EXPERIENCE

Kadant AES, Queensbury, NY
2006 - Present

Consultant/Head of Global Strategy

Kadant, Inc., parent of Kadant AES, has been a leader in the Pulp & Paper Industry for more than 100 years with operations on every continent and revenues exceeding $380M.

Challenge: Build and manage a product road map to support taking a traditional pulp and paper energy savings technology to the forging industry on a worldwide scale. Establish short and long-term strategies in concert with the engineering team to ensure best practices and execution schedules. Implement the strategic business plan, while operating across a complex and matrixed environment. Establish sales goals for cross-industry platforms and manage communications between finance, engineering, and marketing to achieve goals.

Actions/Results:

• Doubled sales in the first 12 months while building a multi-industry operational infrastructure in the United States and European Union.
• Became a quick study and successfully branded and introduced UNiGY Technology to the forging industry, and secured half a dozen joint-ventures/collaboration agreements with key players in the industry.
• Successfully developed and implemented a public relations, marketing and sales campaign to support launching the technology on three continents.
• As a result of the initial fast-paced success, remained under contract for another year to launch the same technology in other heavy industrial applications worldwide.

United Media Business Services, Queensbury, NY
2005 - Present

Consultant / Managing Director

Challenge: Lead and manage the transition from a family operated business into a state-of-the-art, 21st-century multimedia company. Support local customers while expanding the client base to include larger multinationals located on five continents. Build a network of sub-contractors across the globe to maximize earnings, and successfully manage time-sensitive projects in different time zones. Compete against an overwhelming supply of services by large and small media groups while maintaining and growing the business locally and abroad.

Actions/Results:

• Doubled revenues every six months.
• Successfully increased hourly fees by 48% across product service lines.
• Reduced past due billings by 92%.
• Paid off initial capital investment months ahead of schedule; and built cash flow momentum by providing ongoing consulting services to clients on a cross-industry basis.
• Streamlined operations allowed even greater investment in state-of-the-art technical infrastructure to support television programming, video production, Internet development, content and online advertising, 3D, 3G communications, and print media.

Elant, Inc. / Lifestyle Concepts, LLC, USA/Spain
2003 to 2005

Consultant:Expansion and Joint Venture Strategist
Managing Director for European Union

Challenge: Recruited by one of America’s premier long-term care groups to establish a European infrastructure. Managed and coordinated a team of lawyers, accountants, doctors, pharmaceutical and insurance executives, and tax specialists; collaborated with Spanish government officials to draft new long-term care legislation. Accomplished all assignments under budget and in the record-breaking time of 11 months.

Actions/Results:

• Evaluated and established the legal/corporate and tax structure for Lifestyle Europe, SRL, in Europe; secured relationships with health care, financial, and fiscal institutions.
• Identified opportunities and initiated joint-venture negotiations with European multinational banks, funds, insurance, equity and venture capital firms to develop high-end senior housing projects in Spain and Eastern Europe with an initial investment commitment of €320+ million.
• Arbitrated and terminated a failing 2-year-old inherited joint venture without any legal or financial ramifications.
• Positioned the group for sustainable development by instituting a cost-efficient platform to gather intelligence and information on the health care and pharmaceutical industries in the European Union.
• Led negotiations with Spanish local, regional, and European Union health care authorities; secured government subsidies and special variances needed to implement future business plans.

Omnicare, Inc., Malta, NY
2004

Post-Acquisition and Integration Manager

Challenge: After Omnicare acquired NCS, Omnicare’s largest US competitor, Mr. Grether resigned as director of business development and was immediately assigned to coordinate and manage the transition of all New York State accounts (25,000 beds) into the new Omnicare operations structure in order to lessen the potential loss of acquired accounts.

Actions/Results:

• Established close relationships with NCS customer base.
• Improved communications to facilitate smooth transition to new operational structure aligned with Omnicare business model and the AT Kearney Pharmaceutical Management Program.
• Ensured the daily continuation of pharmacy, Medicare Part B, and wound care service for long-term care customers from Buffalo to Long Island.
• Completed efficient transfer of 25,000-plus acquired accounts ahead of schedule, and with no losses in the overall count of beds served.

Omnicare, Inc., Malta, NY
2001 to 2003

Director of Business Development, New York State

Challenge: Recruited by a $4+billion, long-term care pharmaceutical service company to establish the marketing, sales and service infrastructure in New York State; developed the sales and marketing channel with new business acquisitions while simultaneously improving customer retention.

Actions/Results:

• Hit the ground running in less than 45 days. Exceeded all objectives; established a functioning operational structure within six months.
• Generated more than $200 million in long-term contracts and spearheaded an innovative cross-selling platform as part of the service plan for these high-dollar contracts.
• Halted customer attrition and renewed profitable relationships valued at $40+ million in annual sales.
• Reduced staff turnover from 50% to less than 20% by leveraging combined synergies and resources of both in-house sales/service operations with recently acquired companies.
• Promoted new business opportunities for the Clinical Research Division while simultaneously introducing new marketing concepts in lifecycle management practices to the pharmaceutical industry.
• Conducted extensive research in the marketing and sale of value-added products for long-term care and pharmaceutical industries, which was critical to the implementation of lifecycle marketing management strategies.

TV Data Technologies / Tribune Media Services, Queensbury, NY
1997 to 2001

President and COO, International Division

Challenge: Recruited to identify new market opportunities and grow revenues for this 35-year-old, privately owned media company which was experiencing declining profits as a result of increasing pressures from its largest US competitor. Co-managed 200+ people in the USA and directly managed 45+ personnel overseas.

Actions/Results:

• Assumed all responsibilities within 90 days; kept costs under control and exceeded revenue projections. Developed and executed a workable international business plan covering more than 30 countries on four continents.
• Signed technology agreements within the first 12 months; negotiated alliances/outsourcing and joint ventures (broadband Internet, cable, satellite) in India, China, Japan, EU, and Latin America; managed start-up efforts including HR, P&L, legal and tax issues.
• Grew revenues 10-fold through global expansion, outpacing the competition by focusing on value-added, timely, and cost-efficient products/services.
• Negotiated the company’s largest-ever contract valued at over $1.5 million by the end of the first year; signed joint ventures in five different countries; and boosted market capitalization from $67 million to $275 million over a three-year period.
• Identified new market opportunities, managed the first multimedia advertising platform for Latin America, servicing the cable, TV, satellite, Internet, and newspaper industries, and spearheaded the first multimedia advertising platform for the Latino market in the USA. Delivered to market the first flexible, multilayered programming guide for the TV industry.
• Earned the 1999 and 2000 Excellence in Export Award by the Global Business Network and New York State Dept. of Economic Development.

Genesis World Holdings, Inc.; Buenos Aires, Argentina, / Sao Paulo, Brazil, / Santiago de Chile, Chile.
1994 to 1997

President & CEO

Challenge: Commissioned by board to spearhead the efforts to restructure the business and financial activities for this private investment and fund management consulting firm in order to overcome the regional impact of the Mexican financial collapse in 1994 (The Tequila Effect). Managed 12 professionals in three countries.

Actions/Results:

• Successfully negotiated and Managed the transfer of assets from foreign investors to local / regional partnerships.
• Developed the first Mega-Car dealer project in Latin America, which then was sold to Renault of France for a large profit.
• Consulted, financed and managed the process of updating regional mid-size companies in order to compete with it's counterparts in the newly formed Mercosur Trade Agreement.

Merrill Lynch Bank & Trust (UK); Miami, FL / Middle East / Latin America.
1992 to 1994

Vice President & Key Liaison

Challenge: Brought on board to establish direct communications with high-level contacts in the oil companies of Argentina and Bolivia, secure high net worth clients from the Middle East, and initiate negotiations with the Palestinian government to secure the mandate to manage billions of dollars in donations and government aid as the result of the ongoing peace agreement with Israel.

Actions/Results:

• Negotiated and secured $80+ million in new long term investment and custody accounts.
• Forged high-level contacts with authorities at two state-owned oil companies/subsidiaries (YPF-Argentina Oil Company and YPFB-Bolivia Oil Company) to secure government privatization mandates; resulted in Merrill Lynch as the lead management mandate for YPF Argentina, which became the largest ever privatization of an oil company worldwide.
• Acted as key advisor to the head of the Palestinian Authority (PLO) in all matters related the formation and implementation of a transparent financial infrastructure to manage their billions of dollars in foreign aid and government treasury activities.

The Bank of Tokyo, Ltd.; Miami, FL / Geneva, Switzerland    1981 to 1991

Senior Vice President & Manager

Challenge: Recruited to what was then the fourth largest bank in the world to develop every aspect of the private banking/investment banking business for the first time in all foreign markets; continually experienced complex business situations followed by phenomenal successes as the bank’s youngest non-Japanese director. Managed a 25-person staff in the USA and multicultural staff of 100+ located worldwide.

Actions/Results:

• Established and managed 15 foreign operations, including recruiting and hiring personnel and providing training to support the newly established divisions.
• Demonstrated an outstanding ability to promptly and effectively assimilate into the Japanese culture, business principles and social infrastructure, and build strong rapport/communications with the board and all intermediaries.
• Spearheaded and managed the first Private Banking & Trust Division for the Bank worldwide and implemented/managed the Investment Banking Division servicing Latin America and Brazil. Negotiated extensively during tenure and secured $800+ million in new private banking accounts from Latin America, Middle East and Europe, and managed $4+ billion in M&A transactions resulting from Japanese expansion in Central/South America.
• Financed and co-developed numerous high-end hotels, restaurants, condominiums, resorts and spas in South Florida (e.g. The Doral Spa & Golf Club, Grand Bay Hotel & Spa, The Spa at the Naples Ritz Carlton, Intercontinental Hotel & Spa, The Spa at the Key Biscayne Hotel, Turnberry Condominiums Spa and Marina, Fisher Island, and others).
• Served as a personal financial and political advisor to heads of state in Latin America, Caribbean and the Middle East.

Early Career: Vice President/Manager, Private Banking - Southeast Bank, N.A (now First Union Bank); Foreign Office Representative/Auditor (Paris/London/New York/Miami) - Banco de La Nacion Argentina.

Education/Training

• Bachelor in Business Administration, University of
  Buenos Aires
• Advanced Management Courses - Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago
  
• Graduate School of Design, Harvard University.