Kenneth Richardson, Cfa Email & Phone Number

Montreal, Qc, Ca

Montreal, Canada Area

Focused on supporting start-ups and small-to-medium enterprises to understand, leverage, and deploy new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence or Advanced Analytics/Data Visualization to improve their own operations through integrated strategic planning, generating use cases, or employee training. Specific mandates include, but are not limited to: • Integrated Strategic Planning, Manufacturing: facilitated a long-term strategic planning process for the IT department to integrate into corporate strategy and enhance long-term business intelligence capabilities. • Sales Strategy, Technology Start-ups: provide support in understanding product functionality, developing unique customer value propositions, and strategic sales force planning.• AI Use Case Development, Manufacturing: review existing operations to identify “quick hit” analytics opportunities to improve efficiency as part of a larger business intelligence strategy. • Market Analysis, Financial Services & Transportation: industry and market segmentation analysis for commercial transportation and new financing solutions to support the development of a customer-centric value proposition and potential business model. Additional Potential Project Mandates: • Financial Modeling, Financial Planning, and Advanced Financial Forecasting• Strategic Cash Flow, Expense Management, and Reporting Automation• Organizational Design, Headcount Planning, and Compensation Strategy/Planning• Employee Coaching & Training, Change Management, and Learning Development PlansRecognition / Events:2023: Desautels MBA Case Competition, Judge2022: Desautels MBA Case Competition, Judge2020: Desjardins CoOperation Global Challenge: Fintech, Mentor2020: Microsoft Discover AI Challenge: Smarter and Sustainable Economies, Mentor2020: Desautels MBA Case Competition, Judge2020: HEC-McGill eMBA Program, Panelist, Mergers & Acquisitions2019: Microsoft Discover AI Challenge: Sustainable Life, Panelist

Montreal, Canada Area

Provide mentorship, coaching, and strategic support for Student Consulting Teams as part of the Experiential Learning Module for the McGill Masters of Management in Analytics ("MMA") Program through:- Hosting student workshops as part of their external Consulting engagement- Participating and provide escalation support during client meetings- Regularly providing feedback and guidance on student performance.

Charlottesville, Virginia Area

Volunteer for the CFA Institute to help support the development of curriculum and support material with a specific focus on:- Big Data Projects,- Machine Learning, and- Data Visualization.

Mississauga, Ontario

Member of Canada Senior Leadership Team representing a team of ~25 employees with a vision to change the focus of the Finance organization from a back office "black box" processing centre to a proactive business partner able to bring the wealth of financial and portfolio data to support recommendations on business strategy, product development, compensation planning, headcount planning, and expense management by building financial data repositories, increasing analytical and data management abilities, leveraging data visualization tools, and stream-lining and digitizing process flows. Key Accomplishments:- Initiated the successful implementation of a number of digital tools and process improvements: Financial Sharepoint Sites, PowerBI Financial Metric Dashboards, SalesForce ServiceCloud Workflows, Smartsheet Project Management tools, etc. - Increased overall transactional through-put and internal employee satisfaction with Finance while reducing overall headcount by 10%+. - Directly led Commercial training workshops with personal involvement in complex client negotiations, new product introductions, or contract renewals that translate to ~5% improvement in top-line revenue annually.- Developed and implemented new budgeting tools for Canadian organization that turned a time-consuming one-time Excel-based budget into a near real-time PowerBI dashboard that could be leveraged quickly and efficiently to review results and update forecasts.Funnest Moments: Working with our Consulting and Business Intelligence teams to let my inner data geek run wild in learning new data manipulation techniques, deploying advanced analytical concepts, and building out robust data visualization tools that could be easily interpreted and leveraged by various parts of the organization in their own decision making process.

Toronto, On / Montreal, Qc

This time period, 2013-2016, represented a very active time with Element Fleet as it encompassed the acquisitions of GE Capital Fleet (Canada - 2013, US - 2015) and PHH Fleet (2014) with IT or data migrations completed annually. Overall, my accountability grew from a team of 5 Account Managers to managing 75+ employees in 2 regions (Central & Eastern Canada), distributed over 8 distinct teams (Commercial & Client Services) that represented 400+ clients and 100,000+ managed units during a time of tremendous change. Key Accomplishments: - Led a continuously expanding team through a time of significant culture and organizational change while achieving 95%+ client retention, 99%+ employee retention, and achieving 100%+ of financial targets over all teams. - Primary architect in a complete re-organization of the Commercial & Client Service teams that achieved increased alignment with customer needs/segments and created clear career progression opportunities as well as development opportunities.- Worked directly with Commercial, Client Services, and Clients on communication updates, problem solving, and issue resolution during multiple data migrations and IT system changes. - Developed and implemented a Top Talent Recruiting strategy with select Universities, built out recurring internship program across Canada, supported creation of a two-year Rotational Leadership Program for recent graduates, and directly led a number of recurring coaching workshops for employees. - Appointed by the business as the AGILE Product Owner for the data migration of an acquired portfolio to a custom-built enhancement of related IT system in 2014 with outside IT development team.Proudest Achievement: Over multiple years, slowly building a comprehensive recruiting and talent program within the organization that allowed me to be part of the personal and professional development of employees which has been extremely rewarding as they continue to excel in their own careers.

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

In this role, I was accountable for the West Region of GE Capital Fleet Services, which was acquired by Element Financial in July 2013, which included five (5) Account and New Business Development Managers in the Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver offices with a targeted focus on servicing existing customers, increasing solicitation of new customers, developing value propositions for new industries, coaching/training a relatively new team to both the organization and the industry, and acting as a voice of customer for Western Canadian companies to help develop customized solutions for their market. Key Accomplishments:- Developed a Regional Business Plan that broke down corporate objectives into clearly actionable and reportable tasks at an individual contributor level and demonstrated a path to success for each employee. - Significantly increased solicitation efforts across the region by targeting key regional sectors by researching and understanding local industries, firms, partnering with local business communities or government, and generated a potential pipeline of over $50 million in new business opportunities. - Coached and developed all employees through team workshops and 1/1 coaching to generate a material increase in new business / customer wins. - Developed Value Proposition for new industries by partnering with internal stakeholders (Credit, Legal, Pricing, Operations) to bring customized solutions for energy/mining industries which translated into clients in previously untapped markets.Personal Learning: This role was a fantastic opportunity to expand my understanding of the nuances of Canada. Whether it was touring the "tar sands" and SAGD facilities of Fort McMurray or reviewing the needs of potash mines in Saskatchewan or the work of forestry firms on Vancouver Island, I came to fully appreciate the diversity of organizations and cultures across Canada and the importance and inter-connectivity of each sector to the country as a whole.

Mississauga, Ontario

In this role, I was responsible for supporting a team of five (5) National Account Managers in the Central Region that represented the majority of Strategic Relationships within the Canadian Portfolio and was accountable for maximizing client retention, driving new service enrolments, and managing profitability on over 60,000 managed units. This team represented ~50% of the entire revenue base and 75% of managed service units for the Canadian business. Key Accomplishments:- Achieved 95%+ Client Retention and 100% Employee Retention while managing residual impacts of financial crisis on fleet industry- Consistently achieved 100%+ of business targets for new vehicle originations or enrolments in existing or new service programs. - Collaborated closely with US Leadership and Commercial Organization to effectively support North American customers and align service offering between countries.

Mississauga, Ontario

As the Canadian Fleet Pricing Leader, I was responsible for the management and approval of the overall profitability of 500+ customers and prospects on existing Fleet Management Programs & Services as well as new vehicle financing during the financial crisis. Key Accomplishments: - Developed profitability database that could be updated in real-time to measure, track, and forecast total revenue across entire Canadian portfolio. This reduced time lag for profit reporting from over 2-months to daily which significantly improved Leadership visibility into and understanding of the business. - Collaborated with Commercial Organization to re-price interest rate / fee structure of all customers to reflect impact on lenders during the financial crisis resulting in a significant increase of per vehicle profitability year-over-year and exceeded profitability targets by 20%+- Developed training/reference/coaching material for Commercial Organization and directly supported in client calls, meetings, and presentations to review changes in financial markets.- Managed and prepared the Sales Compensation Plan and worked closely with Leadership on recommendations to increase business/employee alignment.

Mississauga, Ontario

As a Tactical Pricing Manager ("TPM"), I was responsible for the rate/documentation fee review and approval of 3,000+ annual lease/loan transactions related to Transportation & Construction equipment, Automotive & Non-Automotive Manufacturing, Printing, Aircraft, Vendor Finance Programs, Corporate Finance, and Franchise Finance (Real Estate) ranging in size from $10,000 to $10,000,000+.Key Accomplishments:- Actively worked with Account Manager's & Client's directly to understand and explain changes in financial markets, impacts on deal structures, and led client negotiations for potential restructurings to mitigate financial market impact.- Developed and implemented complex financial models for new products related to Fair Market Value Leases, Asset-Backed Revolvers, and Derivative-Based Products (Options, Residual Value Insurance, Floating Rate Floor).- Automated Financial Reporting, Calculation/Analysis, and Distribution of Program Cards to focus on understanding underlying profitability and presenting recommendations to Senior Leadership.- Integrated the Pricing Approval process into a single GE Capital Canada Review: Vendor Finance Programs (Wholesale & Equipment Finance, inclusive of the CITI Capital Vendor acquisition), Franchise, Aircraft, and Fleet. Toughest Learning: It was exceptionally challenging to operate in a capital constrained environment during the financial crisis as it was a constant balance of managing short-term needs (cash preservation, margin protection) with long-term objectives (market penetration, product/program profitability) while understanding that the financial recommendations being made had a direct impact on many stakeholders (company, clients, colleagues, and friends). It required, and I learned to develop, a high degree of empathy and clear-thinking to work through. This role helped form the baseline about my own "crisis management or problem solving" style that definitely guided me as I progressed into new roles.

London, Ontario

As an Account Manager ("AM"), I was responsible for client relationship management and a focus on term equipment financing in the South-Western Ontario area covering key centres such as Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Windsor, Cambridge, Woodstock, and Stratford. Key Accomplishments: - Developed a comprehensive solicitation strategy for new customers both within primary transportation/construction industries as well as a strong value propositions to expand into manufacturing, printing, and automotive industries that resulted in: - 15%+ increase in cumulative annual new lease/loan originations - 40%+ increase in new customers within transportation industry - 200%+ increase in new equipment financing in manufacturing, printing, and automotive - 90%+ penetration of new product, Equipment-Backed Revolver, within Strategic Customer baseBiggest Learning: How to focus on the client by building rapport, understanding their business and industry, acknowledging their concerns or pain points, and delivering customized solutions that helped them achieve their own objectives in both a qualitative as well as a quantitative method ... Not always needing "the numbers" to secure a deal was a tough learning for a Finance Geek at heart!

London, Ontario

As an Assistant Account Manager ("AAM"), I was the primary deal-closing support for three Account Managers in the equipment finance industry covering South-Western Ontario in a variety of industries: transportation, construction, manufacturing, printing, automotive manufacturing, etc. As a result, I was directly involved in solicitation, credit underwriting, documentation, funding processes, as well as collections and post-deal close follow-up. Key Accomplishments: - Deal Closing Cycle: effectively learning end-to-end deal process cycle to directly contribute to branch results and supporting a large team of Account Managers to achieve both portfolio and branch targets. - Leveraging technology: utilized Excel/VBA to automate weekly/monthly branch reporting and improve database management. - Process Improvement: pro-actively engaged supporting departments, such as Legal/Credit/Pricing to identify and implement stream-lined process changes as well as develop training reference material.Proudest Accomplishment - Time Management: Learning to apply the basic foundations of how to effectively manage work and personal time in order to balance conflicting demands and priorities while learning a new role, contributing to ~5% of the entire branch results as a junior employee, and pursuing educational self-study enhancements in the demanding CFA Program as well as introduction to French courses.

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