Phillip Penn, Mba Email & Phone Number

Concord, Nc, Us

Concord, North Carolina, Us

Provided oversight and leadership to a finance organization of 17 professionals and more than 40 school treasurers. Manage an annual operating budget of $520 million in a rapidly growing school District with 36,000 students and 4,500 employees.- Rapidly changed operating protocols to turn an inherited $8.5 million budget deficit into a $4.5 million surplus.- Introduced monthly financial reports to increase understanding and provide greater transparency regarding the District’s financial position for elected leaders, school community members and county taxpayers.

Hartford, Connecticut, Us

Led the Finance and Risk Management organization of a school district with an annual operating budget in excess of $430 million per year. The District’s schools served nearly 18,000 students.• Provided financial oversight to $145 million in Federal COVID-19 related relief grants.• Initiated a strategic assessment of the Finance function to ensure the organization was staffed and structured for the long-term needs of the District

New Haven, Connecticut, Us

Led a 22-person Finance organization charged with the fiscal oversight of the largest public school system in Connecticut. The District’s $290 million operating budget, which included nearly $90 million in grants, served 21,000 students across 41 schools.• Reduced an inherited operating deficit of nearly $10 million to under $500,000 in eight months.• Expanded monthly financial disclosure to Board and public, expanding transparency in government.• Led staff through transition to work-from-home arrangements in response to Covid-19 pandemic.

Responsible for managing $40 million operating budget and investment and custody of $50 million in pension and other deposit assets for the Town and Board of Education. Managed a staff of eight professionals whose responsibilities included A/P and A/R, cash management, payroll and benefits, risk management and Federal and State grant compliance.- Restructured finance operations to a single department from two distinct Town and Board of Education departments.- Improved presentation of materials and data quality supporting three elected Boards.- Initiated design stage of project to move to common accounting software platform for all town departments.

Utilized prior experience as a local school board member and financial leader to help a struggling school district resolve issues with its Federal and State grant accounting. Handled all non-academic District operations, including A/P and A/R, transportation, food services and HR/benefits. Cut $500,000 in expenses from the proposed annual operating budget, and recovered more than $1.2 million in grant funds from the Federal and State government.• Restructured transportation operations to eliminate $135,000 from annual costs.• Completed four concurrent solar power installations, saving the district $75,000 per year in energy costs.• Brought food service operations in house, eliminating $65,000 in taxpayer funded annual operating losses.

Raised equity and founded a multi-state, private retail coffee company with sales of $1.6 million and 45 employees. Handled all aspects of running the business, including general management, financial, marketing, real estate and sourcing.• Applied corporate ‘best practices’ in a small retail coffee business, lowering the overall cost structure by approximately 11%.• Improved employee screening, selection and training processes, cutting employee turnover by 60%.

Hartford, Ct, Us

Accountable for consolidating and analyzing results across several Project Management Offices within a Fortune 100 financial services company. Key responsibilities include IT project planning and funding approval, and spearheading The Hartford’s Finance and Accounting Outsourcing (FAO) effort.• Successfully steered the PMO through an intensive effort to optimize IT expenditures from six business segments into a new organizational hierarchy, reducing requested annual project funding by two thirds ($300 million).• Directed The Hartford’s Finance Transformation initiative, leading a group of peers through vendor due diligence, detailed process documentation, risk analysis, implementation and employee change management. Reduced costs by $10 million per year.

Hartford, Ct, Us

Lead the finance function of the Claims area, which had annual expenses of $850 million and payments to claimants of nearly $5.5 billion. Accountable for all financial matters, including the Operating Plan, IT expenditures, real estate portfolio and financial reporting. Direct and mentor a staff of 15 financial professionals.• Designed and implemented new processes such as work from home arrangements and third party sourcing to eliminate $20 million in annual expenses.• Managed several major company-wide expense initiatives, eliminating redundant functions, cutting outside vendor spending and consolidating surplus real estate. Reduced annual expenses by nearly $150 million.• Analyzed and presented data in several M&A due diligence exercises, providing The Hartford’s senior management with critical information regarding potential transactions.

Hartford, Ct, Us

Worked closely with the senior leadership team to develop external and internal financial communications. Analyze financial data to build clear and consistent messaging of the company’s results. Create financial presentations for investors, rating agencies and the Board of Directors while coaching and developing a staff of five.• Using prior investor relations experience, advised key business leaders on ways to overhaul the Property & Casualty company’s financial communications message, resulting in an a better valuation for the common stock.• Improved quality of internal reporting by cutting unneeded material and streamlining the presentation of key data, reducing monthly reporting cycle by four days.• Participated in the inaugural class of The Hartford’s Leadership Impact Program; the program was targeted at preparing the top 2% of all AVPs and Directors in the company for advancement to VP level.

Bristol, Ct, Us

Responsible for initiating an investor relations program for an international aerospace and automotive manufacturer. Oversee all corporate communications activities, while giving direction to a staff of four. Prepare MD&A section of quarterly and annual SEC filings and serve on the company’s Disclosure Committee.• Engineered the company’s first common stock offering in 60 years, raising $42.3 million in new capital and increasing trading liquidity and institutional ownership, driving a 3X increase in the market capitalization of the company. In March 2004, named Barnes Group’s Employee of the Year for the success of the equity offering.

Hartford, Ct, Us

While managing a staff of three, accountable for executing all aspects of the investor relations program for The Hartford.

New York, Us

Responsible for advising senior management of client firms in the insurance, banking, energy and manufacturing sectors on investor relations strategies to best maximize shareholder value. Serve as the division’s controller.

Master Of Business Administration (Mba), Concentration In Finance

Bachelor Of Science (B.S.), Finance & Business Management