Small business consulting, event planning and real estate

Responsible for all financial operations of the organization including small business lending (CDFI), vendor relations, accounts payable and receivables, budgets, grants, invoicing, payroll, internal controls, financial reporting, annual audits, cash management and forecasting. Organizational budget of $10 million.

I took a turn as a small business operator by acquiring and developing a new franchise of CertaPro Painters, the largest painting company in North America. As chief financial officer and general manager, I held responsibility for both financial and operational management of the business and worked to improve both the fiscal position and delivery of quality customer service. In only 5 years, I was able to do the following: ★ I grew franchise sales six-fold, accomplishing this by applying focused marketing efforts and instituting a customer referral program. ★ I drove customer satisfaction measures from 55 to 80 percent (independently surveyed) by creating an organizational climate focused on and grounded in strong customer service. ★ I increased gross operating margin from 35 percent to 43 percent by improving expense control and implementing a more accurate job budgeting system.

For the university, I directed planning and budgeting for 21 auxiliary enterprises and service units. These included Housing, Dining, Purchasing, Bookstore, Parking and Transportation. Here, I supervised seven management level direct reports in budgeting, strategic planning, forecasting, fiscal controls, government and grant compliance, and monthly and annual reporting functions.Savings can often be realized through “smart” investments. I found multiple opportunities to invest in technology or process to drive savings or revenue increases. Some of these included: ★ I created $500,000 of budget surpluses in mail services by identifying and then focusing resources on those services most wanted by customers and negotiating favorable vendor contracts. ★ I empowered my managers to meet their revenue and cost goals by implementing a more visible, informative, and responsive monthly reporting process. ★ I increased parking revenue by 25 percent through technology investments and improved lot access controls and ensured the future sustainability of those gains by setting in motion a 10-year parking modernization program through a $25 million dollar deferred maintenance program. ★ I increased the quality of Penn Transit’s customer experience 20 percent through training and technology investments. ★ My fuel-efficient vehicle initiative resulted in 5 years of net positive operating revenues and over $22,000 in annual operating and acquisition cost savings.

Responsibility for the annual operating plans, monthly forecasting, cost accounting, and monthly and yearly closing for a unit with $120 million in revenue and two production plants. Nine financial analysts reported to me.