Companies I Have Worked With.

Sharing skills & experience I bring to my Business Advisory and Coaching Business.

Companies I worked with during corporate career, responsibilities & achievements:

Harvey Norman – Director/Franchisee of their Kitchen and Bathroom Renovations Business:

• Responsible for marketing, sales, finance, HR, IT and operations functions.
• Mentored team of 12 highly experienced and talented salespeople.
• Specified and implemented a new customised kitchen and bathroom bill-of-materials and project costing system that provided accurate project profitability statistics, and ease of use for sales team. Achieved 20% increase in profit margins in following 12 months.

 Caesarstone – General Manager, Queensland

• Established State Operations for this National Company, at that time part of the Harvey Norman Group.
• Set up State warehouse/showroom, implemented Operational and Financial Systems, recruited a high-quality sales-team, provided mentoring and sales training and as a result, achieved profitability within 12 months.
• Personally established close business relationships with the owners or management of all our key customers.
• By January 2007 sales, on a population basis, Queensland was equal to Sydney and Melbourne, which had been operating for 5 and 3 1/2 years respectively, before we opened in Queensland

 Australian Kitchen Industries (AKI) – Managing Director

• Led management buy-in to Nobby Kitchens, renamed AKI, with private equity provider Hambro Grantham Private Equity.
• Recruited and led a dynamic highly motivated sales team.
• During 6 years as CEO, my team and I grew AKI from a company with annual turnover $10m and loss of ($2m) in NSW to become the largest kitchen company in Australia, at that time, with $65m. turnover, annual EBIT of over $5 million, and operations in 3 States (NSW, SA and Queensland).
• Acquired two successful kitchen and bathroom companies in other States as part of our strategy to achieve faster geographic growth, and securing quality facilities and highly experienced people in those States.

 Optus Communications – Finance Director

• Director of both Optus Communications and Optus Vision.
• During my tenure, Optus achieved its maiden profit (At the EBIT level).
• Member of team overseeing acquisition of Optus Vision, originally a joint-venture, and integration, into the Optus Communications business.
• Negotiated and completed the sale of the company’s 25% stake in its service provider “One Tel”, which resolved contentious service-provider issues for the company.
• Successfully secured $2.6bn. loan facility from syndicate of 18 banks at exceptionally low interest rates, saving over $2 million in annual interest costs.

Australian Consolidated Press (ACP) – Chief Financial Officer/Chief Operating Officer

• ACP was the largest magazine company in Australia. Achieved EBIT of $125 million. I was responsible for all financial functions, computer services, magazine production and distribution.
• Renegotiated company’s paper procurement and printing contracts providing major competitive advantage and increased profitability.
• Successfully negotiated with major supermarket chains to carry a significantly increased range of ACP magazines.
• Part of the Consolidated Press (Holding Company) team that negotiated with institutional shareholders to gain approval for the merger of ACP and Channel Nine to form PBL.

 Qantas Group – Chief Financial Officer

• Presented financial performance results, and provided in-depth analysis, insights and recommendations to the monthly Board meetings.
• Established fuel-price research and analysis team and received approval from main board and finance committee to make forward purchases of one third of QANTAS’s aviation fuel requirements at fixed price $28/barrel. As fuel prices increased from $21/barrel to over $75/barrel, over next 5 years, made multi-million-dollar savings in fuel costs.
• Played key role in profit turnaround from loss ($300 million) in 1990/91 to EBIT of $156 million by focussing resources on profitable routes, improved margins and load factors (i.e. seats filled), and staff reductions of over 2,000 people.
• Active member of the board of Air New Zealand (On behalf of QANTAS – 25% Shareholder at that time), and 5 Qantas subsidiaries, including Thomas Cook and Qantas Superannuation.
• Member of small executive team that oversaw the acquisition and integration of Australian Airlines operations into Qantas. The team was able to achieve a successful integration which resulted in multi-million $ savings.
• Restructured and streamlined all divisions of finance organisation, including FP&A, accounting, taxation, insurance and major treasury function.

Sunbeam Victa               

Sunbeam Victa was a manufacturing company with three divisions, all of which were market leaders in their industries in Australia and New Zealand. Annual turnover was A$180m.

Finance Director

• Appointed Finance Director when Australian and NZ Companies were acquired from US Parent by a Sydney based Private Equity group.
• Improved EBIT from $0.7 million to $16 million, in first 2 years.
• Rationalised product ranges and implemented price structure reflecting market leadership position.
•  “Total Quality Control” and “Value added management” implemented, resulting in warranty returns being reduced by 40% in the first 12 months. Installed integrated manufacturing and accounting system (MRP2).

Chief Executive

I was appointed CEO when the encumbent CEO retired due to ill-health.  Due to adverse industry and business conditions, re-negotiated facilities with bankers and implemented aggressive cost-cutting measures as part of that process.

Next Steps

I personally work with Business Owners, CEOs and Senior executives. initially to explore potential opportunities they are not acting on, and priority problems they are too busy to resolve.

Then working with them as their trusted advisor to increase individual and organisational performance and value.

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