Jak Karako
Director: Financial Planning & Analysis, Corporate Real EstateData Expert, Bridge Master
- Role
- Director of Finance at American Express
- Location
- Scotch Plains, NJ, US
- LinkedIn followers
- 500 followers
About Jak Karako
With 18 years steering corporate real estate and finance, I transform budgets into opportunities and spaces into strategic assets. As a senior leader, I delivered multimillion-dollar savings and operational excellence for global firms like Omnicom, MUFG, and Citibank.At Omnicom, I led a $500M budget as Division Global FP & A Director, delivering significant in run-rate savings through innovative cost strategies and boosting forecast accuracy to 90%+ with TM1/Essbase rollouts. At MUFG, as Division CFO, I slashed $50M in costs via location strategies and guided a $360M budget, integrating three M&A deals while ensuring Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. My work spans financial closes, variance analysis, and real estate portfolio management always aligning with C-suite goals.I thrive on solving complex challenges—whether negotiating leases, optimizing workplaces, or presenting actionable insights to boards. My hands-on leadership has shaped high-performing teams of up to 20, fostering collaboration across global units.
Experience
Director of Finance
Oct 2025 — Present · New York, NY, US
Education
Boğaziçi University
Bachelor's degree, Economics
Florida Institute of Technology
Master of Business Administration - MBA
Skills
- Banking
- Risk Management
- Portfolio Management
- Strategic Planning
- Business Planning
- Investments
- Strategic Financial Planning
- Business Analysis
- Analytical Skills
- Financial Analysis
- Management Consulting
- Negotiation
- Valuation
- Business Development
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Real Estate Transactions
- Business Intelligence
- Real Estate
- Management
- Analysis
- Microsoft Excel
- Commercial Real Estate
- Financial Services
- Itil
- IT Strategy
- Data Analysis
- Asset Management
- Strategy
- Budgets
- Finance
- Corporate Real Estate
- Leadership
- Sdlc
- Analytics
- Business Strategy
- Financial Modeling
- Property Disposition
- Capital Markets
- Project Management
- Due Diligence
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