fortuitous. Gregson has been instrumental in key moments in the group’s recent history, including the acquisitions of both Knights Group and Drayton Group for £26.6m and £56.3 respectively and the sale of the company’s parts department.
Under his financial stewardship, the company recently published healthy interim results for the first half of 2017, with revenues increasing by 5% to £2.46bn (2016: £2.34bn) as a result of growth from new and used cars , as well as aftersales, while operating profit from continuing operations grew by 13% to £58.1m.
Growth was attributed to continued investment in the Lookers multi-channel customer experience, a strengthened portfolio and growth in new car sales which also underpinned continued demand for the company’s industry leading aftersales services.
However, the road to financial security is never without a few bumps along the way, and this was to be the case when Gregson took up his post at Lookers. It was during a time when the global financial crisis was beginning to tighten its grip on the market. Illustrating his ability to act with a cool head from the off, Gregson faced the banks and finance facilities head-on when many of them were predisposed to www.Lookers.co.uk tightening the purse strings.
26 www.finance-monthly.com Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 UNITED KINGDOM
Firms Profile Lookers is a national motor retailer headquartered in Manchester. Founded in 1908 to sell bicycles and accessories, today it trades across the UK and Ireland, representing 30 volume and high-end automotive marques including Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Lexus, VW, Jaguar and BMW, from 153 franchised With the banks eventually changing their attitudes, while still erring on the side of dealerships across the UK., Lookers’ 2016 caution, Gregson was able turn his attention to growth. While he says conditions revenues exceeded £4bn, including the sale have “changed for the better”; people have long memories and will be weary of of 200,000 new and used cars and vans. a repeat performance. The group was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1973. While he may have learned lessons from the past, Gregson is acutely aware of current challenges and is once again providing not only his impressive financial Lookers has enjoyed eight years of consecutive acumen to find solutions, but also his calm and measured influence. growth, and recently announcing its interim results for the first half of 2017. The uncertainty created by elections, the referendum and Brexit in particular has impacted the automotive sector. Gregson says: “Our business is very much dependent on consumer confidence. Also, the UK is the second biggest car market for German cars. If tariffs are applied, it won’t be helpful. As an industry, it is important that sense prevails.” Financial results for the six months to 30 June 2017: Challenges these may be but Gregson believes Lookers’ sound business model based on the “right brands in the right locations”, and its aim to continue being • Revenue increased 5% to £2.46 billion (2016: “meaningfully and noticeably different in order to achieve operational excellence” £2.34 billion) with growth from new and will help it continue its success. used cars, as well as aftersales.
• *Operating profit from continuing operations He points to the group’s focus on digital technology as a way of securing a strong increased 13% to £58.1 million (2016: £51.6 future and help to extend its sphere of influence. It’s also the group’s “team million). mentality” which Gregson believes will help it navigate any choppy waters it may face. • *Adjusted profit before tax from continuing operations increased 18% to £50.2 million This openness extends to the relationship Lookers now has with its external partners, (2016: £42.6 million). including its panel of banks. He says: “They are now very supportive and helpful • Profit before tax from continuing operations and are generally proactive where they can be, even if they are still trying to sell increased by 14% to £44.6 million (2016: you something.” £39.2 million).
• Profit before tax of £44.6 million (2016: £46.7 Of course his team will be more than a little grateful to have such a dependable million). and composed individual as the group’s CFO, someone who has been able to adapt to change within the business and out in the wider market. It’s this kind of • Earnings per share from continuing acumen that has won him a lot of friends and strengthened his relationships with operations up 15% at 9.07p (2016: 7.90p). those all-important suppliers and stakeholders. • Increase in interim dividend of 10% to 1.41p per share (2016: 1.28p). “The group balance sheet has been strengthened by strong operational cash • Net debt reduced to £61.9 million (31 flow and substantial headroom in bank facilities,” he says: “This provides financial December 2016: £74.1 million). security to grow the business through strategic acquisitions at a time of significant consolidation opportunities within the sector.”
www.finance-monthly.com 27 Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017
UNITED KINGDOM Ryan Gill Chief Financial Officer at UK General Insurance
About Ryan Gill Ryan Gill, age 34, is Chief Finance Officer and Executive Board Director at multi-award winning UK General Insurance Group Limited. Having joined the business in 2006 as a management accountant, he completed the CIMA qualification and progressed through a variety of senior finance and management roles across the business before joining the Board in 2013.
During his career at UK General the business has grown its gross written premiums from £130m to £380m and profitability has grown significantly under Ryan’s tenure as CFO from an EBITDA loss in 2013 to £11m EBITDA in 2017. Ryan has been instrumental in this growth, building a reputation amongst colleagues, investors and stakeholders for his innovative and commercial approach to problem solving and strategic vision. Areas of Expertise Ryan’s areas of expertise are focused on In May 2017, UK General was acquired by US private equity house JC Flowers & Co for a substantial figure. Ryan strategic vision and delivery, optimising played a pivotal role in the process from initial concept and preparation of the business for sale, through to business performance, leadership and execution of the transaction. This involved preparation of the Information Memorandum for market, successfully communication. He believes each delivering management presentations to interested parties and finance providers and managing an intensive due of these are essential to a successful diligence process. organisation and the ability to create long In his first 12 months in role as CFO and working with the Group CEO, Ryan extracted UK General from its former term sustainable shareholder value. group structure to be managed as a stand-alone business and raised £15m of external financing, enabling the business to repay long-term shareholder debt and invest in growth initiatives including people, technology, and Ryan plays a key role in driving the insurance distribution capability. Further financing was secured in 2016 to support delivery of ambitious strategic business and financial strategy at UK objectives. General and excels in understanding and exploiting profit drivers and growth Ryan is passionate about innovation and the need for business to embrace change to grow and prosper, balanced segments. He balances technical by essential understanding of the regulatory environment and customer outcomes. With a keen interest in the competence in financial and regulatory digital and fintech arena, UK General has invested heavily in technology and innovation, including a new insurance distribution platform, and in their evolution to a ‘virtual insurer’, challenging the traditional insurer model by removing matters with a commercial view of factors unnecessary costs from the value chain and establishing strategic reinsurance partnerships to combine first class impacting the business and the associated capital with underwriting excellence and distribution. risks and opportunities.
Prior to the separation of UK General, Ryan sat on the Board of a wider group of insurance distribution businesses as He adopts a collaborative and open CFO including Rural Insurance Group; a niche agricultural insurance business based in Harrogate. leadership style and is a strong believer that motivated high performing teams are created by empowering people Firm Profile and teams through devolving trust and UK General Insurance Group Limited is the largest specialist Managing General Agent (MGA) in the UK market, accountability. Ryan sees relationships offering specialist and niche insurance products and schemes to a vast range of personal lines brokers and trading management as a key component partners alike. With over 60 products and 650 schemes, UK General is the leading provider of specialist and niche of his role and believes that open personal lines products and the number one schemes brand in the UK. communication and engagement with all A £380m Gross Written Premium business located in Leeds, England, UK General operate as an MGA with delegated stakeholders is key to sustainable success. insurance capacity reinsured by Munich Re, combining multi-channel distribution capability with underwriting excellence to deliver profitable returns on a true risk and reward basis. In addition to his financial responsibilities he is also responsible for investor relations, UK General provide a vast range of clients across the UK with its range of personal lines insurance products including motor ancillary, travel, property, warranty, personal accident, leisure & lifestyle, income protection and financial strategy and overseeing the Actuarial, loss, distributed in a variety of ways which can be tailored to an exact specification. IT, Product and Pricing functions of the business. With an established profile in the insurance industry, UK General has Gold ‘Investor In People’ status and is the proud winner of the Insurance Times ‘MGA of the Year’ award two years’ running (2014 and 2015). It also won ‘The Digital Transformation Team of the Year’ in 2016. By endorsing its position in the market, UK General is often referred to as a preferred supplier of specialist products because of its strength, flexibility and specialist knowledge in the sector. Contact [email protected] In abiding by UK General’s motto of ‘specialist as standard’, customers are at the heart of the business. The company boasts a customer retention rate of 97%, maintaining that open communication has resulted in continual and www.ukgeneral.com long-lasting client relationships. The MGA offers several ways to trade including schemes, white-labelling, affinity partnership, and online e-trading which offers customers the flexibility to trade as they wish.
Guided by remarkable talent and investment in people, UK General continues to grow where other high-profile MGAs have failed. Through specialist knowledge, customer focus, and exceptional leadership, UK General continues to pave the way for new and existing trading partners as it offers flexible opportunity to fill product gaps in the market.
28 www.finance-monthly.com Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 UNITED KINGDOM
Sam Hovey CFO of Besso Group
About Besso Group Besso has a long and distinguished pedigree that gives it a respected position in the global insurance marketplace. About Sam Hovey Sam has been Group Chief Financial With a London-based staff of just over 200, Besso is a medium-sized business that combines Officer of Besso Insurance Group the traditional values of an established and trusted broker with an innovative and personal Limited since February 2014, and touch that differentiates it from many larger competitors. Moreover, because Besso is an Group Chief Operating Officer as of independent Lloyd’s broking group, predominantly owned by the senior management July 2015. She qualified as a Chartered team, it offers an alternative and fresh perspective. Accountant in 1999, and has held a number of roles within the market. She most recently served as CEO of Cooper Gay & Company Limited, part of the CGSC Group. She joined the Cooper Our mission is to recognise and Gay Group in 2008 and held the Group Financial Controller and Cooper Gay & reward the strengths and accomplishments Company Chief Financial Officer roles prior to taking up the CEO role in 2012. of the team as well as the individual... Before joining the Cooper Gay Group she held positions at HSBC Insurance Brokers and Rattner McKenzie Ltd, formerly part of the HCC Group.
Besso has expanded and diversified greatly over the years. Growing from a largely North American business, it now operates worldwide through nine divisions: Aviation, Contact Details Energy, Marine, International, Property, Casualty, Reinsurance, Besso UK, Besso Re, and www.besso.co.uk Professional and Financial Risks. Besso also provides risk transfer services for reinsurance and capital markets through a subsidiary called Optex.
Highly regarded for the quality and experience of its specialist teams, Besso works primarily with overseas brokers and intermediaries, and is particularly noted for handling complex and unusual risks. Much of the business is placed under binding authorities with Lloyd’s syndicates.
Besso’s growth has been characterised by the consistency and reliability of its face-to- face broking skills coupled with an innovative and creative approach that draws strength from the company’s independence and commitment to bespoke solutions.
www.finance-monthly.com 29 Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 UNITED KINGDOM Tony McMurray Finance Director at Ingram Micro Firm Profile Ingram Micro is the #1 technology distributor in the world helping partners to optimise their Finance Director Insight: business from start-ups to global brands. Did you always intend to become a Finance Director when you were starting out? Uniquely positioned at the centre of the technology ecosystem, Ingram Micro enables When I arrived at Ingram Micro as a young Finance Professional I did not have a clear goal in mind, All I the consumption of technology across the full knew was that I wanted to learn everything and anything about my new employer. Over time I gained lifecycle of IT and mobility products / services the confidence to aspire towards the FD role through working in the UK and abroad, as well as a period that currently no other distributor offers. In the outside of finance working in commercial. This breadth of experience certainly provided me with the UK, Ingram Micro delivers end to end solutions skills to face all the challenges that face the FD of a large US corporation. including; audit and assessment, planning and design, procurement and logistics, installation Have you had mentors/people who have inspired you and guided you? and deployment, manage and support and IT The most influential mentor in my life was my mother. She cultivated in me a strong work ethicthat asset deposition across 250+ vendor partners characterises my day to day approach to life. I have mentored younger professionals both internally and 5000+ reseller partners. and externally for a number of years and it gives me great satisfaction to see those I have worked with develop beyond their current roles. I have a passion and enthusiasm for sharing my experience with About Tony McMurray others and in doing so it also provides me with my own personal development opportunities. As a proficient Musician and Sportsman in his youth (a UK national junior Long Jump Why do you find social media important? Champion) Tony graduated with a degree in Music and Sports Science. The decision to move Social media provides a great opportunity to influence so many more people across multiple areas. It into accountancy led him to work for a medium also allows you to connect with people who have the same interests, topics, charities and so on. It can sized audit practice in central London. This was be used to help educate stakeholders, develop a brand and learn from diverse contributors. What you followed by time spent at the HQ of the Forte say and how you say it is immediately accessible by the wider world as most people today start their Hotel Group as a Management Accountant. search for anything by going online. I like to play an active role in a medium that is very much part of However, the bigger move to Ingram Micro, the modern day relationship building. launched Tony into a career path that has spanned more than 20 years at the world’s Why do you attend so many events? largest Distributor of Technology Solutions. I see my role as far broader than ‘just numbers’ and view the modern finance leader as an ambassador As a qualified CIMA Accountant Tony progressed for the broader organisation. Someone who should feel comfortable presenting on all aspects of the in a variety of roles at Ingram culminating in business, from operations, to marketing to sales and commercial. As an extension of my social media him being appointed the UK Finance Director in presence I feel my attendance at charity and networking events, awards ceremonies, and customer 2011. In his current role he is accountable for and vendor gatherings is a vital extension of the Ingram Micro brand and the role I play as the finance all aspects of finance in the UK ranging from lead. M&A, Working Capital management, Strategic Planning, FP&A Reporting and a regional lead What would be your top three tips for fledgling Finance Directors? in a number of projects including the transition 1. Be honest – the greatest asset of a strong FD is their credibility. to Ingram Micro’s shared service centre in Sofia. 2. Do not be frightened to ask questions, even if the questions are being directed at more senior experienced people than yourself. Tony’s Finance leadership is characteristically 3. Trust your own instinct – if something does not feel right, then go with that instinct. ‘Beyond the FD’. Alongside his traditional FD responsibilities, Tony is an ambassador for the What is your favourite Quote? UK Alzheimer’s Society, regularly delivering motivational talks about his fundraising “If you can dream it, you can do it” Walt Disney challenges. His establishment as a ‘social influencer’ through regular social media activity further illustrates his appetite for networking and thirst for knowledge. His knowledge sharing and Contact Details experience has resulted in him being chosen 01908 807506 | [email protected] to mentor within the Fast Forward 15 program, www.ingrammicro.co.uk | @TonyMcMurray supporting the advancement of women in the hospitality industry.
30 www.finance-monthly.com Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017
Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 USA
About Daniel Murphy Dan brings to LivePerson more than 20 years of broad experience in senior management, corporate finance Daniel Murphy and accounting roles. As the Chief Financial Officer, he is responsible for the CFO of LivePerson financial, operational and administrative procedures of the Company.
Firm Profile Prior to joining LivePerson, Dan served LivePerson is a publicly held American technology company that develops products for as CFO at Conductor, Inc. a maker of a online messaging, marketing, and analytics; headquartered in New York City. SAAS platform focused on search engine optimization for enterprise customers, and also served as SVP and chief LivePerson believe that every interaction—be it between employees, clients, financial officer of Marketing Technology consumers, or the community—is an opportunity to achieve great things. They believe Solutions. Prior to that, Mr. Murphy spent that connection is the foundation for trust, innovation and ultimately, success. for 13 years at Thomson Financial (now Thomson Reuters), a leading global It begins in their workplace, where they seek to connect with each other on more information services company, where he than just a professional level. LivePerson are compelled by our collective mission held several management and finance of connecting brands and their customers, giving them the service experience they roles of increasing responsibility and deserve. complexity, serving as CFO of multiple business units, including the then $1.6 LivePerson is best known as the developer of LiveEngage- a messaging platform which billion Sales, Marketing and Services enables thousands of brands around the world to connect with consumers through Organization for the financial services online and mobile messaging. vertical, and supporting many successful acquisitions, as well as integrations of LiveEngage offers unparalleled security and scalability, enabling brands to proactively new products and businesses. connect and stay connected with their customers, driving greater sales and brand loyalty. Dan received a Bachelor’s degree in business administration from Saint Bonaventure University. • Founded in 1995, a public company since 2000 (NASDAQ: LPSN).
• More than 1,200 employees. HQ’d in NYC, with offices in Tokyo, London, Melbourne, Tel Aviv, San Francisco, Atlanta, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris and Milan. Contact Details www.liveperson.com • Original Founder, Robert LoCascio, serves as CEO 20 years after incorporation,maintaining a focused, evolving mission and vision.
• US $239 million revenues (2015).
• 2 billion monitored site visits per month.
• 27 million live engagements per month.
• Our 18,000 Customers include: 8 of the Top 10 Fortune 500 companies; 10 of the Top 15 Commercial Banks (Fortune 500); Top 4 of Top 5 Telecommunication Companies (Fortune 500)
34 www.finance-monthly.com Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 USA
Dennis M. McGrath CFO at PAVmed Inc.
About Dennis M. McGrath Dennis M. McGrath is a seasoned medical device industry executive with extensive public company leadership experience possessing a broad range of skills in corporate finance, business development, corporate strategy, operations and administration. He has a proven track record Firm Profile of delivering results and driving shareholder value through numerous public and private financings, PAVmed Inc. is a highly differentiated, merger and acquisitions, joint ventures and licensing deals; most recently completing nearly a multiproduct medical device company dozen M&A transactions in the last two years. After an 18 year career at PhotoMedex, Inc. (Nasdaq: employing a unique business model PHMD), he recently joined PAVmed, Inc (Nasdaq: PAVM, PAVMW) as the Company’s Executive designed to advance products from Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. PAVmed is a highly differentiated, multi-product medical concept to commercialization much device company. Previously, from 2000 to 2017 Mr. McGrath served in several senior level positions more rapidly and with significantly of PhotoMedex, Inc. (Nasdaq: PHMD), a global manufacturer and distributor of medical device less capital than the typical medical equipment and services, including from 2011 to 2017 as director, President, and Chief Financial device company. This proprietary Officer. Prior to PhotoMedex’s reverse merger with Radiancy, Inc in December 2011, he also served model enables PAVmed to pursue an as Chief Executive Officer from 2009 to 2011 and served as Vice President of Finance and Chief expanding pipeline strategy with a view Financial Officer from 2000 to 2009. He received honors as a P.A.C.T. (Philadelphia Alliance for Capital to enhancing and accelerating value and Technology) finalist for the 2011 Investment Deal of the Year, award winner for the SmartCEO creation. PAVmed’s diversified pipeline Magazine 2012 CEO of the Year for Turnaround Company, and finalist for the Ernst & Young 2013 of products address unmet clinical Entrepreneur of the Year. He has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, both domestically needs, have attractive regulatory and internationally, and particularly involving public company acquisitions, including Surgical Laser pathways and market opportunities Technologies, Inc, (formerly, Nasdaq: SLTI), ProCyte Corporation (formerly, Nasdaq: PRCY), LCA and encompass a broad spectrum Vision, Inc. (formerly, Nasdaq: LCAV) and Think New Ideas, Inc. (formerly, Nasdaq: THNK). Prior to of clinical areas including carpal PhotoMedex, he served in several senior level positions of AnswerThink Consulting Group, Inc. (then, tunnel syndrome (CarpX™), medical Nasdaq: ANSR, now, The Hackett Group, Nasdaq: HCKT), a business consulting and technology infusions (NextFlo™ and NextCath™), integration company, including from 1999 to 2000 as Chief Operating Officer of the Internet Practice, interventional radiology (PortIO™ the largest division of AnswerThink Consulting Group, Inc., while concurrently during the merger of and NextCath™), tissue ablation the companies, serving as the acting Chief Financial Officer of Think New Ideas, Inc. (then, Nasdaq: and cardiovascular intervention THNK, now, Nasdaq: HCKT), an interactive marketing services and business solutions company. Mr. (Caldus™) and pediatric ear infections McGrath also served from 1996 until 1999 as Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President and (DisappEAR™). The Company intends director of TriSpan, Inc., an internet commerce solutions and technology consulting company, which to further expand its pipeline through was acquired by AnswerThink Consulting Group, Inc. in 1999. During his tenure at Arthur Andersen & engagements with clinician innovators Co., where he began his career, he became a Certified Public Accountant in 1981 and he holds a and leading academic medical B.S., maxima cum laude, in accounting from LaSalle University. In addition to continuing as a director centers. of PhotoMedex, he serves as the audit chair and a director of several medical device companies, including DarioHealth Corp. (Nasdaq: DRIO), Noninvasive Medical Technologies, Inc. and Cagent For further information, please visit Vascular, LLC, and as an advisor to the board of an orphan drug company, Palvella Therapeutics, www.pavmed.com LLC. Formerly from 2007 to 2009, Mr. McGrath served as a director of Embrella Cardiovascular, Inc. (sold to Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, NYSE: EW). He also serves on the Board of Trustees for Manor College and the Board of Visitors for Taylor University.
Contact Details Dennis McGrath - Chief Financial Officer - NASDAQ: PAVM One Grand Central Place, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10165
Tel: 212-949-4319 | Mob: 609-432-6861 | Email: [email protected]
www.finance-monthly.com 35
Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017
Firm Profile Matterport is an immersive James Fay media technology company that builds 3D and Virtual USA CFO at Matterport, Inc. Reality (VR) media solutions that power industries from real estate to entertainment, and About James Fay everywhere in between. Our James (“JD”) Fay is a successful and seasoned executive with 20 years of experience in high technology, venture capital, startups and public companies. Throughout his career, JD has been team has built the first end- advising executives, boards of directors, and investors on raising capital in public, private, debt to-end media platform that and equity capital markets, and structuring and executing corporate transactions from IPOs to allows users to easily create, acquisitions and sales. He is particularly experienced helping companies grow from concept modify, navigate, and build or first product to scale, culminating in an initial public offering or sale of the business. JDhas on digital representations of prepared companies for a public life, executed IPOs for two companies (one on the NYSE and one on The Nasdaq Global Market), and worked on several more IPOs. real places. Founded in 2011, Matterport is building our In his CFO roles, JD has prepared companies for becoming public, establishing and developing accounting, financial founders’ vision of creating planning and forecasting (guidance), internal controls, governance, human resources, legal, IT and facilities functions. As a public company CFO and General Counsel, JD has led many quarterly financial results investor calls, roadshows, teach- a complete virtual model of ins, press interviews and conference presentations; and crafted investor call scripts, press releases, financial guidance, the world that changes the roadshow presentations, media messages, and public filings and disclosures (from registration statements to periodic way individuals and industries filings). He has worked globally for many years, developing business, growing companies and managing operations in the interact with physical spaces. U.S., Canada, U.K., China, Japan, Malaysia and Russia.
JD has raised nearly $1 billion in equity and debt capital, helping to finance companies in a breadth of technology industries: software, software-as-a-service (SAAS), internet-of-things (IoT), smart-home, hardware, and internet components. He has structured and executed dozens of preferred stock (early stage to late stage), PIPE, IPO and secondary equity offerings; Contact and growth capital, venture, revolver, capital asset, cross-border, distressed and investment grade debt offerings. He has Email: [email protected] negotiated and closed transactions with venture capital, sovereign wealth, endowment, pension, private equity, family office, and strategic (corporate venture capital) investors from around the world, with deal sizes ranging from $1 million to Tel: 650-464-8939 over $200 million, driving company valuations up to $500 million to nearly $1.5 billion.
In 2016, JD was named CFO of the Year for venture backed companies in Silicon Valley (Silicon Valley Business Journal). He was also previously recognized as one of the “40 under 40” executives in Silicon Valley (East Bay Business Times). He is also an inventor of several U.S. patents and applications in SAAS and GPS applications. JD is a member of the California and American Bar Associations.
Mark Joyce CFO of Corcentric
About Mark Joyce Mark Joyce is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Corcentric, Inc. Mark joined Corcentric, Inc (f/k/a AmeriQuest, Inc.) in 2006 through Corcentric’s acquisition of NationaLease Purchasing Corporation. Mark serves as the Corporate Treasurer and Secretary of Corcentric, Inc. Mark is also responsible for all human resource, recruiting and Areas of Expertise personnel functions for a corporate staff of approximately 300 employees. Corcentric is a leader in cloud- Mark received his B.S. degree in Business Administration from John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio and his M.B.A. based financial process automa- degree from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of Illinois and is a tion solutions including accounts member of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the Illinois CPA Society, the Association for payable and accounts receivable, Corporate Growth, the Executive’s Club of Chicago and VISTAGE. Mark serves on the Decision Maker Panel of the Federal e-invoicing, credit and collections Reserve Bank of Atlanta and as an advisor on industry-related issues to a $17.5 billion hedge fund manager. management, working capital management, and business intelli- Mr. Joyce also serves on the Board of Directors of Giant Steps, an organization committed to providing individuals with gence. These solutions are delivered autism spectrum disorders, and their families, superior education and therapeutic services. Mr. Joyce has previously services through two products: CorConnect, on the Scholarship Award Committee of the Illinois CPA Society and the Board of Directors of Hearts for Hope at Advocate an accounts receivable platform; Hope Children’s Hospital. and COR360, an accounts payable platform. Firm Profile Corcentric, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AmeriQuest Business Services, LLC., provides cloud-based financial process automation solutions that have revolutionized how the world’s largest organizations manage and protect their financial assets. By connecting best practices with deep expertise, Corcentric’s Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable [email protected] automation solutions enable organizations to reduce costs, streamline processes, and provide unmatched visibility www.corcentric.com executives need to make critical business decisions.
www.finance-monthly.com 37 Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 USA
About Michael Hawkins On May 9, 2016, Mike Hawkins was appointed Michael Hawkins as the interim Chief Financial Officer of the Chief Financial Officer at MCIG Group Company. Mr. Hawkins has more than 20 years’ experience as a senior executive officer, where he recently served as the Chief Financial Officer of ICA Solutions, Inc. Firm Profile Mr. Hawkins has an extensive background in mCig Group is fully diversified across multiple areas of the marijuana modular and green building technology and industry from Construction, Cultivation, Production Packaging, Media and has served as an industry wide consultant in the Investments. building and cannabis industries. In addition, Mr. Hawkins has dealt with manufacturing, retail sales, worldwide distribution, and online mCig, Inc. has transitioned from a vaporizer manufacturer to industry leading internet commerce. These skill sets fit into large scale, full service cannabis cultivation construction company with the business expansion of the Company as its Grow Contractors division currently operating in the rapidly expanding it pursues various opportunities for growth in Nevada market. complimenting its current services. The company looks forward to growing its core competencies to service the ancillary legal Cannabis, Hemp and CBD markets, with broader expansion to take place once federal laws change. With over 100 years of experience combined between the key players and our grow contractors division, mCig, Inc. is proud to work with Cannabis Industry leaders and to provide broad and rounded solutions for consumer markets, legal growers and canna- businesses nationwide. An advanced social enterprise Our tech team comes with a proven track record and has developed over a dozen revolutionary social networking platforms for mCig Inc., utilizing a software as a service (SaaS) distribution model and targeting the growing medical and recreational cannabis markets. The platforms feature a full scale ad network, spread throughout an enterprise of intuitive systems, scalable for high traffic and utilize big data conversion for monetization and analytics.
MCig Inc.’s social enterprise features a useful and unified cross-channel platform comprised of numerous layers of subscriber functions and behaviors, an immersive experience extremely useful for networking and learning, a technically robust 420 cannabis jobs search system (420jobsearch. com), marijuana news media platform (weedistry.com) and integrates a commerce networking platform, strengthening reach and exposure throughout it’s various channels. The platforms feature a full scale, cross- channel, ad network, spread throughout an enterprise of intuitive systems, scalable for high traffic and utilize big data conversion for monetization and analytics. The app plans to create revenue through gamification, advanced functions, features and micro-transactions, along with ads and partnerships www.mciggroup.com with dispensaries.
38 www.finance-monthly.com Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 USA
Revenue & Business Model
CANNABIS GROW SOLUTIONS Sell equipment, supplies construction, consulting, maintenance
BIOTECH PRODUCTS, R&D Cannabis Grow Solutions Research, develop and manufacture biotech products and technologies Let us construct your concept! Whether you are entering into the
Cannabis Industry or are a veteran grower, our Grow Contractors are TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS & CONSULTING durable, sustainable, and customized to your needs. Using modular system Sell consulting, monetize on enterprise technology, we create a variety of environmental enclosures ranging from application, premium features, ads, payment basic temperature and humidity control to medical grade cleanroom system environments designed to produce consistent results during any stage of VITAMINS & ESSENTIAL OIL DIFFUSER cannabis cultivation. Our mission is to help our clients safeguard investments Develop, manufacture and distribute equipment, and find long-term success. This is why we take pride in our ISO compliant, refills, and supplies state of the art building components to be the base of your business. DISPENSARY SUPPLIES & DISTRIBUTION Manufacture, distribute and sell supplies to dispensaries
As marijuana advertising VAPORIZERS continues to be banned by Develop, manufacture and distribute equipment, refills, and supplies mainstream networks, we are
constantly looking for new ways MISSION to innovate on how to change the We don’t strive to follow best practices; we aspire to set them by building industry leading negative stigma and to find ways in companies that transform the perception of cannabis and responsibly elevate the consumer bringing it mainstream experience.
- Paul Rosenberg, CEO of mCig Inc. VISION Our goal is to establish the most valuable international cannabis community comprised of passionate, daring people, driven by quality and So Why Us? integrity, who are determined to write history, not We are a leading distributor of grow solutions and innovative consumer read about it. products for the global cannabis market. In this rapidly expanding industry, VALUES our passion for research and education drives us to incorporate compliant We never lose sight of our consumer’s trust as materials and current features in line with industry standards and regulations a measure of our success, building an iconic varying from state to state. Compared to traditional construction, we provide portfolio that offers the most enjoyable products a unique advantage by combining a wide range of interchangeable panels on the market while generating value for our shareholders. with our floor and ceiling systems, customizing configurations that efficiently and cost-effectively meet your needs. From draft to design, down to every detail, let us build your foundation to grow.
www.finance-monthly.com 39
Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 USA Renee Krug Chief Financial Officer at GlobalTranz
About Renee Krug Renee Krug is the CFO at GlobalTranz, a technology-driven third party logistics company specializing in less-than-truckload, full truckload, heavy haul projects, managed transportation, and expedited shipping services. Renee brings over 10+ years of executive leadership and 7+ years of transportation industry experience to the GlobalTranz team.
Within her role as CFO at GlobalTranz, she is responsible for mergers and acquisitions, financial reporting, banking and treasury, accounting, procurement, tax, and human resources. In addition to Areas of Expertise • Driving GlobalTranz’ financial plans these contributions, Renee provides strategic vision, champions process improvement initiatives, drives • Performing risk management by analyzing margin improvements, leads acquisition integrations, implements cost reduction initiatives and develops the organization’s liabilities and investments programs benefiting GlobalTranz’ employees, their families and the communities around them. • Deciding on investment strategies by considering cash and liquidity risks Before joining the GlobalTranz team in 2014, Renee was CFO and EVP of Clear Channel Outdoor • Controlling and evaluating the North America, where she was responsible for all reporting, budgets, capital, acquisitions, forecasting, organization’s fundraising plans and capital accounting, FP&A and procurement. structure • Ensuring cash flow is appropriate for the During her time at Clear Channel, Renee developed the company’s first 3-year strategic plan, which organization’s operations included OOH environment and market forecast, new product deployments and scenario analysis. • Supervising all finance and human resources personnel Prior to Clear Channel Outdoor, she was Vice President of Finance & Corporate Procurement at Swift • Managing vendor relationships Transportation. There, Renee was responsible for accounting, payroll, licensing, permits, procurement, • Preparation of all financial reporting and most notably, negotiated over $10 million in savings on non-tractor processes. • Overseeing the company’s finance IT system Renee is trained in Six Sigma and lean manufacturing and completed the Wharton CFO Leadership • Ensuring compliance in legal and company program at the University of Pennsylvania. policies
Renee earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and Finance from Indiana University and her In addition to these areas of expertise, Renee Executive MBA from Arizona State University. has also lead GlobalTranz in these specific efforts: Renee’s hobbies include hiking, cooking and travel. In her free time, you will most likely find Renee spending time with her husband and three children. Spearheading M&A analysis and due diligence: In the last six months alone, Renee has lead GlobalTranz to three major acquisitions; Milwaukee based Global Freight Firm Profile Source, Minneapolis based Logistics Planning GlobalTranz is a technology-driven third-party logistics company and ranked No. 13 Top Freight Brokerage Services and Richmond based Worthington Firm providers of transportation and logistics services by Transport Topics and was recently named a Top Logistics. In driving these acquisitions, Renee 10 3PL to Watch by Inbound Logistics. It serves more than 25,000 shippers, and operates a network of over established ABL to provide low cost debt for 1,100 employees and independent freight agents across the U.S. GlobalTranz.
Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, GlobalTranz has 5 additional offices located in Prescott Valley, AZ, Driving growth and profitability: Renee has Chicago, IL, Richmond, VA, Milwaukee, WI and Minneapolis, MN and 600 independent freight agents taken GlobalTranz to impressive record located across the US. revue growth and profitability posting an 84% increase in EBITDA for 2016 and a five-year GlobalTranz has developed market leading, proprietary technology to provide businesses visibility into CAGR of 32%. In an industry that saw negative their logistics network and manage their shipments throughout the supply chain. Shippers can connect trends for 2016, GlobalTranz experienced with carriers, get quotes, book shipments, manage loads, and improve overall operations utilizing data- double digit growth in both revenue and driven analytics in near real-time. shipment count and delivered significant GP improvement. The primary transportation and logistics services provided by GlobalTranz include Truckload, Less-Than- Truckload, Expedited, Heavy Haul Projects, Supply Chain Management and Managed Transportation Leading GlobalTranz culture: Renee led the solutions. implementation of self-insurance, a 401k company match program, and an on-site medical clinic and Teleadoc program for all Contact Details GlobalTranz employees. Renee Krug, Chief Financial Officer at GlobalTranz
Tel: 1-480-339-5383 | Email: [email protected] | Web: www.globaltranz.com
www.finance-monthly.com 41 Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 USA
Sara Kaur CFO for Finesse Solutions, Inc.
42 www.finance-monthly.com Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 USA
About Sara Kaur Sara Kaur was CFO for Finesse Solutions, Inc. until its acquisition by Thermo Fisher Scientific in 2017. As CFO, Sara was responsible for all financial matters of the business as well as partnering with other functional heads and providing both commercial and strategic support. Prior financial information for both management and external reporting. to joining Finesse in early 2015, Sara had held a number It is imperative that financial information is presented in a way that of senior global finance positions. Here she speaks to it is readily understandable to the reader, so that both external Finance Monthly about her career path, experiences and and internal stakeholders can make the correct assessment of achievements. the company’s finances. My experience from my previous roles has also proven to be most valuable in dealing with challenging business situations, both internally and externally.
You have been the CFO of Finesse Solutions for just over a year What was the most challenging period of your career and how did now. What have been/are your priorities since your appointment? you overcome it? How does this affect your current work as CFO?
Upon my return from Asia in early 2015, I was introduced to Finesse The most challenging period of my career were the moves I made Solutions. I was attracted to Finesse as its goal to lower the cost globally, firstly from the UK to the Silicon Valley, California in 2001. of biological drug products and to enable medicine to become In 2010 I moved to Boston, which was followed by a move to more readily available, especially in the third world counties. Singapore in 2012. I have since moved back to the Silicon Valley. Essentially, the company had a very humanitarian vision, while still In the various roles I held, I managed global teams and was faced enabling a profitable business. The company was experiencing with learning and understanding different cultures and individual rapid growth but was lacking in some of the financial disciplines, needs. so it was difficult to obtain accurate and meaningful financial information. My priorities were to take control over reporting and
to ensure that the company’s financial records were cleaned up.
I also had to take control over cash. Cash is always challenging for small companies that begin to experience rapid growth. Due to this growth, it became very important for senior management Cash is always challenging “ to build a strategy for raising cash to feed this growth. To this end, it was imperative to ensure that adequate internal controls were for small companies that begin to present over financial reporting, so that investors could rely on the “ information presented. experience rapid growth
What education or prior experience have helped you succeed at your current role?
I am a qualified accountant and was awarded a Fellowship by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants from London, In any role, teamwork is imperative and can make or break the and I am also a Certified Public Accountant with the California success of the leader. Staff are important and understanding your Board of Accountancy. Both of these qualifications coupled with staff needs and being able to address concerns in a timely manner holding a Masters in Accounting and Finance from the University is vital for a successful company. Otherwise, things fester and can of Central England have taught me the discipline in compiling become issues. Something that may not be an issue to you, could
www.finance-monthly.com 43 44 USA www.finance-monthly.com field ofworkforme. natural the was finance and accounting thus maths; enjoyed I as age young a at finance and accounting in interested became I finance? Howdoyouusethistomotivateothers? and accounting within operating about most you motivates What and meet to deadlines having thesupportofagoodsolidteamisutmostimportance. strict have always we accounting, In important. the extremely in is happening, changes are there things when especially bud, nip to able Being else. someone to issue big a be
Finance MonthlyCFO Awards 2017
utmzd ipoesn poet wih cetss s t grow to cells fordeveloping cancertherapeuticsand vaccines. use scientists which projects bioprocessing customized highly build to ability its is success Finesse’s for reasons many the of of world readily available, including to those in more the not so advanced societies. One become the can medicine that means in drug which of making cost the in processing reduction universal the enable of will This continuous bioprocessing. introduction the and in automation successful been has Finesse significant how influence model market andregionalchangesimpactitsbusiness? business Finesse’s does How in thecaseofalistedcompany. price stock the as such world outside the of perception the affect ultimately can which making, decision drives communicated and presented is information How world.” business the of language the is “accounting that stating professors accounting/finance earlier my of one recall I communicated. and presented is information how of importance the understands team my ensure to this used in a way that gives a clear and concise message, it is useless. I have with numerous spreadsheets, but unless this information is presented management and stakeholders. I have seen much data compiled to scenarios business difficult presenting of challenge the enjoy I “ Accounting isthelanguage of thebusinessworld “ Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 USA
In terms of market competition, where does the company stand Could you please add a few words regarding your award and what globally and what are its goals moving forward? it means for you to be recognized?
Like most small rapidly expanding companies, working capital I am most honoured to be recognised in Finance Monthly’s 2017 becomes a challenge and can often inhibit the growth. We were CFO Awards. The field of accounting and finance can at times be successful in the sale of Finesse Solutions to Thermo Fisher which has a thankless job. At the beginning, it requires hard work in terms of a market cap $68.9B. The acquisition was completed in February studying and obtaining the necessary qualifications. This is followed 2017. Since the acquisition, it has enabled Finesse to reach out often by hard work and long hours to meet the many deadlines to much larger global customer base. As working capital is no longer a challenge, Finesse now has the capability of delivering and requests, which also comes with additional tasks that need to to customer timelines, world-class bioprocessing equipment to be performed. customer specification. The company has grown 30% year-on- year for the last three years and will continue to do so. Thank you for the award, Finance Monthly!
Firm Profile California-based Finesse Solutions, Inc. has a proven record in providing turnkey, scalable solutions for single-use upstream bioprocessing and has begun innovating in solutions for downstream bioprocessing as well. The Finesse product platform includes state-of-the-art disposable sensors, modular automation hardware and intelligent software that can harmonize data and technology transfer globally. Finesse also offers a complete set of services, including commissioning and validation for rapid and reliable deployment of single-use equipment.
Better performance, integrated intelligence, and plug-and-play bioprocess flexibility are provided by Finesse SmartParts™. Their TruFluor® single-use sensors are unparalleled in the industry. The G3 Universal™ controllers enable sophisticated cell culture or fermentation recipes to run on any size or brand of vessel, while the TruBio® software provides an easy-to-use interface for upstream bioprocessing that can harmonize old and new equipment, aggregate in-line and off-line data, and electronically facilitate global technology transfer.
Finesse enables its clients to supercharge their R&D laboratory or scale-up to a cGMP SmartFactory with equal ease: the company offers complete services, including commissioning and validation.
www.finesse.com
www.finance-monthly.com 45
Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 USA
Steve G. Filton Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Universal Health Services, Inc.
Firm Profile One of the nation’s largest and most respected hospital companies, Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE: UHS) has built an impressive record of achievement and performance. Steadily growing from a startup to an esteemed, perennial Fortune 500 Contact Details corporation, UHS today has annual net revenue nearing $10 billion. In 2017, UHS was Roselle Charlier recognized among World’s Most Admired Companies by Fortune, ranked #276 on the Vice President, Public Relations and Fortune 500, and listed #275 in Forbes inaugural ranking of America’s Top 500 Public Corporate Communications Companies. UHS of Delaware, Inc., a subsidiary of Our operating philosophy is as effective today as it was 40 years ago: Build or acquire Universal Health Services high quality hospitals in growing markets, invest in the people and equipment needed 367 South Gulph Road to allow each facility to thrive, and become the leading healthcare provider in each King of Prussia, PA 19406 community we serve. Our more than 81,000 dedicated and talented employees touch the lives of more than 2.6 million patients each year. Office: (610) 382-4790 Cell: (484) 354-9205 Headquartered in King of Prussia, PA, UHS operates through its subsidiaries more than [email protected] 320 acute care hospitals, behavioral health facilities and ambulatory centers in the
United States, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom. Becky Williams About Steve Filton Media Supervisor UHS of Delaware, Inc. Steve Filton was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of a subsidiary of Universal Health Universal Health Services, Inc. in 2003. In this capacity, he serves as a Principal Financial Services, Inc. and Accounting Officer and Secretary to the Board. Mr. Filton additionally handles investor relations and is a frequent speaker at financial conferences. Office: 610-878-3983
During Mr. Filton’s tenure, the company has grown to nearly $11 billion in annual net [email protected] revenues with operations throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom. UHS has become one of the most respected hospital management companies in the world, a perennial member of the Fortune 500 and an employer awarded for providing highly meaningful jobs.
Mr. Filton joined the company in 1985 as Director of Corporate Accounting, and was promoted in 1991 to Vice President and Controller. He started his career at Arthur Andersen consulting.
Mr. Filton holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the American and Pennsylvania Institutes of Certified Public Accountants.
www.finance-monthly.com 47 Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 USA
Teresa Nilsen Executive Vice President, CFO and COO at Hennessy Advisors, Inc.
Firm Profile Hennessy Advisors, Inc. is a publicly traded investment manager that oversees, services and markets a broad range of mutual funds. The firm offers strategies that can play a role in nearly every investor’s portfolio, including traditional equity, specialty category and sector funds, as well as more conservative multi-asset products. Areas of Expertise Hennessy Advisors was founded in 1989, and in 1990 became an SEC-registered investment advisor and expanded from serving individual clients to managing open- • Asset Management end mutual funds. The firm launched its first fund in 1996 and became a public company • Mutual Funds in 2002 and is now traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol HNNA. Following eight successful, strategic acquisitions, today Hennessy Advisors • Mergers and Acquisitions manages approximately $6.5 billion in assets among 14 mutual funds. • Finance
Hennessy Advisors was founded on the principles of treating clients honestly and • General Business Management ethically, building strong partnerships and managing money for the sole benefit of shareholders, and those same principles guide the firm today. Hennessy remains committed to its consistent and repeatable investment process and to its unwavering dedication and superior service to shareholders. The firm strives to provide products Contact Details that investors can have confidence in, knowing their money is invested as promised, Kathryn Fahy with their best interest in mind. Director of Finance & Controller Hennessy Advisors, Inc. is headquartered in Novato, CA and maintains offices in Boston, MA and Chapel Hill, NC. Telephone: 800-966-4354
Email: [email protected] About Teresa Nilsen Website: www.hennessyadvisors.com Teresa (“Terry”) Nilsen began her career in the financial services industry in 1989 and has helped to build Hennessy Advisors from its inception, alongside founder Neil Hennessy. Today, Terry serves as the general business manager and financial officer, and she is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the firm. Terry serves as the Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of Hennessy Advisors, Inc., as well as serving as a director for Hennessy Advisors, Inc.
Terry was recognized nationally as one of the 2017 “Top Women in Asset Management” by Money Management Executive Magazine and locally as a 2017 “Women in Business Award” winner by the North Bay Business Journal.
Terry holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Davis.
48 www.finance-monthly.com Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017
Firm Profile
EXL (NASDAQ:EXLS) is a leading operations USA management and analytics company that designs and enables agile, customer-centric operating models to help clients improve their revenue growth and profitability. Our delivery model provides market-leading business outcomes using EXL’s proprietary Business EXLerator Framework®, cutting-edge analytics, digital transformation and domain expertise. At EXL, we look deeper to help companies improve global operations, enhance data- driven insights, increase customer satisfaction, Vishal Chhibbar and manage risk and compliance.
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer EXL’s Finance & Accounting practice helps CFOs shift from scorekeeper to value integrator EXL (NASDAQ:EXLS) and chief performance officer. EXL works with CFOs to make the finance function more efficient by managing operations and risk, About Vishal Chhibbar enhancing performance, leveraging predictive insights, reducing cost and increasing Vishal Chhibbar has 29 years of extensive experience working with blue chip automation. EXL’s finance and accounting companies in the areas of M&A, business & financial planning, strategy practice offers a full suite of F&A solutions to formulation and evaluation, joint venture management, SEC financial design, transform and manage operations. This accounting & reporting, procurement, treasury & risk management in diverse requires a targeted, industry-centric approach, markets and economic cycles. whether implementing global-delivery models, diagnosing CFO pain points to improve value Vishal currently serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer creation, redesigning and finance digitizing of EXL Service. Under Vishal’s leadership, EXL Service developed a disciplined processes, automating repetitive tasks, global financial strategy supported by best-in-class systems and procedures, and has led EXL Service transforming processes with proprietary and to significant growth in revenue, market cap and a strong balance sheet. In addition to the current partner-driven solutions, helping CFOs get the role, Vishal is also the head of Finance and Accounting business at EXL. most out of their data with analytics, creating shared services centers, optimizing ongoing Vishal joined EXL in 2009 and since then, EXL’s EBITDA has grown from $38 million to more than $119 million in 2016 and its market cap increased from 0.3 billion to $1.9billion today. SOX programs, filling much needed skills gaps or redesigning cost-allocation models. Under his leadership, EXL has done 11 strategic acquisitions for a total value of $290 million. These Founded on Big 4 experience and degreed, acquisitions contribute around ~35% of targeted annual growth and are key contributor to growth certified finance and accounting professionals, strategy. EXL’s F&A practice now includes more than 7,500 associates. EXL’s Finance & Accounting During his tenure at EXL, Vishal played a catalytic role in key investment decisions to drive business practice has been positioned as a leader by objectives and build capability for the organization to stay ahead of the curve. several analyst firms, including Gartner, IDC and HfS Research. EXL’s analytics practice has Under his stewardship and continuous focus on corporate governance and reliability of the also been recognized as leader by multiple information, EXL has earned the trust of investors and the market for the financial integrity of research firms, including the Everest Group, HfS company’s performance. EXL was recognized as one of “The 100 Most Trustworthy Companies in Research and IDC. The company as a whole America” for the year 2014, 2015 and 2017 by Forbes. was included in the 2015 Forbes list of the 100 most trustworthy companies in America. EXL has a strong investor base with more than 90% of our shares owned by marquee institutional investors such as Fidelity, Wellington, Invesco and Aberdeen. Dedicated to the pursuit of being a responsible corporate citizen, EXL is committed to finding Apart from this, Vishal works with NASSCOM, AMCHAM and other industry to contribute and influence meaningful ways to help the communities in policy making. He works with his peer group to share best practices and industry updates. which it operates and serves. These include education initiatives that include funding Before joining EXL, Vishal was with GE Capital for over 10 years. His senior leadership roles included schools and scholarships, as well as purchasing Regional Head of Group Financial Planning for Strategy and Treasury, GE Capital, Australia and New clothing, computers, food and other materials Zealand, and Chief Financial Officer in South Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia. Prior to this, Vishal spent in all our locations. EXL also supports recycling the earlier part of his career at American Express Bank as well as Xerox in India. initiatives and has managed programs including disaster relief efforts. Vishal is a Chartered Accountant and an Associate Member of Certified Practicing Accountant (CPA) Australia and Six Sigma Black Belt Certified. EXL serves the insurance, healthcare, banking and financial services, utilities, travel, transportation and logistics industries. Contact Details Headquartered in New York, New York, EXL has EXL Service approximately 26,000 professionals in locations 280 Park Avenue, 38th Floor, NY 10017 throughout the United States, Europe, Asia Contact Number: +16465250497 (primarily India and Philippines), Latin America, Website: www.exlservice.com Australia and South Africa.
www.finance-monthly.com 49
54 INDIA www.finance-monthly.com times. TheCompanygotlistedontheIndianstockexchanges7thNov,2016. the largest IPO by a HFC in India and the second largest IPO in 2016, which was oversubscribed by over 20 was This 2016. in Offer Public Initial through Company the crorefor 3,000 INR raising in instrumental was He CostofBorrowing etc. various analyticalreports suchasCashFlow,Yield, vstheestimatesplannedandadviceonoperationalimprovement through of analysis performance Company actual the monitoring debt, and financial equity through accurate raising and fund management, proper treasury ensuring records, from varies that responsibilities of range wide a encompasses currentroleHis Compliance. Regulatory Control& Fraud and Governance IT Planning, Corporate Raising, Fund Treasury, Auditing, & Accounting of areas in experience with professional finance seasoned a is He Jayesh hadspent14yearswithGruhfinance. Finance, housing PNB joining to Prior 2014. in CFO a as India, in Company finance housing largest 5th Ltd, (CISM). With over 17 years of experience in the Housing Finance Sector, Jayesh joined PNB Housing Finance from ISACA, USA on Certified Information System Auditor (CISA) and Certified Information Systems Manager certifications holds also and India, in Accountants Chartered of Institute the of member fellow a is Jayesh About Jayesh Jain CFO ofPNBHousingFinanceLimited Jayesh Jain Company isheadquartered atNewDelhiwithbranchesinmajorcitiesacross India. The Country. the in Bank Sector Public largest second the Bank, National Punjab of parentage strong of benefit the enjoys also Company The respectively. 8.55% and lowest 0.22% at the Borrowing of of Cost NPAone and Gross had It crores. 41,492 INR of AUM an had 2017, March, 31st of as Housing, PNB model. largestby second the and Asset Loan by being thefastestgrowingin India,whilealso deposits operating with aHubandSpoketarget HFCinIndia Company finance housing largest fifth the is Company The PNB Housing Finance Limited is a registered Housing Finance Company with National Housing Bank (NHB). Firm Profile Finance MonthlyCFO Awards 2017 ● ● ● ● ● Areas ofExpertise Email: [email protected] Contact Details
Fund Raising Treasury Planning Data Analytics Accounting Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 UAE
About Ramiz Hasan Mr Hasan is a Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer, Director and member of the Executive Committee of Samena Ramiz Hasan Capital. He is also the Senior Executive Officer of Samena Capital Investments Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer of Limited in Dubai. Samena Capital He is a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of RAK Logistics and a member of the Firm Profile Investment Committee of the Samena Samena Capital is a principal investment group focusing on the Subcontinent, Asia, Special Situations Funds. Middle East and North Africa (collectively, the SAMENA region). The firm has raised more than US$1.5 billion of capital since 2008 and has returned US$615 million to investors He has 27 years of financial investment from over 45 full and partial exits. Samena Capital currently manages total capital of experience with a particular focus approximately US$1.0 billion across three primary investment strategies: private equity, on Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Prior to direct investments, and credit. establishing Samena Capital, he founded Invicta Investment Management. Prior to Investment Philosophy setting up Invicta he was the Japanese Samena Capital’s distinctive model brings together entrepreneurs and business leaders portfolio manager at Hermes Pension Fund (London) managing in excess of from different industries across the SAMENA region as shareholder-investors. US$1 billion. Prior to this he spent 4½ years at Orbis (a US$19 billion hedge fund) as These shareholder-investors are actively involved in originating investment ideas, head of Japanese equities research. supporting portfolio companies, sharing insights on markets and sectors and exploring possibilities for increasing business collaboration. He is a Chartered Accountant (England and Wales) and a Chartered Financial The investment team uses these partnerships to gain an edge in a region that is largely Analyst (AIMR). Mr Hasan was educated opaque and where relationships play an important role. Our unique network helps us at Eton College and has a BSc degree in source proprietary transactions, gain valuable insights into particular markets and industry Monetary Economics from the London sectors, and provide strategic and operational value-added to our portfolio companies. School of Economics.
Why SAMENA The SAMENA region has been one of the fastest growing regions of the world, achieving Contact Details robust growth over the last few years. The combined SAMENA GDP of US$8.3 trillion in www.samenacapital.com 2012 is expected to reach US$12.3 to US$12.8 trillion by 2022-23 (Source: Frost & Sullivan, August 2013).
The fundamental drivers of this growth remain: a) favourable demographics with young, increasingly educated and highly aspirational populations, especially in South Asia and MENA; b) economic reforms in multiple countries across the region driven by political pressure to create jobs and more inclusive and equal societies; c) huge infrastructure spending planned across MENA and parts of Asia. In addition, there are a growing number of strong, well run and innovative companies lead by world class entrepreneurs in the SAMENA region. With valuations below long-term historical averages, a relative scarcity of risk capital, and businesses and entrepreneurs who have matured in their approach to investors, this may be amongst the best periods for deploying long-term capital in the SAMENA region.
www.finance-monthly.com 55
Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017 AUSTRALIA Firm Profile Yancoal Australia (ASX: YAL) is Australia’s largest pure-play coal producer with 3.2 billion tonnes of resources and 942 million tonnes of coal reserves. Yancoal boasts three tier-one thermal coal mines, Dr. Lei Zhang together with interests in three other metallurgical and thermal coal mines located across Australia. CFO of Yancoal Australia Yancoal also manages five other Australian coal mines on behalf of related parties.
Yancoal has become a major Australian coal About Dr. Lei Zhang producer through both organic growth and Dr Zhang was appointed as Chief Financial a series of corporate acquisitions. Yancoal Officer of Yancoal Australia since 2014. Aside principally produces metallurgical and thermal from his daily role, he has also been project lead coal for export use in the steel and power on the company’s corporate transactions and industries in Asian markets. Yancoal currently acquisitions. Dr Zhang led the US$2.69 billion employs approximately 5,500 people across its acquisition of the Coal and Allied group from operations. At Yancoal, the Company invests in Rio Tinto, public rights issue of US$2.5 billion, its people, focusing on developing management establishment of the Hunter Valley joint venture and leadership talent throughout all operations. with Glencore, and US$775 million Asset Backed The Company is committed to Australia, the Securities with off-balance sheet financing. communities in which it operates, its employees, shareholders and the environment. Prior to joining Yancoal Australia, Dr Zhang has worked around the world, including CFO of In 2017, Yancoal completed the acquisition of Siemens North East Asia Real Estate, CFO and the Coal and Allied group from Rio Tinto, with the Managing Director at Chinalco Mining Corporation International (HKEX: 3668). He has capital and debt restructure. Alongside these held senior roles within ING Bank, Shell, and SK (Korea), which spanned the United States, main transactions, Yancoal also established a Germany, Peru and Australia. Dr Zhang has broad experience in the manufacturing, real joint venture in relation to Hunter Valley Operations estate, energy and mining sectors and has been in the leadership teams of Hong Kong and with Glencore Coal. As a result of this transaction, Australian listed companies for almost 10 years, including CFO positions at listed companies Yancoal has transformed into a company that on the HKEX and ASX, managing director at Corporate Funds, as well as M&A and IPO ranks as the largest pure-play coal producer and project leads, such as Peru Toromocho Copper IPO at HKEX in 2012, SK CO-GP PE Fund with the third largest mining company in Australia, with Fosun in 2013. an increased market equity from AU$200 million to AU$6 billion. The acquisition ranks the largest Dr Zhang received his PHD of Economics from China Academy of Social Science Institute in size among Chinese companies’ acquisitions and MBA from Peking University. He is a qualified accountant of USA Utah, China Inter-bank in Australia since 2014 and the second largest Market Dealer and China Bond Market Trader. He is a committee member of the China SOE M&A transaction in size in the Australian market Youth Association 3rd Committee and has been recognised on the M&A Gentlemen list by in 2017. The US$2.5 billion equity issue ranks the CFO Magazine. Dr Zhang has taken an active role in corporate finance analysis; he was highest in value among ASX listed issuances with the editor of the China Finance Company magazine from 1998 to 2006, has published many Chinese shareholders, and the highest in value in academic papers and has authored a book “Effect and Determinant Factors of FDI in the ASX market’s equity issuance since 2016. China Manufacturing Industry” and co-authored “China Finance Company”. Furthermore, Yancoal Australia’s earnings As part of his active role in the finance, mining and Australian/Chinese relations areas, Dr capacity, balance sheet and market liquidity Zhang presented at the Australian Coal Conference and Chinese Chamber of Commerce notably improves, providing significant value for Australia, lectured at EMBA course at the University of Sydney and at the Chinese Academy shareholders. of Governance, as well as continuously engaging with industry and the academic world.
Contact Details Dr. Lei Zhang - Chief Financial Officer www.yancoal.com.au
60 www.finance-monthly.com Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2017
CFO AWA R DS 2017
www.finance-monthly.com