Matthew Beaven Email & Phone Number

Singapore

Reporting to the Vision Care CFO, responsible for all Finance activities across APAC (Japan, China, Korea, Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, The Philippines, India), joint P&L ownership for 12 markets including a new Contact Lens business, board member of 23 entities. Turnover over $0.6bn, team of over 120 people. Business Partner to the VPs for APAC, China and Contact Lenses. The key objectives are to streamline the finance function, to deliver a higher quality product, faster and with the same (or less) resources, putting in place best in class processes to enable Finance to deliver value to our internal and external customers, whilst improving the overall compliance environment.Achievements include the restructuring and upskilling of the team, reducing closing by two days (from WD6 to WD4) whilst increasing quality of data, improving the insight of information provided to the commercial team and managing the project to find and fit out a new regional office, which became a template for all other new offices.Despite top-line growth, local finance teams either reduced or grew at a much slower rate than the business. Working with the Global Financial Headquarters (Amsterdam and Tokyo), restructured legal entities in two jurisdictions in Asia, reducing business complexity and generating savings. Financially restructured and refinanced several markets to enable on-going 30% sustainable revenue growth. Drove significant change in the second largest market in the region, with a full strategic review leading to closure and integration of a production site, generating significant annual savings and reducing business complexity.

Zug, Switzerland

Reported to the CEO, responsible for all strategic and operational finance and cash topics globally, turnover over €175m. Reporting under IFRS and local GAAP (German, Spanish and Swiss).Worked closely with the Board, including the CEO and owner of the business, and the advisory committee.Optimised finance organisation (26 people, 7 locations across Spain, Mexico, Germany and Switzerland), reduced headcount and cost by 10% using Kaizen methodologies, including RPA, to reduce closing cycle by three days. Led global cost savings programme, reducing working capital and overheads by more than 10% (€4m). Devised and implemented global 5-year strategy using a Hoshin Kanri matrix, launched new company values. Negotiated setup of Singapore Representative Office and part of the project team for the China expansion.

Zug, Switzerland

Achieved the IMPA Level D Project Management qualification with InnoPark AG, complemented by a range of leadership and career development courses. Advanced to C1 level in German through intensive language training. Became a certified Barista. Orchestrated a complex, multi-stage global wedding event, hosting 400 guests across three countries.

Schaffhausen, Switzerland

Reported to the Regional CFO, led the regional FP&A team, Business Partner to the Regional VP and working closely with the Global Accounting team in New York. The team delivered all Budgets, Forecasts and monthly US GAAP results in a SOX compliant environment for Western Europe, Middle East and South Africa. Spearheaded a Continuous Improvement project that cut the closing cycle time by one day and achieved a 70% reduction in error rates. Launched a cost control initiative across 40 entities, resulting in €5 million in annual savings while enhancing the accuracy of forecasting and reporting.Directed SOX compliance audits, ensuring adherence to strong financial controls and driving continuous improvements.

Zug, Switzerland

Reporting to the CFO, I oversaw the Swiss local entity, growing its income from zero to $500m per year. My responsibilities included foreign exchange hedging, cash flow management, strategic planning, controlling, and financial accounting under IFRS and Swiss GAAP. I reported to the Group on global procurement, transfer pricing, direct and indirect taxes, and risk management, supported by a team of 12 across three countries.Played a key role in the BuySell project, transforming the global procurement function to manage transfer pricing, FX, and commodity risk, and established a Shared Service Centre within my team.Designed and implemented a global risk methodology and a comprehensive Business Continuity Plan.Led a project to refinance the business by increasing capital by $50m, coordinating with internal and external stakeholders and securing approval from the Board and Group CFO.Managed and mentored a diverse team of 12 across Switzerland, Hungary and Czechia, coached interns and trainees in the CIMA Global Programme.Developed and updated multiple company policies and approved supply contracts up to $15 million.Served as Secretary of the Financial Control and Assurance Committee, implementing risk methodology and a Business Continuity Plan.Successfully project-managed the implementation of Concur and SharePoint-based T&E systems, drastically reducing the amount of documents being couriered across Europe.

Zug, Switzerland

Reporting to the Financial Controller, I supported the Global Procurement Leadership on all financial matters during the transition to a centralized procurement model.Within a small team, I designed and implemented metrics to measure and report on procurement effectiveness, focusing on cost savings and other efficiencies. Leveraging this model and collaborating with external advisors, I developed a tax-efficient framework for charging fees to group companies.Provided strategic support to procurement teams, evaluating models and strategies, and successfully launched the Global Travel category.

Woking, United Kingdom

Here’s a more dynamic version of your text:Reporting to the Group Head of FP&A, I supported the global FP&A team and the Director of Finance and Control on global projects, internal reporting, Board and external investor reporting (in collaboration with Investor Relations). I also served as a Business Partner to Group Marketing.Led a project to design and implement global strategic and financial KPIs, commodity cost reporting, and Brand P&L reporting, working directly with the Group CFO.Conducted a strategic review of the Africa and Asia regions as part of the head office support for the Asia region.Recommended and implemented changes to the Executive Committee's long-term incentive plans, managing the new process effectively.Implemented ProClarity and Hyperion Essbase systems.Automated the production of CFO briefing booklets, monthly reports, and board reports, reducing the month-end process by two days.

London, United Kingdom

Successfully completed ACA training, gaining valuable external audit experience. Managed insolvent estates, including two Enron companies with assets exceeding $1 billion. Engaged with external parties, managed fund investments, ensured timely supplier payments, and handled professional fee invoicing.Produced a fee application to court, analysing and justifying fees of £4m. User Acceptance Testing on bespoke finance system.

Ba Hons, Economics

Activities and Societies: Netgamer, Rock Society, Tenpin Bowling, Squash, Climbing

Education record

Activities and Societies: Duke of Edinburgh's Award, Scouting