Career summary:
The Freelancer is an executive Finance Director with 19+ career experience, demonstrated a history of adding value across the whole value chain in the industry. Highly-skilled in all Retail and Wholesale channels. Activity-focused Business enabler. A hands-on can-do Business Manager with excellent Leadership and Team skills. A strong Finance Professional with a Master in Business Administration (MBA), focus on International Management from Universität St. Gallen. Reto built, transformed, reorganised and managed Controlling departments and functions. He created transparency on critical performance indicators in order to continuously highlight improvement opportunities and risks and performed finance process optimisations in conjunction with required ERP technologies. He led cross functional international teams and delivered operational support as CFO & Controller. He led the overall financial planning and reporting processes and aligned it with the operational supply planning.

Expertise and Focus:

• Special Purpose CFO with focus on Controlling
• Experienced executive finance person
• Operational hands-on support in the finance organisation
• Finance transformation support in matrix corporations

Highlights of Client Experiences:

• Managed the departments Finance, Controlling and Administration
• Led Group Accounting according to legal and company rules
• Conducted monthly, quarterly and annual closings, consolidation and reporting
• Led the planning processes and ongoing supervision of diverting results
• Developed and maintained new MIS (Management Information Systems)
• Assisted various Project Management under the aspect of financial efficiency
• Drove steering concepts for the finance organization
• Set up budget model and led the budget process, forecasts, and business plans
• Highlight improvement opportunities and risks
• Managed strict cost control to strengthen profitability
• Improved transparency of market and channel performance (consolidated profitability,
  standardized fx-impact, discount modelling)
• Implemented consolidated gross margin & business profitability analysis
• Supported the introduction of apparel in Europe from a financial perspective
• Built up Retail Controlling from 6 Stores in Europe to over 130 Stores in 2011
• Coordinated and monitored marketing activities worldwide (180mCHF) including stringent transparency on spent, committed and planned marketing budgets and their expected paybacks
• Data processing, -consolidation & analyzing of various Profit Centers
• Audited and instructed subsidiaries in reporting matters
• Implemented new Logistic & Finance System (JDEdwards)
• Organized and led stock take in own Stores

Computer literacy and Knowledge:

• Broad ERP-knowledge (RAMCO, JDEdwards, SAP R3)
• Deep knowledge of various reporting systems (BW, BPS, Hyperion, COGNOS, MIK Olap, Tagetik)
• Very good MS Office skills (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Access)

Profile:

Experienced Controlling Director with 20 years demonstrated history of adding value in various industries across the whole value chain and P&L. Highly-skilled in all Retail and Wholesale channels for Budgeting, Reporting and Gap Analysis. Activity-focused Business enabler. A handson can-do Business Manager with excellent Leadership and Team enabling skills. A strong Finance Professional with a Master in Business Administration, focus on International Management from Universität St. Gallen (HSG).

Skills:

• Planning (Budgeting, Forecasting)
• Reporting (P&L, Balance Sheet, Cashflow, Sales, Margin, Costs, Value Driver, KPI)
• Analysis (Financial and Business)
• Teambuilding and Management
• Business Strategy
• Project Management
• Inventory Management
• Strong conceptual and analytical skills, structured work approach
• Excellent communicator with multiple interfaces
• Good team player with strong interpersonal/leadership skills

EDP:

• Broad ERP-knowledge (RAMCO, JDEdwards, SAP R3)
• Deep knowledge of various reporting systems (BW, BPS, Hyperion, COGNOS, MIK Olap, Tagetik)
• Very good MS Office skills (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Access)

Swiss Army:
1991 - 1994
Air Force Officer education plus services