Neil Guthrie

Experience

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  Thomson McLintock & Co. - Aberdeen

  Jan 1979 - Jan 1982

  Chartered Accountancy Traineeship
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  K.D.Marine Ltd. - Aberdeen

  Jan 1982 - Jan 1984

  Management Accountant
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  Oceaneering Int.Services Ltd. - Aberdeen

  Jan 1984 - Jan 1986

  Assistant Financial Controller and Business Area Manager
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  ICI Petroleum

  Jan 1986 - Jan 1988

  Exploration Accountant

  Based on Teeside, England, Responsible for financial control of ICI’s oil exploration interests as well as being a key player in the merging of ICI Petroleum with Enterprise Oil

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  European Vinyls Corporation

  Jan 1988 - Jan 1993

  Business Development Manager - Downstream

  Was initially finance manager of a $60m sales p.a. PVC compounding subsidiary in UK before being promoted to a position in Brussels responsible for all aspects of the finance for a division comprising nine fabrication businesses across Europe (combined annual sales $600m)In 1995 I moved to become Business Development Manager for the same division. Developed and gained main board approval for a variety of development strategies along with individual managing directors and their teams and monitored implementation. Show less

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  Robertson Metal Packaging

  Jan 1993 - Jan 1995

  Managing Director

  Aberdeen - Scotland Led a management buy-in of this manufacturer of decorated metal packaging, raising capital, bank and asset finance to fund the dealSignificantly reduced ongoing losses whilst managing the business prior to completion of the MBIRelocated the production facility to new premises in line with a very tight time schedule.

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  Savola

  Jan 1995 - Jan 1998

  Financial Controller

  Based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.`Group Sales: $800m p.a.Transformed the finance functions of the Packaging and Snack Food divisions (with combined sales of $200m) from amongst the poorest to arguably the best in the group, greatly shortening reporting times and improving quality.Combined the financial accounting departments of several disparate businesses into a shared service centre and oversaw the implementation of Oracle ERP software. Smoothly integrated finance function of a major acquisition.Played the leading in-house finance role in the evaluation of several acquisition, merger & disposal opportunities. Moved the focus from transaction processing to supporting the business decision making. Was nominated ‘Savola Champion of the Year - 1995’ for my achievements. Show less

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  Dietsmann

  Jan 1998 - Jun 2001

  Group Finance Director & CFO

  Based in Monaco, responsible for all aspects of finance and accounting for this $200m multi-national oil and gas service group.With the CEO, successfully placed 20% of the shares of the group with an institutional investor valuing the group at 27 times previous year’s earnings.Put in place $20m of bank facilities for working capital.Implemented a management information system permitting multi-dimensional view of business trading performance. Introduced a professional strategic planning & budgeting process. Show less

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  Acergy (now Subsea7)

  Jul 2001 - Jul 2008

  Sector: Oil & Gas Sub-sea Construction Group Sales: $2.5bn p.a.Established in-house Operational Review function covering all aspects of the group’s operations worldwide. Biggest and most problematic region of Acergy ($800m sales, 50+ legal entities). Achieved pre-agreed objectives to regain control over commitment of costs, significantly improve financial and management reporting and successfully manage cash flow in extremely challenging circumstances. Joined Acergy as Finance & Admin Director for the UK Region ($200m sales). Transformed finance function, supply chain and project controls performance.

  • Head of Operational Review

    Jan 2005 - Jul 2008

  • Finance Director - Africa Med

    Jun 2003 - Jan 2005

  • Finance Director - UK Region

    Jul 2001 - Jun 2003
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  The ZMS Group

  Sept 2008 - May 2010

  Group Finance Director

  Family owned Saudi Conglomerate in Trading, Construction and Financial & Travel Services ($200m sales) based in Jeddah.Implemented new reporting, budgeting and planning processes, significantly reducing reporting times and improving relevance and utility of reporting.Strengthened cash management to facilitate proactive management of future requirements for funding. Greatly strengthened the Oracle financial accounting platform.Professionalised the accounting function through a concerted recruitment and replacement programme. Show less

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  Gulmar Energy Limited (became Harkand Iremis)

  May 2010 - Apr 2012

  Group Chief Financial Officer

  Subsea Construction and Engineering Services Group. (US$400m total assets)➢ Joined with a remit of securing the requisite funding to save the group from a situation of advanced financial distress.➢ Played a key role in securing $150m investment from a US-based private equity company which now owns the group.➢ Was appointed Managing Director of the principal operating company of the group by the new owner (ad-interim) in addition to ongoing core duties as the Group CFO. ➢ As such, was at the heart of the ensuing extensive change management process (people, assets, legal entity structure, processes, funding) which has brought about a significant turnaround in the fortunes of the business. Show less

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  AceTech Services JLT

  May 2012 - Jul 2014

  Managing Director

  Dubai Subsidiary of the Jagal Group, a $1bn African Oil and Gas Conglomerate.- Set up the Dubai operations of the group, ultimately consisting of more than twenty people, to provide international procurement, SCM, recruitment and administration services to the group and to manage the group's offshore holding company structure. Five offshore companies created and eight more transferred to be managed from Dubai. Member of the board of directors of eight of these companies.- CFO for the holding company of the group's joint ventures with major oil service companies such as Subsea7, CHC Helicopters and Lamnalco. Show less

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  Sakson Group

  Aug 2014 - Jul 2017

  Group Chief Financial Officer

  International Drilling Contractor with $180m assets.- Professionalised the finance function by recruiting virtually an entire new team. - Oversaw the implementation of JDE financial modules, developed a suite of management reports and tightened control over cash and cash flow forecasting to support the business in extremely tough market conditions.- Concluded a financial rescheduling exercise.

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  Manor Park International Limited

  Sept 2017 - Jan 2022

  Founder and CEO

  Consultant CFO and General Manager specialising in:- Part-time/ freelance CFO services- Strategic planning and business plan development- Corporate turnaround and distress management- M&A support- Fund raising and corporate debt restructuring/ rescheduling/ refinancing- Business process and information systems consultancy

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  Re/think ME Ltd

  Jan 2022 - Oct 2022

  • Senior Director - Finance and Tax

    Oct 2022 - Oct 2022

  • Director of CFO and Advisory Services

    Jan 2022 - Sept 2022