Experience

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  Berlin Packaging

  • Greater Chicago Area

  • Chief Financial Officer

    • Oct 2016 - Sep 2019
    • Greater Chicago Area

    As CFO of Berlin Packaging ($1.5B supplier of rigid packaging to diverse end-markets globally, and sponsored by Oak Hill Capital Partners and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board) from 2016 to 2019, played a lead role in: (i) expanding Berlin’s global footprint; (ii) capitalizing on favorable credit markets; (iii) guiding Berlin successfully during the enactment of comprehensive US tax reform and global trade tariffs; and (iv) the ultimate successful exit of the investment in December 2018.

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  Regis Corporation (NYSE: RGS)

  • Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

  • Chief Financial Officer

    • Dec 2012 - Sep 2016
    • Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

    At Regis Corporation (publicly traded owner, operator and franchisor of over 10,000 hair salons in North America and Europe, with $2.8B of system-wide sales), was recruited in 2012 as CFO by activist investors to strengthen Regis’ foundation for a turnaround and to restore investor confidence. Was instrumental in: (i) fortifying Regis’ balance sheet, thereby providing time and flexibility to develop and execute a turnaround plan (ii) restructuring the business to drive significant cost savings and improve operating cash flow; (iii) implementing a capital allocation strategy; and (iv) developing a strategy to transition 7,000 company-owned salons to a capital light franchised model.

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  Unilever (formerly Alberto Culver)

  • Greater Chicago Area

  • Vice President, Finance, Transition Integration

    • Jul 2011 - May 2012
    • Greater Chicago Area

    Retained post acquisition to represent Finance on cross functional, global Integration and Transition Project Management team. Role encompassed organizational planning, seamless global business and systems integration and divestiture of non-core Alberto Culver brands and businesses.

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  Alberto Culver

  • Vice President Finance & Corporate Controller

    • Jan 2010 - Jun 2011

    Responsible for external reporting (including SEC), Accounting (including global consolidation, month, quarter and annual closes), Financial Planning, Reporting & Analysis (including Long-term Strategic Planning) Internal Compliance (including global Sarbanes Oxley), Financial Systems and IT Finance. Also leads Global Operations Finance (includes all aspects of manufacturing & supply chain finance) & Global Marketing Finance (includes all aspects of advertising & marketing) activities.

  • Vice President, Commercial & Operational Finance, Americas & Asia Pacific Africa

    • 2007 - 2010

    Responsible for business strategy and performance, business planning, accounting, reporting and internal control, reporting directly to the Corporate CFO, US and International Presidents. Participated in numerous strategic initiatives focused on growth, M&A, operational excellence and cost optimization.

  • VP Finance, US Branded Beauty, Global Consolidation, Planning & Reporting

    • 2005 - 2007

    Responsible for business performance, financial accounting, reporting, budgeting and planning, and internal control for TRESemme, Nexxus, St. Ives, VO5, FDS & Consort. Also led month, quarter and annual global consolidation and reporting of actual results and forecasts directly reporting to the SVP, Finance and the SVP, US.

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  Venture Capital | Private Equity Sponsored Portfolio Companies

  • Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

    • 1995 - 2005

    CFO for a number of food businesses in consumer goods capitalized by venture capital investors and financial institutions, as follows:> Forkless Gourmet, Inc. (sponsored by Austin Ventures)> Boca Burger, Inc. (sponsored by Austin Ventures)> Favorite Brands International, Inc. (sponsored by Texas Pacific Group and Interwest Partners)

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  Continental Grain Company

  • Division Controller

    • 1993 - 1995

    Led financial planning, accounting, reporting and analysis for $200MM livestock division undergoing considerable growth and restructuring. Responsibilities included development of IT infrastructure platform.

  • Assistant Corporate Controller

    • 1991 - 1993

    Managed consolidation of results for 100+ domestic & international subsidiaries. Oversaw preparation of management & GAAP financial statements, disclosures & analysis. Prepared quarterly board presentations.

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  Deloitte & Touche

  • Manager, Audit

    • 1984 - 1991

    Planned and supervised SEC & non-SEC audit engagements ranging in size from $25 million to $20 billion. Managed a wide range of professional services with emphasis on:> Audit & Attest Services> Mergers & Acquisitions> Employee Benefit Plans