John Helderman Email & Phone Number

Las Vegas, Nv, Us

Las Vegas, Nevada, Us

As CFO for Bluberi Gaming, I was responsible for all financial aspects of the company (accounting, reporting, treasury/cash management, insurance, etc.). The Operations and IT teams also rolled up to me. As a growth company, the pace was fast and every day was filled with interesting issues, analyses, and decisions. Bluberi Gaming has been in business for many years, but our new private equity ownership and new management team were driven to grow and to drive efficiencies to the bottom line.During my time at Bluberi, I worked hard to manage through difficult supply chain challenges that were exacerbated by the COVID crisis and shipping complications from suppliers in Asia. I also managed through a very challenging cash flow situation, selling non-core assets to generate liquidity while our customers (U.S. casinos) were closed during the initial COVID outbreak in 2020, and then working with our private equity ownership for additional liquidity to support our growth efforts in 2021.Other key accomplishments while I was with Bluberi Gaming: moving the Accounting function from Drummondville, Quebec to Las Vegas, Nevada with a new Controller and all new team members; leading the implementation of the Oracle NetSuite ERP system (general ledger, manufacturing & supply chain, fixed assets, inventory control, etc.); championing overdue upgrades to the IT infrastructure in order to support the game development team and improve the security and reliability of Bluberi's network; working closely with Bluberi's joint venture partner (bZillions) to develop the "Reels of Steel" slot machine; and developing relationships with many of Bluberi's key suppliers.

North Las Vegas, Nv, Us

Goodwill Industries of Southern Nevada, Inc. ("GSN") is a nonprofit with $60m of revenue, primarily driven by its 19 thrift retail locations. GSN employs over 800 Southern Nevadans across its retail stores, distribution centers, donation centers, trucking operations, and nonprofit Mission services teams.I stepped in as President & CEO of GSN in May 2017, after having served on GSN's Board of Directors. During my 2+ years in the President & CEO role, I led a comprehensive financial and operational turnaround that included a Chapter 11 reorganization, 4 store location closures, successful rent relief negotiations, corporate headcount reductions, cost cutting across the organization, and a restructuring of GSN's $22m bond debt. During this time I rebuilt the C-Suite and drove the adoption of new Core Values, both of which led to dramatic improvements in GSN's culture, making it one of integrity, accountability, and collaboration. The financial, operational, and cultural turnaround was a great success, as evidenced by GSN's operating cash flow, which was 10x higher in my last 12 months than it was in the 12 months before I stepped in.GSN is now in a position to service its bond debt, adapt to minimum wage increases, strategically add new stores (where warranted), and continue funding its nonprofit Mission of helping Southern Nevada job seekers find work. GSN employs numerous Career Coaches and other Mission team members to provide work readiness workshops, resume assistance, job search facilitation, clothing vouchers, bus passes, and other supportive services to help job seekers find work and break the cycle of poverty -- all of which are provided free of charge.I rejoined the GSN Board of Directors shortly after handing the reins to the CEO the Board and I hired to replace myself.

Las Vegas, Nv, Us

As Vice President of Finance for Caesars Entertainment's "Hospitality Pod" of properties (The Flamingo, The LINQ, The Cromwell, and the High Roller), I led the annual budgeting process for each property and facilitated Quarterly Business Reviews with the CEO to discuss actual performance vs. plan. Both processes included close coordination with the General Manager and department leaders at each property.I also led a weekly forecasting process and conducted monthly P&L reviews with the GM and department leaders for Hotel, Gaming, Food & Beverage, Retail, Facilities, Drai's Rooftop Club, etc. to ensure that each operation was meeting or exceeding its budgeted performance goals. I worked further with struggling departments to understand the challenges they were facing and identify ways to drive revenue and/or cut expense to bring the EBITDA for each operation back in line.In addition to operational finance, I was also responsible for the Casino Cage at The Flamingo, The LINQ, and The Cromwell. This included working with the Cage Director on the annual budgets, union labor negotiations, personnel issues, etc. I worked closely with the Cage Director to obtain the capital for a long-overdue remodel of the Cage at The Flamingo, which improved the aesthetics, the functionality, and employee morale.I also worked closely with the GMs, Caesars' Design & Construction Department, and other team members to obtain capital for multi-million dollar projects in the Hospitality Pod. These projects included (among others), capital to remodel: one-third of The Flamingo's hotel rooms, The Flamingo's Convention Center, The Flamingo's sound system, and The Flamingo's elevators.

Las Vegas, Nv, Us

Led the Capital Planning team in the development and management of annual $500m+ capital plans for Caesars Entertainment Operating Company, Caesars Entertainment Resort Properties, Caesars Growth Partners, and other entities within the affilated group. This included working with senior management team members (CEO, CFO, COO, President of Hospitality, et al.) to understand their priorities and leading monthly Capital Committee meetings to determine the allocation of limited capital resources. The Capital Planning team also worked with GMs and other property-level leaders to gather information about the condition of the properties and property-level opportunities, to analyze and evaluate capital requests, adjust the annual capital plans to adapt to changing circumstances, etc. Typical capital projects include hotel and convention area renovations, food & beverage outlet remodeling/rebranding, building infrastructure (e.g. elevators, parking structures, HVAC), energy/environmental, gaming, IT, and numerous other project types.The Capital Planning team also forecasted capital spending against expected available cash and performed "post mortem" analyses on completed projects to evaluate the performance against: the budget, the expected timeframe, projections included in the capital justification, the predecessor operation (if applicable), etc. I interacted extensively with the Legal and Accounting Departments to ensure that governance procedures, accounting treatment of projects, SOX compliance, etc. were in order. Also work closely with FP&A, Business Analytics, and other corporate teams to track the performance of individual capital projects, identify the impact of cannibalization on results, and reveal hidden risks and opportunities.Worked with external counsel and advisors to provide information about certain entities/properties capital requirements to facilitate the bankruptcy process for one of Caesars Entertainment's key subsidiaries.

Las Vegas, Nv, Us

Work with the Senior Vice President of Finance and other members of the Corporate Finance Department to explore and secure financing for priorities of the company. Pursue acquisitions, divestitures, management contracts, and other opportunities. Identify and explore ways to grow EBITDA and improve the corporate balance sheet.

Las Vegas, Nv, Us

Responsible for federal income tax planning, state income/franchise tax planning, and federal (IRS) and state audit defense. Partner with other corporate departments to perform due diligence and transaction review, determine purchase price allocation, forecast cash tax payments, identify potential legislative issues, ensure proper information reporting, etc.Formerly resonsible for the corporate income tax provision (FAS 109) (from Q1 2009 - Q3 2010) and maintain responsiblity for certain deferred items and uncertain tax positions (FIN 48).Won the 2010 Chairman's Award for securing a large tax refund.

Worldwide, Oo

Responsible for all aspects of client relationships through the Lead Tax Practice, including tax compliance, tax provision review, implementation of FIN 48, strategic tax planning, and audit defense.

New York, Ny, Us

Jd

Ba, Business Management (Finance Concentration)

Ba, Economics