Experience

Midal Cables

• Bahrain
• Appliances, Electrical, and Electronics Manufacturing
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Independent Financial Advisor

  • Mar 2018 - Present

  Midal Cables, Ltd. engages in developing, manufacturing, and exporting aluminum and aluminum alloy rods, overhead conductors, wires, and conform extrusion products in the Middle East and internationally. Since its humble beginning in 1977, the company has developed into a significant player in the Alumimium and Electrical Transmission Industry in Kingdom of Bahrain. Its growth has contributed to the industrialization of Bahrain and Gulf countries while promoting a national skilled workforce within the company. My brief is to be an independent financial advisor to the CEO and the Board, provide financial planning, group treasury management control and functions including cash & liquidity management, manage banking relationships to Midal and its group of subsidiaries, advise on risk management and mitigation and bring about a transformation in the areas of cost and management accounting, MIS reporting, policies and procedures, reorganize finance functions to optimize output and match skills to job profiles. The job requires active listening, critical thinking and effective communication to be able to influence all stake holders to put plans into action.



Gulf Aluminium Rolling Mill B.S.C. (c) - GARMCO

• Bahrain
• Mining
• 200 - 300 Employee

• GM Finance (CFO)

  • May 2015 - Oct 2017

  Bahrain-based Gulf Aluminum Rolling Mill, one of the largest downstream Aluminium facilities in the Middle East employing 750 people with an annual production capacity of 165,000 tonnes and products exported to 45 countries. Overall responsibility for Group Finance, ICT and Purchasing. Subsidiaries in North America, Asia Pacific and Europe. Leading a team of 65 staff. Major focus on strategy formulation and execution, management of company assets, and optimize returns to shareholders. Serve as a trusted adviser to the CEO and Board of Directors. Major Achievements:  Bank credit lines maintained under some very tough business conditions. Built strong relationships with a suite of local and international banks.  Successfully negotiated borrowing rates with banks at an average of 2.36% over Libor when the average lending rates around were 4%over Libor. Annually savings of $3M+ on a loan portfolio of $200M. Two IRS swap deals at highly competitive fixed rates negotiated to cushion from rising Libor rates.  Successfully negotiated a US $55M clean credit line for a green field start-up Remelt facility at highly competitive lending rates.  Substantial improvements in business process engineering leading to well defined MIS reporting covering all aspects of operations, safety, finance, sales and marketing, working capital management, liquidity and risk management. Board reporting now takes place by work day 11 of each month.  Successfully delivered a 5 year strategic plan which formed the basis of the turnaround plan for the company.  Oversee liquidation 6 non-performing subsidiaries in Korea, and Far East.  Helped reduce stock and stores inventory by $2M by focusing on inventory management, re-order points, extended payment terms and introducing consignment stocks with vendor. Effective working capital management Overall reduction in working capital by ~$32M from 2013 levels



Sika

• Switzerland
• Chemical Manufacturing
• 700 & Above Employee

• Regional Controller Sika IMEA (India, Middle East & Africa)

  • Aug 2009 - Feb 2014

  Sika IMEA: Head of Finance, Controlling & IT Aug 2009 – Feb 2014 (Sika AG, located in Baar, Switzerland, is a globally active specialty chemicals company. Sika supplies the building and construction industry as well as manufacturing industries (automotive, bus, truck, rail, alternative energies, building components). Worldwide local presence in 76 countries and some 16,400 employees Sika generates annual sales of CHF 5.2 billion.) Employment Brief: Reporting to the Head of Group Controlling in Baar, Switzerland and to the Regional President, IMEA, I was responsible for the complete financial health of all 17 operating entities. My duties include, but are not limited to, all financial reporting functions for the IMEA region. These functions include financial reporting, tax planning and investment analysis activities. I partnered with Regional and Corporate Operations in capital investment analysis, project evaluation and feasibilities studies. Recently in February 2012, I was entrusted with an additional role of Regional Head of IT. Major Achievements: • Successfully saw the start-up of 6 new legal entities in East Africa, UAE, Near East and Pakistan, Oman and Qatar. This involved complete and comprehensive market analysis, forecasting of net sales and profitability, and projections of key metrics such as ROI, ROCE, NWC optimization, debt: equity ratios, EVA analysis. • Capital Evaluation of 6 new projects (manufacturing plants) in South Africa, East Africa, India and UAE. • Financial modeling using DCF method of 4 prospective M&A targets in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and India. • Complex legal restructure of all GCC companies involving Joint Venture partners. This process involved intense legal formalities regarding sale and transfer of shares, dividend distributions, equity contributions, debt ratios, setting up of separate off shore Holding Company, due diligence process on nominee partner firms. 



ALAM STEEL

• United Arab Emirates
• Fabricated Metal Products
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Chief Financial Officer

  • Sep 2008 - Feb 2009

  (The Alam Group was founded in Dubai in 1979 and has offices in Dubai, Jebel Ali Free Zone and Abu Dhabi. It is a building material manufacturing and distribution group supplying steel, cement and timber to the construction, engineering, and fabrication industries in the Middle East. With annual turn over in excess of AED 2.0 Billion, its rebar processing plant is the largest of its kind in the Middle East with an annual capacity of 300,000 MT per annuam. The company employs over 300 employees and services a range of markets including construction, engineering procurement construction (EPC), oil and gas, and fabrication firms.) Employment Brief: Reporting directly to the CEO and Chairman, I provide operational and strategic business services and advice to executive management team and Board. Leading a team of talented staff in the continuous development of divisional functions, I am charged with identifying, advocating and implementing process and system improvements. As the CFO for the Alam Group, I oversee the day-to-day management of Finance, IT and accounting activities. Critical focus on Treasury and cash flow management I spend a good deal of my time on banking related matters and keeping a close watch on funding activities and capital investment activities of the group. I have in a short span of time with this company prepared and presented several proposal papers on debt restructuring in excess of AED 1 Billion with some of the leading international and local banks in Dubai and have been summarily commended for my efforts. Almost all of the debt restructuring plans initiated and discussed with senior banking executives are now in place.



Arrium

• Australia
• Mining
• 400 - 500 Employee

• National Business Support Manager

  • Jun 2004 - Sep 2008

  Major Achievements: • Appointed as Business Lead for the FI and CO-PC module to act as a conduit between external consultants and key business users. Instrumental in designing the costing and Production Planning modules and reporting for the divisional business. • Championed workshops at a national level designed to streamline business processes and bring about simplification by adopting standardized work practices across states. Designed and work shopped business cases in order to formulate strategic business process improvements at a national level. • Ensure write up of relevant SAP training documentation to facilitate classroom and on the job training of staff. Facilitated and coordinated relevant and timely training on cross-functional modules to all staff in their relevant modules. • Key business partner within the Victorian and South Australian business units with a specific mandate to establish a robust structure of financial controls and reporting systems. Hands on responsibility for management reporting and financial evaluations on potential investments. A key component of the commercial work relates to overseeing the financial outcomes of business decisions and steering management in areas of self-improvement and providing recommendations in struggle areas.



Smorgon Steel

• Mining
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Financial Controller

  • Feb 2002 - May 2004

  (Smorgon Steel Group Ltd is a Melbourne-based, ASX listed, producer of steel and supplier of steel products with a revenue base of $4 billion it employs over 5000 employees. The Sheet, Coil & Aluminium Division employs over 312 people and has an annual turnover of $500 Million Australian Dollars) Major Achievements: • Financial and Management reporting with a focus on budgeting, forecasting and cash flow management. • Providing recommendations and strategic advice to improve overall business performance. • Preparation of Board Reports and addressing financial issues with divisional GM. • Key business advisor to management on the financial health of the business and setting recommendation for improving business processes, internal controls, cost management, capital projects and annual budgets. • Key business lead for SAP R3 systems effectiveness. Support user queries, provide on-the-job training to staff and management, facilitate cross-functional training, and improve systems proficiency across the rank and file. • Identified key business drivers in order to influence change.



Toyota Motor Corporation Australia

• Australia
• Motor Vehicle Manufacturing
• 700 & Above Employee

• Manager Finance

  • Feb 1989 - Nov 2001

  Project Management Jan 1999 to Nov 2001 Project: Change of Fiscal Year and early reporting of year-end Financial Results to TMC Japan. Project Goals: Change of Fiscal Year from January-December to April-March effective March 2002. This change in year-end reporting was to facilitate global reporting on the New York Stock Exchange. This also meant that Toyota Australia results were to be reported to Toyota Motor Corporation Japan within 15 calendar days effective April 2002. Major Achievements: • Process mapped all operational tasks, establish bottlenecks, identify gaps and retrained staff in SAP FI \ CO modules. • Streamlined reporting to Executive Board Members. • Introduced stringent cut-off times for close of accounts. • Introduced cyclical audit reviews from external auditors to shorten year-end audit process. Project: Acquisition of Daihatsu Motor Corporation Australia. Project Goal: Successfully integrated the accounting and general ledger system of Daihatsu Motor Corporation into TMCA utilizing SAP R3. Major Achievements: • Understand the accounting and General Ledger processes at Daihatsu. • Conversion of Balance Sheet accounts and all subsidiary ledger accounts i.e. Receivables, Payables, Fixed Assets and Inventory. • Handle redundancies and payouts where appropriate. Project: SAP R3 BUSINESS SYSTEMS INTEGRATION Major Achievements: • Successfully achieved focus testing, integration testing, and stress testing of the FI / CO modules • Achieved level of Power User for the General Ledger area and key Trainer for the roll out of the system to 300 end users within Finance and other divisions of the company. • Nominated as the Master Data Owner for the FI / CO modules and cross-functional team nominee for the SD, MM, AP AR, FI-CO, FA modules. • Assessing Organizational Impact and Change Management • Appointed as Implementation Manager on the GST Project from an FI-GL perspective.



Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd.

• India
• Manufacturing
• 700 & Above Employee

• Internal Audit

  • Feb 1983 - Aug 1988

  The role existed to provide a full range of financial, compliance, and operational audits, business advisory and consultation services, investigations, internal control structures, accountability, and use of resources. Work performed within internal audit policies of the company with wide latitude for the exercise of independent judgment and subject to periodic review on the basis of results achieved. The incumbent was under the general direction of the Chief Internal Auditor. The role existed to provide a full range of financial, compliance, and operational audits, business advisory and consultation services, investigations, internal control structures, accountability, and use of resources. Work performed within internal audit policies of the company with wide latitude for the exercise of independent judgment and subject to periodic review on the basis of results achieved. The incumbent was under the general direction of the Chief Internal Auditor.