HOW I OPERATE

I am careful about what I claim. At this level that matters more than the claim.

Owned, managed, influenced. Three different words for three different things, and any CFO will find the seam in two questions.

The three words

OWNED.

Formal financial ownership. One place in my career: my own company, where the P&L was mine and the consequences arrived at my own door.

MANAGED.

Direct control of a cost, a workforce, or an operating driver. The operating drivers of an $80 million federal contracting business during the years I held the Chief Operating Officer title alongside Chief Human Resources Officer.

INFLUENCED.

Part of decisions that moved revenue, margin, labor, productivity, cost, or quality, without formal financial accountability. Stanley Associates and Hertz, where the title sat in Human Resources and the decisions sat in operations.

An executive who cannot make those distinctions cleanly is not ready for the seat.

How I think about leadership

1.Clarity before activity.
2.Accountability without bureaucracy.
3.Systems should reduce dependence on individuals.
4.Strong culture and strong performance are not opposites.
5.Leaders should understand both people and economics.

Business drivers I have managed or influenced

Revenue capacity. Aligning staffing, organizational structure, and leadership capability with customer and contract requirements.

Direct labor. Hiring, headcount, deployment, overtime, utilization, restructuring, and reductions in force across 13 states.

Indirect cost. Fringe, overhead, and G&A structure, benefits, recruiting, and administrative infrastructure.

Contract margin. Staffing mix, labor cost, productivity, quality, retention, and contract performance.

Operating expense. Vendor cost, technology investment, workforce programs, and process efficiency.

Productivity. Organizational design, Lean and Six Sigma, performance management, and management accountability.

Risk and compliance. Labor relations, employment risk, federal contractor requirements, SCA classification, and organizational controls.

Quality and delivery. ISO 9001 certification, process standardization, and customer performance.

Growth investment. Where additional people, leadership capability, systems, and infrastructure were required to support expansion.

Acquisition diligence. Revenue, margin, EBITDA, labor economics, customer concentration, integration cost, and synergy potential.

On changing industries

My career has crossed equipment rental, federal services, property disposition, and the performing arts. That has made me a stronger executive, not a less focused one. I do not need to be the person in the room who knows the industry better than everyone else on day one. My responsibility is to understand how the business makes money, what drives cost and performance, where the operational constraints are, and where the organization is getting in its own way.

Credentials

Executive MBA, Pepperdine University, Graziadio School of Business and Management
International Business and Finance Program, Oxford University, United Kingdom
Bachelor of Science, Business Management, University of Phoenix
Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), HRCI
SHRM-SCP, Society for Human Resource Management
Certified High Performance Coach, High Performance Institute