McGill University

Marianopolis College

Chief Financial Officer

retailu

Advisory Board

Globe Electric

Established in 2008, DAVIDsTEA (NASDAQ: DTEA) is the largest Canadian-based specialty tea boutique with $216M in revenues generated from 236 company-operated stores in Canada and the US, and its eCommerce site (www.davidstea.com).

● Overseeing all financial aspects and governance of a company with 2,000 full and part-time staff across North America with a focus on driving the sustainable growth, efficiency and optimization of financial infrastructure, operations, staff and internal controls to support business transformation and rapid, strategic expansion (186 stores in Canada and 50 in the US - and growing); 

● Directing strategic planning, financial planning, financial and operational functions/systems, cost/benefit analyses, economic modeling, strategic sourcing, salary/compensation/incentives, etc.; 

● Leading investor relations, Board interactions/reporting and serving as the company's financial spokesperson to the public and stakeholders;

● Managing a 15-person team; 

● Driving corporate development and best practices as a member of the Management Leadership Committee, Corporate Disclosure Committee, Risk Management Committee, Quality Assurance Committee, and IT Steering and Security Committees (as well as participant in the Audit Committee).

DAVIDsTEA

(See above company overview)

● Led all aspects of finance, accounting, payroll, administration and related functions, systems, infrastructure and retail-level guidelines and processes to manage in-store operational costs across a growing network of 181 stores in Canada and 50 in the US; 

● Developed and managed the entire company budget from sales through expenses; 

● Collaborated in business development, merchandise planning and inventory management; 

● Contributed to business planning, corporate/brand development, value proposition, risk/cost control and best practice implementation as a member of several senior leadership committees; 

● Managed all accounting functions, external and regulatory reporting, multi-year financial planning, disclosure and compliance (SEC, Canadian and US GAAP).

CONTRIBUTIONS: ► Worked cross-functionally across all aspects of the business as a key member of the leadership team that developed the company, brand, vision, operations, infrastructure and retail chain from start-up  ► Led early-stage operations, logistics and inventory management for the North American chain ► Built the Accounting team from 0 to 15 people ► Co-led the selection/ implementation of systems that impacted all facets of the business, including Cost Control, ERP, POS, Warehouse Management, Finance, Allocation, Ecommerce and Payroll systems ►	Instrumental in the company's successful IPO in June 2015

Chief Accounting Officer

With revenues of $45M+ prior to being reaquired by GI Sportz, Procaps LP was the world’s largest, most successful, privately owned manufacturer of paintballs, soft gel encapsulation and other products for the paintball industry (www.gisportz.com)

● Oversaw all financial aspects and operations of a 215-employee manufacturing and distribution company with seven distribution centres in Canada, US and Europe; 

● Led financial planning and reporting, business planning, accounting systems, financing, compliance, annual budgeting, tax, and leasing; 

● Managed a 10-person Finance team; 

● Excelled as a key member of the senior management team responsible for corporate development and the long-term strategic direction of the organization; 

● Designed, developed and implemented financial and operational systems to support major lines of business; 

● Drove process improvement in operations, logistics and inventory management; 

● Served as the chief financial spokesperson for the organization to the Board of Directors, banking syndicate, business partners, media, stakeholders and institutional lenders.

ACHIEVEMENTS: ► Led due diligence and the acquisitions of three businesses in four years and facilitated the strategic merger and integration of resources, including streamlining workforces, negotiating lease terminations, closing/consolidating redundant distribution centres, and aligning accounting and financial activities across different corporate entities ► Instrumental member of the leadership team that built a North American-wide distribution network and drove $45M in incremental revenue

Procaps LP

With 500+ employees and offices in Montreal, Toronto and Chicago, Richter is one of the largest accounting and consulting firms in Canada and winner of multiple awards in recognition of its being one of Montreal's Top Employers and Canada's Top 100 Employers (www.richter.ca).  

● Planned and led all aspects of financial audits for 10 to 15 private and public retail, manufacturing and real estate businesses with annual sales between $2M to $250M; 

● Oversaw 45 staff members including training, work delegation, performance management and evaluations; 

● Performed financial analysis and due diligence; 

● Consulted on business planning/modelling and restructuring.

Richter

Principal

As one of the "Big Four" accounting firms, EY is one of the largest professional services organization in the world with $29B+ in revenues and more than 230,000 employees in 700 offices around 150 countries (www.ey.com). 

● Led audit/assurance service and solution delivery to a portfolio of small-to-large retail and wholesale companies with comprehensive management of tax files; 

● Oversaw 5 staff accountants, audit functions and compliance across diverse mandates; 

● Managed full cycle procedures in relation to audits and the preparation of client accounting files, financial statements and corporate tax returns.

Cpa Howard Tafler