Merlin Volkwyn

Chief Executive Officer at Tradewinds Parasol (Pty) Ltd
  • Claim this Profile
Contact Information
us****@****om
(386) 825-5501
Location
City of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa, ZA
Skills

Topline Score

Topline score feature will be out soon.

Bio

Generated by
Topline AI

You need to have a working account to view this content.
Join now
You need to have a working account to view this content.
Join now

Credentials

  • Professional Accountant (SA)
    SAIPA - South African Institute of Professional Accountants
    Jun, 2019
    - Nov, 2024

Experience

  • Tradewinds Parasol (Pty) Ltd
    • South Africa
    • Transportation, Logistics, Supply Chain and Storage
    • 1 - 100 Employee
    • Chief Executive Officer
      • Oct 2020 - Present

      • Full profit and loss responsibility and accountability• Developing and executing business plans and strategies• Budget preparation and cost management• Cashflow management• Oversight of finance, operations, commercial, logistics and human resource functions.• Driving team performance to meet and exceed KPA's• Monthly business performance reporting• Quarterly reporting to Board of Directors• Dealing with Union (SACTWU)• Formulation and Implementation of business BBBEE strategy Show less

    • Chief Financial Officer
      • Oct 2019 - Sep 2020

      • Performance of full financial function• Preparation of annual financial statements• Preparation and analysis of monthly management accounts• Company Tax compliance – Company, VAT & Employees tax• Annual budgeting process and preparation.• Oversight of Debtors, Creditors and Inventory functions• Oversee annual external audit • Internal controls and processes- evaluation, improvement and drafting of new• Application for Grants and support programs from Government

  • Melecon Ventures (Pty) Ltd
    • Cape Town Area, South Africa
    • Managing Director
      • Jun 2017 - Sep 2019

      • Providing business and financial consulting services • Providing business partnering services to entrepreneurs and SMME’s • Strategy development and performance improvement • Performance of full financial function including financial statements • Preparation of business plans • Evaluation of business ideas and proposals • Assistance with sourcing of funding and funding applications • Evaluation of business systems, processes and internal controls • Business and soft skills coaching Show less

  • Cargill
    • United States
    • Food and Beverage Manufacturing
    • 700 & Above Employee
    • Managing Director and General Manager
      • 2012 - 2016

      • Full profit and loss responsibility and accountability• Developing and executing business plans and strategies• Budget preparation and cost management• Capital investment management –budgets, project plans, and management• Oversight of finance, commercial, logistics, operations, quality, and human resource functions.• Driving team performance to meet and exceed KPA's• Sales strategy development with sales manager • Operational effectiveness with operations manager• Overseeing implementation and maintenance of company EHS, quality and food safety standards.• Overseeing of on-site Human Resource matters, with off-site support from head office.• Talent management through career development plans, coaching and training.• Driving the employee engagement programs• Formulating and executing BBBEE strategy• Commodity purchasing decisions, fixing futures, premiums and Forex along with trader• Managing and reporting trading position and exposure along with trader• Monthly performance reporting and presentation• Contract and pricing negotiations with top customers• Building relationships with stakeholders - industry players, customers, suppliers and employees• Champion the company brand, ethics and standardsACHIEVEMENTS• Successful Integration and change management of newly acquired sugar business into the formal corporate structures in record time of 18 months. • Implemented world class food safety system moving from audit score of 34% to 78% within 6 months with blue chip customer, Heinz.• Successful implementation of workplace safety culture achieving 36 consecutive months reportable injury free, and receiving Africa Safety Award from the Business Unit. Show less

    • Regional Controller / Director
      • 2009 - 2012

      • Responsibility for Sub-Saharan Africa (South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi & Tanzania). Fiduciary Role• Compliance with local IFRS and US GAAP across all countries in the region• Ensuring financial policies, rules and standards implemented and maintained• Compliance to all country-specific legal, statutory and tax requirements.• Funding management - ensuring adequate facilities were in place, managing within limits and cashflow forecasting• Foreign exchange risk management - monitoring of forex exposures and ensuring management within limits Business Partnering and Strategic Management• Input in business strategy, risk assessment and decision making at regional level• Participate in formulation and implementation of Africa business plan and strategy• Financial analysis at regional level People leadership and Talent management :• Setting and monitoring KPA's and driving team performance • Recruitment and succession planning• Co-ordinating development and training of finance teams ACHIEVEMENTS• Key role player in the proposal and implementation of business restructure for Zimbabwe operation resulting in P&L turnaround of $10mm and increased utilization of assets by 42% in Y1. Achieved cost savings and improved profitability through lower cost structures and greater efficiency.• Managed liquidation of Cargill Malawi, working with local team to cover all legal, tax, statutory and liquidation processes to comply with country laws. Coordinated with Cargill Legal, Tax and Corporate Reporting departments to ensure compliance with corporate policies. Worked with country Government and Revenue Authorities as well as Lawyers and Auditors. Show less

    • Financial Controller
      • 2007 - 2009

      I served as Head of Finance and second in charge to the Managing Director/General Manager. • Bringing financial and control perspective to all business activities, and participating actively in decision making• Performing monthly financial reporting and preparing annual financial statements• Preparing monthly management accounts and analysis• Coordinating annual budgeting process and participating in business plan preparation.• Drafting policies for key business processes and implementing internal controls.• Preparation of product costing for use in pricing decisions by sales team.• Managing finance department including goal setting and performance, engagement and recruitmentACHIEVEMENTS• Introduced actual vs budget analysis and profitability analysis per customer per product. This enabled us to identify where we were making and losing money on specific products, customers and cost centres and ultimately resulted in better decision making contributing to improved profitability. Show less

  • Pioneer Foods
    • Food and Beverage Services
    • 700 & Above Employee
    • Financial Accountant & Plant Accountant
      • 2003 - 2007

      • Performing monthly profit and loss reporting• Managing a team of 32 clerks & support staff• Overseeing of Debtors and Creditors departments• Assisted with annual budgets• Ensuring compliance to internal controls and procedures• Responsible for Inventory management including stock takes, valuation and waste calculation• Payment of inter-company creditors• Release of customer credits & purchase orders• Completion of monthly VAT returnsACHIEVEMENTS• Implemented strict inventory control processes to limit inventory losses eg. Daily cycle counts, store layouts, education of control clerks, additional internal controls. This contributed to reducing monthly stock differences from hundreds of thousands to a few thousand Rand• Devised monthly waste calculation which was adopted as standard for the company. • Developed a strong team through training and coaching and insisting on high standards Show less

    • Assistant Accountant
      • 1998 - 2003

      Responsible for the accounting and management of the administration of the Chicken Farms and Hatcheries. Main responsibilities included:• Performing monthly financial reporting• Preparation and analysis of monthly management accounts• Monthly discussion of results and variance report with farm managers• Assisted with annual budgeting• Product costing on complex live cycle value chain• Overseeing and co-ordinating the admin function on farms• Training of farm admin staff• Process improvement of recording and flow of information to head office• Assisting financial manager with business plan preparation for farm privatisation projectsACHIEVEMENTS• Developed and successfully implemented a complex product costing model which shortened drastically the time taken for assessing the impact of pricing changes to key cost components in the value chain. It also led to greater accuracy in budget preparation, and forecasting for the farming units. Show less

Education

  • Henley Business School
    Master of Business Administration - MBA
    2021 - 2024
  • SAIPA - South African Institute of Professional Accountants
    Professional Accountant (SA) - NQF level 8
  • USB
    Management Development Program, General Management, Operations, Finance & People Management
  • University of the Western Cape/Universiteit van Wes-Kaapland
    Bachelor's degree, Finance and Business

Community

You need to have a working account to view this content. Click here to join now