Rahul Bhandari

Experience

• 

  KPMG Lower Gulf

  Oct 2000 - Sept 2006

  Manager Audit

  ► Managed a portfolio of 20+ clients - large/medium sized international and local companies such as Nestle, Halliburton, P&O Nedlloyd, Danzas, Majid Al Futtaim Group, Al Tayer Group. ► Maintained a high client satisfaction rate through effective communication, timely deliverables, and tailored assurance solutions.► Integral part of the management team, supporting value creation through innovative assurance methodologies and strategic insights.

• 

  Majid Al Futtaim

  Sept 2006 - now

  Largest Omni Channel Grocery Retailer in ME, Asia, and Africa | 16+ Countries | 200+ New Stores | 1000+ Workforce | 8 Direct Reports★★ Built the Business Transformation Department from scratch that boosted the organization’s overall sales and profitability.★★ Restructured the Finance Department by adding new areas in finance functions, including business transformation, business analytics, ERP implementation/digitalization that reduced unnecessary costs and increased revenue when organization was struggling with sales stagnation.★★ Contributed to developing the Digital Business from scratch, achieving operational profitability in just 6 years.★★ Led the commercial repositioning of the company by implementing multiple engines of growth that generated significant financial benefits and improved 2x customer experience.★★ Democratized enterprise data and analytics with Microsoft Power BI, transformed financial and operational reporting and enabled faster, deeper insights for stakeholders.★★ Revamped strategies for investment, capital allocation, and store opening procedures with a proactive portfolio management approach to drive value-accretive growth.★★ Transformed the company for the better through country turnarounds. Streamlined commercial, operational, and financial restructuring of loss-making countries to improve profitability.★★ Successfully navigated critical challenges and market disruptions. Led the Covid-19 Crisis Committee with decisive action plans. Demonstrated resilience and agility to mitigate the effects of boycott.★★ Expanded and explored new and existing international markets for rapid growth areas.★★ Established results-driven technical, analytical, and finance teams through robust training and re-alignment of responsibilities. Show less 3 Consistent Promotions | Business Transformation Projects | 100+ Retail Stores/Offices in 6 Countries across ME, Asia, and Africa | Cost Management & Tax Optimization Initiatives★★ Led one of the largest acquisitions of regional grocery retailer ‘Retail Arabia’ by contributing to negotiations with stakeholders, assisting with due diligence and integration process and determining intrinsic value.★★ Eliminated redundancies, identified inefficiencies, and implemented cost-optimization initiatives throughout the company, including Security/ Maintenance/ Consumables, Insurance, Telecom, and Rent, resulting in savings of USD50 million.★★ Successfully negotiated complicated, multi-million dollar claims with leading insurers within tight deadlines.★★ Anticipated and implemented tax optimization strategies that saved the company approximately USD10 million a year.★★ Ensured successful openings to new markets in 10 countries by proactively adapting Accounting, Tax, Operational, and Legal process based on local commercial and regulatory environment. ★★ Revamped complex and incomprehensible policies and procedures into simplified and standardized ones that facilitated decentralization and enhanced controls.★★ Introduced a new Medical Insurance Concept and led the implementation, which resulted in cost savings and better coverage for employees. Show less

  • Chief Financial Officer

    Mar 2018 - now

  • Vice President Finance / GM / SM

    Sept 2006 - Mar 2018