Inov-8 is a leading all terrain footwear, apparel and equipment business which operates in over 60 countries. The company runs a fulfilment centre from its HQ in County Durham and operates a design and innovation centre in the heart of the Lake District. Under the ownership of Descente, the Japanese sportswear maker with 80 years of craftsmanship, Inov-8 skilfully combines excellence and innovation to the running and performance training sectors across the world.

Owner managed SME, specialising in the import of arts, crafts and creative toys selling worldwide to volume discounters and blue-chip retailers primarily under its own brand ‘Grafix’. The business is headquartered in Manchester where it runs an 80,000 sq ft fulfilment centre. There are sales offices in Miami, Boston, Den Bosch (the Netherlands) & Hong Kong. Range expansion has recently come by licenced product through partnerships established with Disney, Universal & Warner Brothers.I was recommended to RMS by KPMG following work done at Faupel. I took the head finance role at the request of the company’s lenders, HSBC & Close Finance, with the remit to re-organise the finance function, improve working capital and reduce exposure as 07-09 losses totalled £4.5m.Responsibilities• Manage the day to day finance function for an international group involving management accounting, forecasting, risk management, cost controls, working capital management & treasury• Responsible for company insurance (commercial & credit), banking, legal and auditor relationships.• Production of statutory accounts, BI, KPI & strategic papers.• Following departure of the MD in 2013, lead responsibility for HR, IT and supply chain management from Far-East through bonded warehouse to customer.• Recruitment, motivation, selection and training of staff

The Faupel group specialised in home furnishings and garments manufactured by third parties in SE Asia and sold into retailers and mail-order in the UK & Ireland. The company ran its own fulfilment centre in Birmingham and sold from a portfolio of own brand, licenced goods and white label. I was appointed as successor to the outgoing FD and adopted a six-person junior finance team.Responsibilities• Manage the day to day finance function for the group including management accounting, projections, cash management and daily dashboard.• Support and implement the restructuring plan covering all parts of the overhead base.• Managing ‘special situations’ bank monitoring whilst supporting the operational needs of the business within a cash-constrained environment.

Optoplast are the UK’s leading supplier of spectacle cases and optical accessories. Importing from the Far-East they supply 20m units via its warehouse into the main high street optician groups. The business extending its packaging portfolio through jewellery boxes supplied by Cool Case. Following it’s de-list from AIM in 2002 the group developed through acquisition of distressed competitors.I was appointed as a Management Accountant and took over the head of finance role following the redundancy of the FD after I had a successful spell in the USA. I was appointed to the board as Finance Director in 2003 and took on company secretarial duties.Responsibilities• Manage the day to day finance function for the group including financial accounting, budgeting, KPI, sales & margin analysis• Manage and motivate a team of three.• Run the statutory audit and tax process with the company accountants Hurst Morrison Thomson.• Operate the payroll and complete all HMRC statutory returns• Hold tight control over the group’s net assets of £3.7m, spread across 9 companies in the UK, USA, Germany, Spain & Italy• Liaise with the company’s lenders, HSBC, on treasury & business performance against covenants• Deputise for the USA Managing Director in his absence.