Luis V. Gato Email & Phone Number

Northeast Usa

• Achieved an 85%+ repeat business rate with satisfied customers; led 30+ projects in Market Analysis, Business Plans, Strategy, M&A, Joint Ventures, Marketing, Sales, Operations, and Economic Development.• Fractional CFO/FP&A for CPG, Technology, and Non-Profit firms; develops Investor Presentations, Financial Models, Strategic Plans, and Reporting to enhance visibility into financial outcomes.• Strategy - Developed the www.Strategy4Action.com trilogy of frameworks derived from the top consulting practices, the best of academia and my own two decades of strategic planning experience. The main framework, “Strategy4Action” is a step-by-step guide for defining or fine-tuning a company’s strategy. "Putting Together YOUR STRATEGY" is for organizations that already have a good idea of what they want to do and need help in building a Business Plans with financial projections. "CHOOSING Strategically" will tell you what are the Strategic CHOICES you must consider for having a Strategy and how to make Strategic decisions that make a difference.• Drove dozens of millions of dollars in all-new business sales as the US representative of Malga USA since 2016, bringing several new customers to the Malga Group and its affiliates like BullaRegia.com, Sentolia.com, and Biosca-Tamara.com (Food & Beverage industry).• Collaborating regularly with Towne Advisory, managing company Valuations Projects since April 2024.

New Hartford, Ny

• FP&A: established the FP&A department and developed a Strategic Plan and Budget within five months, providing visibility to 100 managers and enhancing accountability; this was a corporate finance role and I consolidated and disseminated information to 17 entities around the World.• Cross-Functional Projects’ Contributions: Played a crucial role in complex pricing negotiations for a flagship customer and mitigating the impact of the China-US Tariff wars (with price increases and cost reductions); supported Financial Models for Secondary Offerings totaling $200M and, in M&A, contributed to 1 Spin-Off and 3 Acquisitions (up to $500M) through Financial Models, Due Diligence, and integration; modeled Payfac, a new Fintech offering.• Enhanced SaaS understanding by implementing a full set of metrics at a time the company was having year-on-year ARR increases of 100%.• During the ERP implementation of Microsoft Dynamics AX D365, helped in accounting settings and defined product costing and all the cost accounting aspects.

Rome, Ny

• Oversaw the company's best sales years thus far, with a 14% volume and 8% value growth post-Financial Crisis. • Steered the 2nd and 3rd best Ebitda years ever.• Stepped down as CEO in October 2011 and served as a Board advisor until March 2012.

Rome, Ny

• Appointed post-acquisition to represent the parent company, elevating the family-run business into a professionally managed firm, all the while the company doubled its size during my tenure.• Cross-Functional Oversight: Directed Finance, IT, HR, Operations (since 2005), Marketing (since 2007), and Sales (since 2009).• Strategic Leadership: led successful integration efforts enabling the geographical expansion of Nutrinveste into the US; in terms of product development, championed the launch of a new brand in Walmart and six Northeast retailers; obtained Board approval and managed the construction of a new 200,000 sq ft plant, expanding the company's capacity; in vertical (des)integration, executed the Spin-Off of a production unit and integrated purchasing, realizing millions in synergies; Drove corporate development through leadership in some buy-side attempts (up to $1B).• Financial Expertise: Implemented Financial Statement formats and Models for Strategic Planning, Annual Budgeting, Forecasting, and Financial Reporting within four months; Successfully negotiated financing, guided forex and interest rate hedging, set policies for Cash Flow and Risk Management, and managed audits.• Operations: Improved operational efficiencies by over 30% through lean tools, and an incentive program; obtained top rankings on service scorecards from clients like Walmart, Sysco, and Kroger.

Lisbon Area, Portugal

• Assisted the Board in selling both firms in a very successful deal, leading to a promotion to a senior executive position• Accumulated Controller Functions below

Lisbon Area, Portugal

• Brought in to implement the SAP ERP, a CRM solution, and workflow systems. • Acted as Project Manager in what was a successful, on-time, go live.• Accumulated Controller Functions below

Lisbon Area, Portugal

• This was the beginning of what has now been about two decades in the Food & Beverage industry.• Executed month-end accounting procedures, upgraded cost accounting, and supervised controllers for 3 factories, upgraded cost accounting and product costing. • FP&A Expertise: Led Budgeting, Forecasting, Strategic Planning, and financial reporting and analysis; conducted business reviews with the Board.• Strategy: Acquired in-depth strategic knowledge through collaboration on major projects with McKinsey and BCG• M&A Achievements: Contributed to over 20 projects, including 1 Joint Venture, 1 spin-off, and 4 acquisitions; directed a much-lauded integration of one of the acquisitions.

São Paulo Area, Brazil

• Was called to represent corporate post-acquisition, integrate the firm, work with founders, and bring professional management. • Oversaw comprehensive financial functions, spearheaded ERP implementation, and facilitated knowledge transfer by training the staff, empowering the team to operate independently.• Being in Brazil, was the start of an international carrier spanning 3 continents and my first ex-patriate role. This was also the first time working directly with the Board.

Lisbon Area, Portugal

• Worked with accounting in month-end tasks and producing financial statements. The position included…• FP&A: Managed Budgeting, Forecasting, Strategic Planning, financial reporting, and analysis.• Had the opportunity to start go beyond my analytical skills and start collaborating cross-functionally with some memorable contributions in brand launching projects and in a much-lauded simplification of the pricing scheme of the firm.• This was also the beginning of what has now been over two decades in manufacturing and distribution, and in the Consumer Packed Goods (CPG) industry.

Lisbon Area, Portugal

Controller, FP&A

Lisbon Area, Portugal

Master Of Business Administration (M.B.A.), Business Administration And Management, General

The Lisbon MBA International Full Time is the 15th best MBA in Europe and the 40th best in the world according to the 2016 Financial Times.

Bachelor’S Degree, Business Administration And Management, General

US equivalency certificate by W.E.S. is available.