Ellen Meadows Email & Phone Number

Chicago, Illinois, Us

Chicago, Illinois, Us

Chicago, Il, Us

As a part-time CFO, Ellen partners with the business owner and/or the senior executive team in managing the company's financial operations. Not all companies need a full-time CFO, but every company needs full-time results. Ellen brings 20+yrs of senior financial experience to her clients that don't need a 5-day a week CFO, but need the seasoned business experience she brings. Ellen works with small to medium size companies ($5-$30MM annual) to build and manage the financial foundations needed to achieve their business goals, including accounting, finance, and internal controls. Ellen partners with management to identify goals and will organize and work with the team to achieve these goals in an effective and efficient manner. Ellen is focused and driven, but importantly she has a relatable style that has proven effective at bringing team members together to achieve great results. Ellen's work encompasses the following areas: ● Financial Reporting● Strategic Financial Planning● Bank Financing● Cash Flow Analysis● Budgeting & Forecasting● Operational Efficiencies● Return on Investment Analysis● Cost Analysis● Efficient Month-End Close

Chicago, Il, Us

* Finance lead on +$200MM Snacking Cheese Category with responsibility for full Profit and Loss statement, including all financial planning, analysis and long range strategic plans* Developed business propositions on all new product initiatives in the growing Snacking category; launched 3 new products, generating $20MM incremental revenue* Managed $50MM trade budget; provided strategic analysis for trade marketing events and return on investments* Created dynamic pricing models to manage margins through fluctuating commodity costs and changes in competitive environment

* Finance lead on special projects in Corporate Manufacturing* Identified opportunities for integration and plant rationalizations across North American network with the Kraft/Cadbruy acquisition* Finance lead for End-to-End review of Kraft Canadian Beverages, resulting in +$15MM cost saving opportunities in logistics network, procurement and formula harmonization* Partnered with Global Information Systems on the +$35MM bidding and contract negotiations for Kraft’s Global Service Desk, providing both business and financial insight on vendor proposals (wrote contract terms, built pricing templates and modeling scenarios)

* Managed the Sales Incentives Team (4 headcount) with primary responsibility to administer the Sales & Customer Logistics employee incentive plans* Partner with Field Sales and HR Compensation to develop annual incentive plans that are aligned with company’s strategic priorities* Responsible for planning, reporting and analysis for +$60MM Sales incentives budget* Lead cross-functional team to create and implement the Common Sales Incentive System that resulted in automating all incentive payments to Sales and Customer Logistics employees.

* Provided business analysis on a variety of Sales initiatives: Customer Segmentation, Incremental Funding Requests, Customer Benchmarking and Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Reporting* Supported weekly and monthly revenue analysis for Finance Sr. Director* Liaison between Field Finance and Headquarters for Sales Business Updates (SBU) and improved SBU submissions with “focus area” communication, pricing analyses and revenue bridges* Developed and delivered KPI Training materials, conducted new finance manager assimilation training and conducted quarterly round table meetings with finance managers.

* Developed analytical tools for Customer Finance Managers to improve trade efficiency: Financial Event Analysis and Topline Trade Efficiency Reporting* Engaged and trained with Nielsen to understand how consumer metrics can be used with financial analytical tools* Partnered with Trade Strategy to improve trade spending reporting

Richmond, Virginia, Us

audited public entities, including local municipalities, cities, schools, ad park districts

Bachelor Of Science (B.S.) - Accounting, Accounting And Finance

Bachelor’S Degree, Accounting And Finance