Neelakantan Venkatachalam

Region Head, Internal Audit, Sox Compliance, Forensic Services, North America @ArcelorMittal

Lead up to 35 direct reports for Canada and USA, including Head of Internal Audit Canada, Head of Internal Audit USA, Forensic Supervisor, Audit Supervisors, and internal and IT audit staff. Lead Internal Audit, SOX compliance, and Forensic Investigation services for 35K-employee USA/Canada Steel and Mines business with 7 manufacturing facilities and 3 mines. Report to VP Global Assurance. EXECUTIVE ENGAGEMENT: Establish trusted relationships with sr managers and executives. Communicate trends and emerging risks. Provide independent assurance on adequacy and effectiveness of internal controls to Board Audit & Risk Committee and CEO office. VISION / STRATEGY: Set vision and strategy for USA and Canada internal audit function, including audit procedures, regional risk management, and SOX compliance. Introduce best practices and automated audit tools. AUDIT LEADERSHIP: Provide assurance on internal controls for reliability of numbers, protection of assets, and identification of cost reduction/value addition opportunities. Focus team efforts on continuous improvement and sustainability. TEAM MANAGEMENT: Repositioned/realigned team and integrated Forensic team with Audit & SOX. Scaled up synergies and overcame skill and knowledge gaps. Develop(ed) high morale, high performance team. Since 2016, achieved retention rate > 90%. ARCELORMITTAL USA (AMUSA) DIVESTITURE: Partnered with ArcelorMittal and Cleveland Cliffs mgmt. to transition AMUSA assurance activities and successfully separated Whistleblower Hotline. Transferred 15-auditor USA team to Cleveland Cliffs. COVID MANAGEMENT: Initiated and led efforts to overcome audit challenges in COVID environment. Motivated team to deliver audit, SOX, and investigation objectives. Realized significant $ recoveries during COVID.