Robert L. Hawkins

About Robert L. Hawkins

Robert L. Hawkins, Jr. is a seasoned global executive with expertise in governance, legal, finance, and branding. He has grown revenue, brand awareness, customer base, and financial strength for global companies such as Time Warner and World Vision. Robert has been called a governance guru with CFO stripes. His experience as board chair and chair of numerous board committees, including Finance & Audit and Compensation committees, as well as his successful track record of leadership in legal, finance and marketing, have well qualified him for effective corporate board service in the areas of nomination and governance as well as audit. Currently, Robert serves as General Counsel & Chief Strategy Officer and sits on the Global Executive Team of Compassion International, a $1B global non-profit organization with offices in over forty countries. In this capacity, Robert leads a global team of attorneys, auditors, risk managers, and incident response and crisis management staff. He also drives corporate strategy and execution and serves as the organization’s Corporate Secretary. Robert facilitates and leads sessions at all board meetings in various areas including global strategy, legal, audit, and risk. As CFO of Compassion International, Robert provided strategic leadership that lifted the organization to new highs in revenue and overall performance. He was responsible for the global accounting/controller, treasury, and FP & A functions. He regularly presented financial reports to the Finance & Audit Committee of the board. He was also responsible for the due diligence and merger of the Australia office and reengineered the organization’s financial structure in the wake of COVID-19. Robert has also held executive roles at multiple divisions of Time Warner, Inc, a Fortune 100 Company. Specifically, Robert served as CMO of Essence Communications, VP at FORTUNE and Director at Columbia House Music Club. For these divisions, Robert led revenue growth, new memberships, and brand awareness to record levels and was recognized with multiple awards for excellence in branding and marketing. Robert also has extensive experience serving on non-profit boards. For the YMCA, United Way, Gospel Music Association, and Compassion International, he functioned in various capacities, including as Chair of the Board, Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee, Chair of the Marketing Committee, Chair of the Compensation Committee, Chair of the Corporate Governance Committee and Board Secretary.

Experience

1. General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Marketing Officer

   Compassion International

   Jul 2019 — Present · Colorado Springs, CO, US

   Responsible for global strategy development and strategy execution for this billion dollar organization. Oversee global finance functions which include Budgeting, Financial Planning and Analysis, Accounting, Insurance and Treasury functions. Direct Legal, Governance, Risk, Audit, and Security operations globally. Serve as the organization’ Corporate Secretary.

Education

• University of Pennsylvania

  Bachelors Degree, Economics

• Widener University Schools of Law

  Juris Doctorate, Law

Skills

• Corporate Governance
• Marketing
• Business Development
• Market Research
• Advertising
• Strategic Planning
• Program Management
• Legal Research
• Operations Management
• Client Development
• Technology
• Legal Assistance
• Contract Negotiation
• Start-Ups
• Team Building
• Management
• Public Speaking
• Estate Planning
• Donor Development
• Strategy
• Team Leadership
• Legal Writing
• Public Relations
• Corporate Law
• Leadership
• Budgets
• Finance