Suvendu Das

Experience

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  Tata Steel

  Sept 1988 - Sept 1996

  Finance Account Officer
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  Cardio Fitness India Pvt Ltd

  Sept 1996 - Jan 1997

  Finance Manager
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  American Express

  Feb 1997 - now

  I was promoted to oversee Global Merchant and Network Services (GMNS) business segment controllership following a period leading financial support for Global Corporate Services (GCS) business segment (02/2022-07/2022).● Assess and report on potential financial impact of key business segment initiatives, new product launches and enhancements, and new and existing business transactions.● Lead global team of 19 employees across U.S., UK, and remote environments while championing professional development initiatives. Liaise with extensive network of internal and external auditors.● Ensure compliance with GAAP, SEC, and additional financial and accounting requirements within U.S., as well as incorporate regulatory compliance requirements of key international markets.● Proactively eliminate controllable risk and exposure by analyzing financial statements and operational processes to identify and correct gaps in partnership with relevant process owners.● Build alignment across Finance and Business functions by creating and delivering training to key stakeholders, including comprehensive education on revenue recognition accounting guidance (ASC606).Select Achievements● Saved millions in operating expenses within GMNS business segment by identifying and reallocating unnecessary costs in partnership with process owners and Business Segment CFOs within relevant lines of business.● Boosted segment’s efficiency by 50%+ and prepared clear career progression for employees by spearheading conceptualization and execution of large-scale organization and process optimization strategy.● Played instrumental role in deployment of modern network infrastructure in 2023 by implementing proper controls within new system to proactively eliminate negative impacts to financial statements and external business partners.● Provided GAAP accounting consulting for 40+ commercial product launches and refreshes within GCS. Show less I transitioned to a Business Segment Controller position to offer high-level GAAP accounting advice for Global Merchant Services (GMS) contracts and business transactions while mitigating financial risk and exposure.● Managed 2-member team, establishing and driving talent development initiatives to encourage professional growth.● Guided timely and accurate technical accounting activities for large-scale and complex merchant acquisition contracts encompassing partnerships with Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Square, Delta Airlines, and Starbucks.Select Achievements● Mitigated losses arising from COVID-19 pandemic and maintained minimal impact to P&L by creating first-ever Merchant Exposure Reserve assessment framework to evaluate risk in travel domain due to pandemic closures.● Delivered extensive P&L benefit by performing end-to-end reviews of financial processes to eliminate inefficiencies.● Averted millions in revenue loss by remediating P&L allocation issue related to Interest Expense and Income reporting.● Drove modernization of merchant payment process by providing financial subject matter expertise during enterprise-wide technology re-platform initiative. Show less I led governance and controllership oversight of the largest legal entity in American Express, as well as 14 affiliate entities while directing a 25-member team supporting risk governance and management processes.● Ensured accurate completion of statutory audits and external regulatory exams. Drove legal entity integration and financial strategies for large-scale M&A deals.● Transformed legal entity controllership team into highly successful, collaborative unit by increasing process efficiency, enhancing knowledge bases, and establishing standard financial risk and governance model.● Generated millions in liquidity for Prepaid business line by partnering with Treasury to uncover and institute innovative capital management strategies.● Identified and mitigated billions in financial risks and exposure from balance sheet throughout tenure. Show less I was tapped by leadership to assume controllership oversight for Global Financial Operations (GFO) organization, providing specialized accounting guidance to business partners with support of a 2-member team.● Implemented key controls and risk mitigation measures by analyzing GFO processes and monitoring high-risk balance sheet accounts to identify financial and accounting risks.● Mitigated process and control deficiencies by performing analysis of marketing & promotion accrual write back processes to discover and target root causes of all issues. Show less I was promoted to Global Payments Shared Services to manage operations across global supplier invoice payments, employee travel & expenses, corporate purchasing card administration and accounting, and payment disbursement.● Oversaw 120-member team, spearheading Six Sigma and Kaizen initiatives across Global Payments to boost productivity and collaboration through continuous improvements.● Increased revenue across American Express by partnering with Global Commercial Card business to ideate and implement new payment product.● Launched Center of Excellence (CoE) for payment disbursement in India, including transitioning all disbursement activities from Standard Chartered Bank to consolidated model within American Express. Show less

  • Vice President - Business Segment Financial Controller for Global Merchant and Network Services

    Feb 2022 - now

  • Director Controller - Global Merchant Services

    Sept 2017 - Feb 2022

  • Director Controller - Legal Entity

    Mar 2013 - Sept 2017

  • Director Controller - Corporate Segment

    Aug 2011 - Feb 2013

  • Director Of Operations - Global Vendor Payments

    Apr 2008 - Aug 2011

  • Manager

    Nov 2002 - Apr 2008

  • Team Leader

    Apr 1999 - Nov 2002

  • Team Member

    Feb 1997 - Apr 1999