Chris Thorn
Chief Financial Officer @SUEZ
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WORK HISTORY
Chief Financial Officer @SUEZ
At the heart of the role is the ownership of the entire Finance function, owning the development of the function and delivery of the finance agenda whilst ensuring alignment to the strategic priorities of the business. This role covers the finance areas of Statutory Reporting, Management Accounting, FP & A, M&A, Corporate Finance, Tax, Procurement, Accounts Payable, Credit Control and Audit. A key priority is defining and delivering the transformation of the finance function. • Building a compelling strategic vision for the business at board level with the CEO up to the 2030 horizon.• Structuring and leading the transformation of finance into a more customer centric, business partnering function whilst ensuring high levels of engagement which have been externally accredited during 2022 via Best Companies.• Leading multiple M&A projects to reinforce existing market position and develop new strategic markets including recent extensive experience working with the CMA (Competition, Mergers and Authority), investors, and lenders on the sale of the SUEZ UK business following a takeover approach from a key competitor.• Ensuring long term resilience of the company via liquidity measures including the reduction of bad write offs by 50%, aged debt reduction by 50% and optimising the Net Debt / EBITDA levels to facilitate future growth.• Delivering strong financial results including revenue and EBITDA growth with a CAGR of +12% since 2019 and a Net Debt reduction of 45%.• Delivery of optimisation program to deliver +£50m savings by 2023.• Crisis management of the Covid pandemic including demobilising a 100+ FTE shared service centre in 72 hours, establishing surety of PPE supply chains and establishing business continuity measures.• Implementing new business models to reflect the changing market conditions due to the environmental transition to the circular economy and new market legislation.• Continued system development including a new P2P system
EDUCATION
Henley College
GNVQ Advanced, Business
IESE Business School
Executive Program in Customer Centricity & Leadership
Accountancy Qualification
CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants), Accountancy
Henley Business School
Master of Business and Administration (MBA)
SKILLS
ABOUT CHRIS THORN
I’m a board level finance leader with specialist expertise in transformational change and business partnering. I bring a proven track record of delivering excellent results across multiple business sectors. For the past 15 years I’ve worked for Suez Recycling & Recovery, focusing on developing sustainable and effective functions culminating in my current role as Chief Finance Officer for the Recycling and Recovery business across the UK.Prior to this I was the Transformation Programme Delivery Director with the key focus being the development and delivery of the transformational programme aligning the business with its customer base, delivering significant improvement actions and embed cultural change. Previously I was Head of Financial Control, Mergers & Acquisitions; notably playing a key role in MA & D activities of Suez Recycling & Recovery. My remit included shaping and influencing the strategic direction of the business along with board of directors. A notable highlight was my work on changing the core business model, delivering a 300%(£60m+) EBIT increase.Key to my success is my ability to build consensus and drive action. I capably manage a large stakeholder network with contrasting perspectives and dependencies. Highly added value oriented, I have a passion for identifying and pursuing opportunities for improved efficiency, profit, customer experience and competitive edge. With a strong business partnering approach, I excel at responding to business opportunities and challenges. My naturally engaging management style gets respect and results.
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