Ravi Kuckian
+91 9930405963 | ravisoumil73@gmail.com | https://www.linkedin.com/in/ravi-kuckian-92449b1
PROFESSIONAL PROFILE & PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS
Senior Finance Leader | CFO | VP - Finance
(Healthcare/Pharma | Manufacturing/Trading | FMCG/Cosmetics |Logistics)
? Worked with global brands like L’Oreal, Johnson & Johnson, CHEP India (Brambles group, Australia), Faces Cosmetics Inc, Canada, and Ortho Clinical Diagnostics (owned by PE firm Carlyle Group)
? Board Membership- Strong experience working with a global PE. Member of the Indian Leadership Team & Director Finance for India & SAARC region at Ortho Clinical Diagnostics owned by Global Private Equity firm, Carlyle Group.
? Delivered competitive edge by completely mitigating Asset ownership risk at Ortho India. Provided Business support and leadership to an organisation pivoting to a growth phase.
? International Exposure: Exposure to working in an International environment, implementing standard costing, and budgeting processes in Canada. Interacted with international vendors, franchisees & bankers. Imbibed Team management skills of handling regional team members across different countries.
? Strategizing MNC/Start up India Entry - As CFO India, led P&L and successfully helped Faces Cosmetics, Canada transition Business, Operations, and Finance processes to India. Spearheaded the entire gamut of finance, Business planning and accounting for Indian and Canadian Operations. Monitored the POS offtakes & inventory.
? Saved the parent company $30M of cash infusion as Financial Controller of CHEP India a wholly owned subsidiary of Australia listed Brambles Group. Reduced DSO from 125 to 85 days. Handled $70M top line and $21M Capex. Implemented GST & E waybill and led Procure to Pay & Order to Cash process automation.
? L’Oreal India- Held dual position of Corporate Controller & Divisional Controller in a Matrix reporting structure. Overall responsibility for corporate support service cost, Divisional P&L for LPD division, highlighting & flagging off areas of risks & opportunity, preparation & publishing of corporate MIS deck to France L’Oreal HQ. Wore multiple hats as IT Controller, Supply Chain & Logistics Controller as well as Payroll Controller.
? Johnson & Johnson- Published MIS for US, New Brunswick & APAC. Part of the team responsible for driving continuous improvement plan and the Transport cost rationalization project, Plant finance & Costing.
KEY EXPERTISE
? Key Expertise- Financial Management, Financial Controlling, Financial Budgeting & Forecasting, Financial Planning & Analysis, Preparation & review of financial statements under US GAAP & IGAAP, Product Costing, Plant finance, Pricing, Advising on Investments productivity, Business Partnering in Leadership Role, Cash Optimization, Cash & Capex management, Banking /treasury, Litigation handling & management.
? Direct /Indirect Tax Management- Led the Implementation of GST, E-way bill & E Invoicing. Led projects which bought in Tax efficiencies & mitigated risks in Taxation & regulatory environment.
? Pricing Strategy- New product pricing, differential pricing for products & services, pricing strategies to retain/win customers, strategies for export market.
? Financial IT Integration- Led Financial Process Automation for invoice payment & cash collection processes. Implemented Concur travel & expenditure to bring in transparency & visibility in controlling T&E expenses. Played a key role in implementing an integrated system compatible with the latest GST & E-Invoicing criteria.
? Risk compliance & Internal Controls- Implemented risk control matrix for all processes and strengthened Internal Controls. Maintained & Updated risk registers. Drove risk mitigation plans & strategies within set deadlines.
? Litigation Management- Led litigations along with legal counsel at High courts, Tribunals & various appellate bodies. Represented companies on industry-wide issues at various bodies like FICCI & CII including on Import tariff rationalisation, HSN/CTH classification, IGST, BCD etc
? Business Partnering & Support- Advice business on effective Capex deployment ensuring expected return on investment. Provide insights on customer performance, product performance and effectiveness of distributor margins. Support business with preparation of Business cases as well as Capex approvals on strategic deals which fall outside of global guidelines.
? Decision-Making Strategy &Insights- Publish dashboard metrics on customer growth. Prepare Operational & Finance review decks for India & regional presentation, support financial presentations for budgets/forecasts and front-end discussions with key defaulting customers & dispute resolution. Suggest cost controls measures to keep the P&L within budget. Provide support to leadership on ad-hoc business-critical issues & finances.
? Statutory Compliances & Regulatory Compliances- Oversee statutory compliances in Tax (Direct & Indirect, Audits (Internal, Statutory & Group), FEMA, ROC, Internal Finance Control framework & Risk compliance.
? Negotiations Skills- Led price & cost negotiation with key vendors like the CHA/transport vendors/CFA’s, which has provided impetus to the organisation cost reduction exercises.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE & SELECT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Finance Controller – India & SAARC | Ortho Clinical Diagnostics India, Mumbai Sep 2018- Present
Owned by global PE firm Carlyle Group, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics makes products and diagnostic equipment for blood testing. Divested from a Johnson & Johnson group company in 2014. Presence in 125+ countries with ~ $1B turnover
Part of the India Leadership Team & Member of the Board of Directors for both India & SAARC regions. Lead entire Finance, Accounting, Treasury, Compliance, Management & Statutory Accounts, Internal Controls, Commercial Finance, Variance Analysis, preparation of the Annual Business Plan & Forecasts. Advise management on pricing deal in line with the global mandate & internal policies. Lead Receivables & Dispute management. Report to the ASPAC Finance Director & support the India Country Manager
FINANCIAL & BUSINESS LEADERSHIP IMPACT AT A GLOBAL PE OWNED FIRM
? Delivered competitive edge by completely mitigating Asset ownership risk (financial, operational & regulatory) for an organisation with a heavy asset base enabling equipment to be placed with the customer to generate revenue. Avoided cash blockages in restrictive deposits to the tune of $2M (INR 15 Cr.)
? Released money locked in restrictive deposits worth INR 8 Cr. (another 40 Cr. in the pipeline) during the COVID pandemic enabling the company to stay afloat when receivable collections were at its record low.
? Led the E-invoicing project mandated by the GOI. Re-visited and aligned business process, customer engagements, Supply chain processes, IT capabilities with the E invoicing project. Automated documents necessary for movement of goods & added a new billing arrangement through the system.
? Revamped and simplified standard processes. Weeded out duplicity, speeded up timely cash collection and vendor payment whilst improving working capital.
? Advised and supported management on the financial implications of business & pricing proposals and ways to improve the country profitability, cash generation and return on the capital employed (ROCE).
Finance Controller, CHEP India Pvt Ltd, Mumbai Sep 2010 - Sep 2018
Wholly owned subsidiary of Australian Stock exchange listed Brambles Group specializing in provision of wooden Pallets, Plastic containers & associated logistics.
Handled $70M top line and $21M Capex. Improved Finance FTE efficiencies t via Procure to Pay, Record to report and Order to cash process automation. Reported to the EMEA regional Finance Director.
ENABLING SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS & SAVING MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR CASH INFUSION
? Saved the parent company $30M of cash infusion. Enabled company to generate revenue through collections, Capex management, cost control and working capital management. Minimized future litigations based on customer defaults.
? Reduced overall DSO from 125 to 85 days. Led DSO improvement project to collect outstanding overdues of 365+days.
? Automated travel and entertainment expenditure claim process.
? Successfully led GST implementation in 2017 and mapped the company’s business to the new GST model.
? Participated in key strategic meetings to bring in Investment Productivity. Formulated pricing strategies. Led the Risk committee to evaluate business & people risks. Formulated mitigation plans, monitored & drove improvement plans.
CFO | Faces Cosmetics Inc. Ontario, Canada & Gurgaon, India Sep 2008- Oct 2010
Canadian cosmetics brand offering a complete line of colour cosmetics, skin care products and accessories.
Hired for the Canada HQ to set up Budgeting & Costing system and suggest ways & means to rationalize costs. Advised organisation on pricing strategy. Later deputed to India as CFO to strategize India entry. Managed the start-up leveraging the experience of working in India with former Brands like L’Oreal & Johnson & Johnson. Reported to the Country GM
ENABLING INDIA ENTRY FOR AN MNC START UP
? Led P&L and spearheaded the entire gamut of finance and accounting responsibilities for Indian and Canadian operations. Supervised financial planning, costing, pricing, contracts with 3PLs and distributors.
? Set up the Budgeting, Costing & Pricing for all range of Cosmetic Products manufactured & assembled in its Canada factory. Evaluated efficiency & offtakes of critical POS & kiosks.
? Spearheaded the start-up in India for finance, accounting, recruitment and administration functions. Set up the financial reporting system in India, oversaw Banking & Treasury, recruited & trained staff.
? Liaised with statutory auditors, drafted and vetted contracts and oversaw activities related to direct/indirect taxes.
Management Controller | L’Oreal India, Mumbai Jan 2006 – Sep 2008
? Functioned as Corporate Controller. Partnered with the business on planning, phasing & deployment of Capex. Led Contract management, negotiations with CFAs & logistics partners.
? Oversaw additional responsibility as Divisional Finance Controller for Luxury Product division, with the mandate to ensure financial viability, pricing of products and support on meeting the Top line & bottom line for the division.
? Published Divisional, Corporate & Plant MIS & management dashboards to France HQ office. Led the project on vendor social compliance audit. Led closure of Statutory & Internal Audits
? Initiated budget discussions for all support service cost centres including HR, Admin and Supply Chain. Firmed up Budgets & forecast for support services & Luxury product division.
? Served as custodian for shared business support function, logistics costs & allocation of shared business support cost to various divisions using appropriate allocation keys.
? Set up standard costs for all imported finished goods. Monitored variance & flagged exceptional cost overruns.
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE
Assistant Manager – Costing & Finance, Johnson & Johnson, Mumbai 1998 - 2005
Prepared MIS for US, New Brunswick & APAC. Led factory accounting, new product costing, CAPEX controls, finalization of cost audit reports, budgeting for consumer product division, US GAAP reporting, Marketing, Plant Finance, brand profitability reports and ‘Make or Buy’ analysis.
Management Staff | Cipla, Mumbai 1995 – 1998
EDUCATION | ADDITIONAL TRAINING
Certified Financial Modelling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA| CFI. (Corporate Finance Institute), 2020
CMA | ICMA (The Institute of Cost & Management Accountants of India), 1996
B. Com- Bachelor of Commerce | Mumbai University, 1993