ACCENTS de VILLE Importations Inc.

Accents de Ville is a significantimporter and distributor of giftware from primarily India and China.

 Chief Operations Officer LaSalle, Quebec,September 2007 - February 2009

Roles : Reporting to thePresident; sourcing alternative financing partners, building infrastructure,processes and teams to facilitate the financial and operational survival of thecompany in the face of significant pressure due to a liquidity crunch.

Selected achievements :

Successfully returned the warehousing cost structure to a controlled environment and levelof 6% of shipped values from an onerous level of over 8% in the prior year,with the actual levels in 2008 returning to 6% once all tools chosen had been fully implemented by the end of the 2008 , creating over 200K of new cash flow; 

Instrumental in transforming the lending facility from atraditional commercial banking agreement with a second tier bank to an assetbased lending arrangement better aligned to the cycles of the company's cashflow needs, while also eliminating the imposed requirement of costly monitoringservices imposed by the original lender, eliminating over 200K of annualizedprofessional fees and increasing borrowing capacity by two million dollars.

Reason for departure : Company Sold

ACASS (All Corporate AviationSupport Services) Ltd.

is a leading provider of corporate and private aviation supportservices including charter, crew support and aircraft management, sales and acquisition on a global scale.

                                   

Roles: Reporting to the President; building infrastructure, processes andteams to accommodate and drive rapid, strategic growth of international operations;designing, developing and implementing financial and operational systems tosupport the major lines of business and ensure accurate and timely accountingprocesses; establishing and optimizing data recording standards and data flows;developing a database to enhance client invoicing and re-billing of costs; recruitingand training staff; setting contractual standards and monitoring reports serving as primarycontact with bank; negotiating with suppliers.

 

Selected achievements:

Successfully transitioned the company from paper-based processes to an organization benefiting from rapidand sustainable growth supported by effective and scalable infrastructure andtechnology by optimizing a $500K infrastructure development budget;

Instrumental in helpingthe company to grow from an organization with 12 staff, 15 crew members and 5 aircraft based only in Montreal to a firm with 45 people on the payroll, anadditional base of operation in Hamilton, a dozen aircraft, 50+ crew members,an 8-person finance team and over $30M in annual billings;

Negotiated key contracts with aviation services suppliers, lending institutions (GE-Capital, Scotiabank and HSBC) ($2.85M), application providors ($175K) and credit and pay cardproviders ($5M in annual spending);

Improved productivity,accountability and customer service by developing and implementing robust accounting and reporting platforms and web-based applications tailored tomanagement objectives and leveraged by customers, providers of aircrafts,critical component suppliers and business partners;  

Increased management clarity and effective decision making by developing accurate budgeting methods andintroducing a real-time sales funnel with simple data capture and advancedreporting capabilities;

Improved liquidity by reducing the payment cycle associated with a major cost by approximately 60 days,freeing up credit and resulting in an additional $300K of credit granted by the bank; 

Implemented standards and organizational processes that supported the effective management of over 9000 flight hours for 46 aircrafts serving more than 11,000 passengers as at 2005.

Oliver Bleuer CA

Financial management, accounting system development and business consulting firm providing services to an international client base of medium-to-large companies across a wide array of industries, including pharmaceutical, transportation,food service, professional services, clothing, legal, technology and mining.

 

Owner                                

Montreal, Quebec

October 2003 - March2005 | February 1991 - September 2002 | February 2009 - Present

Roles: Selected, designed and implemented effective financial management and accounting systems tailored to the business objectives of clients; developed and executed strategies, plans and processes to significantly improve complexfinancial reporting environments and the management of client resources; trainedstaff; rapidly developed tailored applications at a reasonable cost; evaluated,selected and coordinated with technology suppliers; prepared and deliveredpresentations; executed all business development and lead generation.  

 

Selected achievements:

Delivered presentations throughout North America to key financial and operational executives at industry trade shows and conferences on such topics as system selection, data mining and business intelligence;

Client: Bombardier (2month contract) - delivered cost justification based on multidimensional analysis for an IT project presented to the National Transportation Council of a foreign government;

Client: Cambior Inc. (6 month contract) - developed a customized Hedger Financial Instrument Trading System for one of Canada's largest gold producers to effectively monitor over $650M USD of financial future instruments covering the production of 6 mining properties with life spans upto 10 years; the tailored system was so effective that the Company acquired thefull rights for a significant sum to ensure that the impressive applicationcould not be duplicated by competitors;

Client: Richter Management Ltd. (7 month contract) - assisted a provider of accounting firm management services by developing and integrating systems that managed finances,project accounting, billing, customer relationships and HR, as well as a traveland expense management system that delivered improved control of $4M in annual spending by more than 400 staff; managed and trained a staff of 6;

Client: Pizza Hut (18month contract) - designed, developed and implemented effective financial and consolidated reporting systems for a master franchisee for use across 39 locationsin Montreal and the North Shore; directly trained and managed a staff of 5;

Client: Omai Goldmines (16 month contract) - designed and implemented comprehensive Financial and Mobile Equipment Maintenance systems for a gold mine in Guyana, South America;

Client: Canderm Pharma (8month contract) - developed and implemented Financial and Inventory Lot NumberControl systems for Canada’s leading independent skin care company manufacturing and distributing therapeutic skincare products nationally; trained and managed a staff of 5;

Client: Hoechst Marion Roussel (6 month contract) - successfully designed and implemented effective Financial and Reporting Systems for broad consumer product lines on an international scope for a world leader in pharmaceutical-based health care andaligned them to existing external systems for enhanced reporting and control;trained and managed a staff of 3;

Client: Colby Monet (9 month contract) - managed the successful integration of a merger between two Montreal-based law firms with 15 partners and 20 staff; established new IT standards, unified and optimized legacy systems and developed their first trulyeffective client relationship management system;

Client: Btrieve Technologies (5 month contract)- designed and implemented an effective customer relationship management systemto enhance international distribution for a database system developer in Austin, Texas.

Le Biftheque & Sam Seltzer'sSteakhouse

Afranchise chain of restaurants serving tens of thousands of customers each weekthrough 17 locations in Florida, Ontario, and Quebec. 

 

VP Finance

Montreal, Quebec & Tampa, Florida,

October 2002 - September 2003

Roles:Reported to the President; implemented andmonitored Financial, Labour Costing and Point of Sale systems and technologiesaffecting over 500 employees in locations across Quebec, Ontario and Florida; enhancedthe infrastructure to support and promote a period of very rapid growth and thegeneration of over $50M in annual revenues; hired and trained staff; directed a5-person accounting staff. 

Zyng Asian Grill

With locations in Quebec, Ontario,Florida, Minnesota,Illinois, Dubai,Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar,and India, The Zyng AsianGrill is an innovative Pan-Asian-style restaurant franchise offering exciting flavors of Asian cuisine from China,Japan, Thailand, Vietnam,Singapore and Korea. 

 

Co-Founder& Partner                                                                  Montreal, Quebec,

August 1998 - July 2001

Roles: Co-foundedthe first restaurant and subsequent franchise chain; built, grew and sold asignificant commercial venture; designed and implemented the financial and operationalcontrols for the chain; managed human resources, suppliers and multiple locationson a day-to-day basis, including resource planning, staff scheduling,purchasing, food preparation, client service, marketing, PR, cash control andfranchisee reporting.

 

Richter Usher Vineberg

Foundedin 1926, Richter Usher Vineberg is one of the largest independent accounting,business advisory and consulting firms in Canada.

 

Manager of IT  

Westmount, Quebec,

September 1989 -February 1991

Roles: Reported toPartners; assisted in the development of strategic and tactical plans toimplement core technologies for a multi-divisional environment with 35 partnersand 300 staff; trained personnel and designed an IT Training Program; developedand implemented Financial and Client Profitability systems and procedures;established the firm's first standards for the training and development oftechnology skills for accounting professionals.

 

Additional Work Experience

Auditor,Richter Usher Vineberg, Westmount, Quebec, September 1983 -September 1989