Corporate Controller Confidential Search & Selection HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL - The information in this position description is highly confidential. Please consider that this email contains confidential and/or privileged information. Any unauthorized copying, disclosure or distribution of the material in this email is strictly prohibited. Candidate shall not disclose to any person any confidential information concerning this position. If you are not the intended recipient (or have received this document in error) please notify the sender immediately and destroy this document.
World Wide Search World Class Leaders US Partner of IMD International Search
CLIENT:
American Express Global Business Travel
ROLE:
Corporate Controller
LOCATION:
New York Metro, US
REPORTS TO:
Chief Financial Officer
WEBSITE:
www.amexglobalbusinesstravel.com
ITUATION OVERVIEW psen Fuller Group has been engaged to recruit a Corporate Controller to provide inspiring leadership to the Global Finance & Accounting team on multiple dimensions.
BOUT AMERICAN EXPRESS GLOBAL BUSINESS TRAVEL merican Express Global Business Travel (“GBT”) is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success by providing end-toend corporate travel and meetings program management – for companies of all sizes and across all industries – through best-in-class booking technology, smart analytics, worldwide strategic partnerships, and exceptional care. heir customers benefit from purchasing power to access negotiated rates and innovations that boost compliance, simplify reporting and help take the stress out of business travel. It all adds up to a bigger return on business travel and meetings investment – and a better bottom line. ith a presence in nearly 120 countries on six continents and 12,000 employees worldwide, GBT is always nearby and ready to help their customers succeed, no matter where they do business. That’s why companies around the world, including 37 of the 100 largest travel spenders in the U.S., trust American Express Global Business Travel with their most precious asset of all, their people. pun out of American Express in 2014, GBT is a joint venture owned 50% each by American Express, and Certares, an investor group headed by senior management with significant experience in the travel industry. The next phase of the transformation, which is aimed at accelerating the growth of this business through additional investments that will be used to develop and/or acquire new products, services and capabilities that will help GBT meet the evolving needs of its customers and continue to build their global business.
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ositioned at the intersection of commerce and travel, American Express Global Business Travel offers its customers a comprehensive network, service dependability, and deep insight to help move people and businesses forward. GBT provides leading travel solutions, integrated consulting services, proprietary research, and end-to-end meetings and events capabilities. These innovative offerings enable customers to optimize the return on their travel and meetings investments. heir customers benefit from large-scale purchasing power to access negotiated rates as well as GBT’s innovations that boost compliance, simplify reporting and help take the stress out of business travel. It all adds up to a bigger return on business travel and meetings investment – and a better bottom line.
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Corporate Controller
GBT’s portfolio of services includes Travel Management, Meetings & Events Management, and Global Business Consulting.
Travel Management: Booking, Assist, Optimize and Analyze GBT enables businesses to seamlessly book business travel, provides expert care and immediate assistance, even in a crisis, control spending and automate compliance, and deliver knowledge through robust data, insight, and analytics.
Meetings & Events: End-to-End Management Services
GBT transforms its customers’ meeting investments through its team of over 1,000 meetings professionals on the ground in over 140 countries and extensive buying power with 46,000 meetings and 3.9 million room nights annually.
Global Business Consulting: Travel Optimization
Optimizing your travel investment results-oriented approach allow us to build and implement strategies that can help streamline operations, improve the traveler experience, reduce risk, and increase savings.
READ TRAVEL CASE STUDIES
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ENIOR MANAGEMENT
Greg O’Hara Chairman Greg O’Hara is an investor with significant experience in the travel industry. He founded Certares and is currently its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. O’Hara is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Travel Leaders Group and has previously served on the boards of Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Travelport, Worldspan Technologies and various other companies. Prior to founding Certares, he was the Chief Investment Officer at JPMorgan Chase's Special Investments Group and was also a Managing Director at One Equity Partners. Earlier in his career, he served as an Executive Vice President of Corporate Planning and Development of Worldspan Technologies and Worldspan, a Senior Vice President of Sabre, Inc. and various other positions. He holds an M.B.A from Vanderbilt University.
Doug Anderson Chief Executive Officer Doug Anderson came to GBT from his previous role at Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) where he served as the CEO and President after initially joining CWT as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining CWT, Doug worked for the Eastman Kodak Group as Finance Director of Digital & Film Imaging Systems for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. He also served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Offer at SITA, an IT and telecommunications service provider to the air transport industry. Doug spent 25 years at United Parcel Service of America, Inc. (UPS), where his most recent positions included Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer for UPS Logistics Group. He has extensive international experience in the Asia-Pacific region and Europe. Doug is a Certified Public Accountant and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska. He currently resides with his family in the London area.
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ENIOR MANAGEMENT
Philippe Chérèque President Philippe Chérèque is responsible for GBT’s customer-facing organizations, including Sales and Client Management, Global Business Consulting, Meetings & Events, and Technology. Prior to that, he served as the Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy, responsible for driving and coordinating the company’s business development, marketing, technical architecture and product plan. Mr. Chérèque joined Amadeus Global Travel Distribution S.A. as one of the founders in 1987. Prior to joining Amadeus, Mr. Chérèque worked at Air France for seven years, where he held a number of managerial positions in operational research, computer analysis and passenger application software development. A graduate Engineer of the Institut Supérieur d’Electronique de Paris, Mr. Chérèque also holds a Master of Science degree in Electronics from the University of Paris.
Martine Gerow Chief Financial Officer Martine Gerow is Chief Financial Officer of American Express Global Business Travel (GBT), responsible for overall financial management of the company, its financial reporting and transparency, and for multiple corporate functions including Controller, Treasury, Tax, Audit, Pricing, Financial Planning and Analysis. Prior to joining American Express Global Business Travel, Martine served as Chief Financial Officer of Carlson Wagonlit Travel where she led a large global team overseeing all functions within the finance division. She has also held CFO positions at French media services company Solocal Groupe and Spanish multinational food company, Campofrio. Earlier in her career, she was a strategy consultant for the Boston Consulting Group, before moving to PepsiCo and then Danone, where she held Division CFO and Group Controller roles. Martine received a business degree from HEC Paris and an MBA from the Columbia Business School in New York. She has been a member of the audit committee and board of directors for HSBC France since 2012 and BPI France Investment since 2015
Review GBT’s Entire Management Team!
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Corporate Controller COMPELLING OPPORTUNITY ith approximately 12,000+ employees worldwide and an outstanding leadership team, American Express Global Business Travel offers the best of both worlds, i.e.. a start-up, entrepreneurial company with a rich legacy, deep pockets, and a world-class brand. potentially career defining role, this is an exciting opportunity to help shape the next phase in GBT’s evolution and drive the exponential growth of a vitally important business service offering that is revolutionizing the space. heir addressable market is virtually unlimited in scope and the industry is ripe for innovation, new technology enablement, and consolidation though acquisition, all of which GBT is poised to leverage for its future success. he newly hired Corporate Controller will partner with the Chief Financial Officer to spearhead that growth across the globe and have the potential opportunity to enjoy the rewards of its eventual exit in the future.
EY RELATIONSHIPS eports to:
Chief Financial Officer
ey Relationships:
Audit (External & Internal) Board of Directors Business Leadership
FP&A Global Billing Off-Shore Back Office
Tax Technology Treasury
COPE OF ACCOUNTABILITIES s the Corporate Controller, this individual will provide inspiring leadership to the Global Controllership Team across multiple geographies and functions to include, Accounting & Reporting Operations, Internal Controls, Regulatory & Compliance, as well as provide stewardship of the critical assets of the organization and strategic finance support to the CFO and entire leadership team. S/he will demonstrate a commitment to excellence in execution across the entire function of approximately 70 accounting professionals and 30+ markets globally. /he will possess the ability to see the big picture and recognize the need to assess control issues broadly, to effectively challenge the status quo, problem solve and be hands-on in finding solutions in a very fastgrowing, entrepreneurial and demanding environment that places a premium on execution.
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Specific Accountabilities Include: Accounting & Reporting Operations
Direct all day-to-day technical and accounting activities and financial reporting functions of the company; Oversee the monthly financial close and global consolidation processes to ensure the production of timely and accurate monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements;
Lead and direct the company’s internal, external and regulatory financial reporting in accordance with US GAAP/various local GAAPs, IFRS, and SEC both at the legal entity and consolidated group level that will meet the needs of stakeholders, financial regulators and external parties;
Provide management oversight and direction for offshore, “shared-service” back office accounting functions;
Build and improve the capabilities of the finance organization by partnering with other financial leaders to establish a smart finance infrastructure of systems, processes, and protocols that ensures optimization of assets and resources for future growth and business strategies;
Develop and lead a cohesive financial and accounting team that is readily accountable, gets things done, and ensure that the finance department works effectively as valued partners of the global business;
Regulatory & Compliance
Assess, design, and optimize the accounting department infrastructure, systems, processes and protocols to improve efficiencies;
Establish and implement financial policies and internal controls that are effective, consistent, and relevant to business activities and transactions, ensuring the integrity of financial information including SOX compliance;
Responsible for all aspects of external and internal audit and regulatory management, including planning and managing the annual audit, and the relationships with outside auditors and financial regulators across 30+ markets;
Review and implement new accounting standards and pronouncements that broadly impact the business such as new entities, structures, and/or countries etc., requiring new accounting support and reporting;
Strategic Finance
Provide financial and strategic management information and analysis to support the CFO in dealing with investor groups, the Board, and relevant committees;
Effectively manage technical and strategic issues arising from changes in the business, new contracts, and M&A activities;
Cultivate business relationships and frequently interact with all stakeholders including senior management, geographically diverse finance teams (Tax, FP&A, Treasury, Internal Audit, etc.), functional business leaders, board of directors, external auditors and others, as appropriate.
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Corporate Controller ESIRED QUALIFICATIONS he Corporate Controller will be a technically savvy and service-oriented individual who is a successful senior level accounting/finance professional with demonstrated success in leading and building value within the finance, accounting and controllership functions of a multi-national organization that is technology, marketing and sales driven. This executive will have the demonstrated ability to build and lead a cutting edge team in a fast-paced, demanding culture that puts a great emphasis on execution to ensure the organization's success relative to plans. ell-versed in the art of building relationships in a multi-cultural environment, this individual must possess excellent communication skills, an executive presence, and the ability to lead as well as influence and work effectively across the organization, both internally and externally.
Experience & Skills Required: Industry While neither specific travel nor hospitality industry experience is required, preference will be given to those with deep experience in a business services organization and particularly those in heavy data and/or transaction technology environments such as payment processing, funds transfer processing and the like; Minimum 3+ years’ Big 4 accounting background is a must; Experience working in a PE held company will be considered a significant plus; Finance A minimum of 15+ years of experience in progressively more responsible financial functions, most recently as the Corporate Controller, or Division Controller of a large-cap global enterprise, leading the delivery of an integrated, full-scale and highly responsive accounting and controllership function in a multi-national, if not global, organization with a large number of subsidiaries; Extensive experience working with C-Suite, executive teams and the Board on topics to include financial reporting & analysis, audit, asset protection, as well as risk assessment & mitigation; Proven success in providing insight, analysis and clarity to support CFO and other senior leaders; Ability to rapidly frame business challenges and lead key initiatives to build systems & processes that support overall finance function objectives; Advanced knowledge of US GAAP and various local GAAPs (including IFRS), SEC reporting, SOX compliance, etc., both at legal entity levels and at consolidated group level, is required;
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Experience in M&A transactions is preferred, as is experience in bringing a company to the public markets through an IPO, and/or public debt offerings, including SEC registrants/filings, prospectus and offering memorandum preparation, and knowledge of specific accounting requirements thereof; Leadership Demonstrated experience in developing, leading and balancing a strong international finance team, while managing its capabilities, associated costs and desired service levels; Track record of partnering effectively across the company, exhibiting influence and organizational perception, execution & project management skills (strategy through implementation) as well as executive presence/impact; Business Acumen Savvy commercial awareness combined with strong financial acumen, as well as superior conceptual and critical thinking skills, a quick learner, high intellectual curiosity, naturally innovative; Entrepreneurial Growth Experience in pioneering in a fast-growth entrepreneurial environment; Education & Certification Bachelor’s degree and CPA a must; other certifications and/or advanced degree(s) in relevant discipline from top-tier school a strong plus.
Behavioral Competencies Required Outcome Orientation An outcome-focused individual who sets VERY ambitious, challenging goals, and drives a HIGHLY resultsoriented organization with a focus on quantifiable results; Passion and Drive High energy and hard-driving with a roll-your-sleeves up approach, operating with a strong sense of urgency to get things done quickly; Analytical A basically logical, task-oriented, and analytical individual who is likely to think through a problem, weighing the pros and cons, while developing and implementing a solution; Interpersonal Skills A cooperative team-player with ability to influence, motivate, and build consensus; the gravitas, selfawareness and sensitivity to operate across the organization; Shaping Change A risk-taker who believes s/he can make things happen and embraces opportunities to shape change, using an innate sense of urgency to keep the momentum going forward quickly; Decisive Focused on the big picture, this individual will be self-assured and decisive, seeing her/himself as a resourceful problem solver.
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Corporate Controller OMPENSATION he successful candidate will receive a compelling compensation package, which will include an attractive base salary, performance-based incentive, and opportunity for equity participation. A generous benefits package includes PTO, medical, dental and vision coverage, life & disability, 401K and more.
OCATION ew York City Metro region.
NTERVIEW PROCESS psen Fuller Group provides our client companies with a best-in-class hiring process the foundation of which is our Performance Based AssessmentSM methodology, designed to guarantee the best fit for everyone involved, i.e., candidates and clients. We believe finding the individual best suited for a role involves closely matching performance, skills and attributes of candidates to the highly specific needs of our clients. ur entire process is built around providing a superior outcome for our clients. To this end, our assessment process is thorough and measures not only skills and business acumen but cultural fit as well. Our interview process has been carefully discussed with our client and will include:
1) 2) 3) 4)
Initial Qualifying discussion with Epsen Fuller Group;
5) 6) 7)
Face-to-Face interviews with the Finalists and Client hiring team;
Presentation of Short List Candidates to Client for approval; Face-to-Face Interviews with Epsen Fuller; Finalists will then complete the McQuaig Behavioral Survey to compare individual traits to those sought for the role; the Finalists will also submit written answers to a brief series of SAR (Situation-Action-Result) questions to highlight performance synergy with the client’s position; Offer Presentation with Epsen Fuller Group; Candidate Acceptance and start.
All inquires are kept strictly confidential
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BOUT EPSEN FULLER GROUP Epsen Fuller Group, is a Top-20 executive search and leadership consulting firm headquartered in New York, and with offices in New Jersey and San Francisco as well as in major markets and business centers throughout the world, providing instant access to a world-class executive talent pool driving the global economy. For nearly 20 years, clients have trusted Epsen Fuller Group to deliver top leadership talent around the world. Using a proven, data-driven Performance Based AssessmentSM process, Epsen Fuller delivers a dynamic experience, outstanding service, and exceptional value in Executive & Board Search as well as Leadership, Governance, and Private Equity Advisory services. Thomas Fuller, CEO & Managing Director, tfuller@epsenfuller.com, +1 212.392.4842 Mr. Fuller is the founder of Epsen Fuller Group and has served as its Managing Director & CEO since 1997. He has delivered hundreds of board and leadership projects for Fortune 500 and SME’s, as well as private equity or venture-backed and non-profit clients. An NACD Certified Board Governance Fellow, Mr. Fuller is an Independent Director and Chair of the Compensation and Nominating/Governance Committees for Tingley Corporation. He is also a Board Director, and America’s Council Treasurer of the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC), Director of the NACD NJ Chapter, and former Board Director of IMD International Search. A Fordham University Alumni, Tom was bestowed AESC’s Eleanor Raynolds Award in recognition of excellence in executive search combined with a strong commitment to the community. He was named by Hunt Scanlon a NYC Top 60 search professional, and has been featured in the business press including Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, USA Today, and Fast Company.
Rick Cannellos, CFO& Senior Partner, rcannellos@epsenfuller.com, +1 646.706.7602 Rick Cannellos leads the Financial Officers Practice for the firm and specializes in leading CFO and financial officer assignments, serving clients across all industries, including the life sciences, consumer, technology, and retail sectors. Rick has completed hundreds of financial officer searches including CFOs, controllers, treasurers, divisional chief financial officers, functional heads of tax, internal audit, reporting, planning & analysis, and corporate development for Fortune 500, private equity portfolio, and private companies. Rick began his career in the Audit Practice of Ernst & Young where he operated in a senior management role for a wide and diverse group of clientele. Rick holds a Bachelor Degree in Accounting from the University of Mount Union. A CPA, Rick is a member of the American Institute of CPAs(AICPA), the NJ Society of CPAs (NJSCPA), and the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC). Additionally, he serves as Treasurer on the Executive Board of Embrace Kids Foundation. Equal Employment Opportunity
Epsen Fuller Group shall provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified candidates, and will refer candidates without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected basis. Epsen Fuller Group shall comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations in the performance of duties pursuant to this project, including but not limited to, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and state and local anti-discrimination laws to the extent applicable.
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