Byron Jones

Experience

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  American Airlines

  Mar 1997 - Oct 1998

  Senior Financial Analsyt
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  Deloitte

  Jan 1998 - Jan 2000

  Senior Auditor
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  Delta Air Lines

  Oct 1998 - Oct 2003

  Director - Corporate Finance

  Major Accomplishment• Led the strategic decision to ground the MD11 fleet which generated +$200M in annual operating savings. • Implemented MBA recruiting program which targeted specific schools for the rotation program. Through my 5 year leadership involvement lead, hired ~50 candidates from the targeted school list. Director of Corporate Finance and Divisional Controller Airport Customer Service (ACS)• Fiscal responsibility for the ACS North American division managing a $1.5 billion annual operating and capital budget. Responsibility includes all finance functions (accounting controls, budgeting, forecasting, and capital analysis); assistance with developing and implementing productivity and customer-based airport initiatives. Flight Profitability Analysis & Reporting • Direct the development of financial evaluation for network-related initiatives including hub expansions, fleet acquisitions, connection carrier capacity purchases and other revenue growth strategies. • Oversee the ongoing analysis of monthly flight profitability results, which assist in route decisions (i.e. route expansion, contraction, or closure). General Manager/Controller, Reservations Finance • Financial Planning & Analysis: Responsible for operating/capital planning (~$470 million and ~$60 million, respectively).General Manager, Corporate Financial Planning & Analysis • Managed monthly operating close (operating and capital) including consolidation and reporting of financial results, detail variance explanations of actual to plan, forecast, and prior year. Led the corporate budget process (Operating +$14B and Capital Plan +$3B) which included the establishment of financial performance targets Show less

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  Cendant

  Nov 2003 - Dec 2006

  Cendant was a +$20B corporation with ownership in travel distribution, hotel, rental car, and real estate management. I was SVP of finance for Travelport (the travel distribution division) which consist of the leading brands in travel…Orbitz.com, Orbitz for Business, Cheaptickets, Ebookers, Galileo, Worldspan, Corporate Travel Services and Gullivers Travel. Hired by CFO during time of high acquisitions at Travelport to initially lead finance team as Group Vice President for a line business and later promoted to SVP of Corporate Finance. Senior Vice President, Corporate Financial Planning and Analysis (report to CFO) Lead Travelport’s corporate planning and analysis functions and synergy modeling in support of acquisitions. Responsibility includes coordination and execution of the annual operating and capital plans, monthly close reporting and analysis, preparation of all working capital cash flow analysis, preparation of monthly communication to Travelport’s Board of Directors, all corporate required financial analysis, and leadership of global procurement initiatives. Major Accomplishments as SVP• Heavily involved in the sales process of Travelport to Blackstone Capital Partners for $4.3B in August 2006.• Reengineering of the finance department to reduce operating cost by 35% by reestablishing roles and responsibilities between the corporate FP&A team, divisional finance, and controllership group. Show less Fiscal responsibility for the Americas B2B companies which include Galileo, Cendant Corporate Travel Services (Travelport), and Gulliver’s Travel Associates which operated in all major countries in the Americas. The finance team included +90 professionals with 5 direct reports and encompasses three main disciplines: financial planning & analysis, controllership, and decision support.• Financial Planning & Analysis: Team contained 28 professionals responsible for operating/capital planning, forecasting, financial reporting and analysis.• Controllership: Team contained 59 professionals with responsibility for accounting and accounting controls, SOX, billing, and travel agency contract administration. • Decision Support and Pricing: Team consist 9 professionals with the responsibility of economic modeling and contract negotiations for all GDS relationships related to travel agencies and vendors (airline, hotels, car rental). Team also developed key initiatives, based on economic conditions and competition, in support of travel agency customer base (i.e. No Hardware strategy….)Major Accomplishments as Group Vice President• Hired as Vice President of Finance (Nov 03) responsible for the Galileo-Americas business unit. Promoted to Group Vice President (May 04) with expanded finance responsibility for Corporate Travel Services and Gullivers Travel Associates business units. • Developed and realigned finance team (+90 professionals) with stronger support of newly acquired business units and included the deployment of the following finance disciplines: Corporate FP&A, controllership, and pricing decision support. • Successfully led the negotiations and contracting of four of the largest travel agency agreements for Travelport (American Express, World Travel Partners, AAA, and Travel and Transport) which generates combined revenue of +$130M/annum. Show less

  • SVP - Corporate FP&A (Travelport Inc.)

    Mar 2006 - Dec 2006

  • Group Vice President & CFO (Travelport Inc.)

    Nov 2003 - Mar 2006
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  Ryder System, Inc.

  Jan 2007 - Jan 2008

  VP of Finance

  Hired by CFO to establish and develop the corporate FP&A function. Ryder is a $6B truck leasing and logistics management company operating mainly in North America, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina. Responsibility included financial target setting, execution of the annual operating and capital plans, monthly management reporting and analysis, preparation of all forward looking financial (including ROIC) and cash flow analysis, and communication to Ryder’s Chairman and executive management team. Major Accomplishments• Re-established the corporate planning function at Ryder. This involved development and implementation of new roles and responsibilities between corporate planning, corporate accounting, and divisional finance teams to address monthly close, quarterly forecast, and annual planning. • Developed management reporting process at Ryder which provided consistency (one set of financial facts) and timeliness. Show less

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  HD Supply

  Jan 2008 - May 2010

  VP Corporate FP&A

  Hired shortly after separation of HD Supply from The Home Depot by CFO (my former manager at Ryder) to lead and develop the corporate FP&A discipline. HD Supply is a leading distributor of commercial, residential, and industrial supplies with revenue of ~$7.5B across 11 separate businesses. Main areas of focus include but not limited to: execution of the annual operating & capital plans, monthly management reporting, employee benefits cost analysis, and leading the Accounts Receivable Council.Major Accomplishments• Established “first line” communication to CEO, CFO, and BOD for reporting of management financial results • Developed new corporate FP&A team after separation from Home Depot which required hiring of numerous finance leaders. • Standardized formal Executive Level communication and tracking of management financial results with focus on 14 key financial metrics (P&L, working capital, and liquidity focused) across the 11 LoBs. • Increased financial transparency through development of comprehensive reporting of GM% through “sku” level reporting of price/inflation/deflation, SG&A with focus on variable/fixed basis, and working capital. My teams focus on SG&A has lead to its orderly reduction in cost, down approximately $700M since 2007.• Established HD Supply Accounts Receivable Working Council in 2008. Major outcome has reduced aged AR +$200M since 2008, standardized credit assessment across businesses, and implemented collections best practices.• Lead the development of the 2014 Long Range Financial Forecast (2014 LRF). LRF also used in “Amend and Extend” of ABL and senior note executed in Feb’10, communication with rating agencies, and setting financial goals by business for long-term compensation incentives. • Member of several HD Supply Executive Councils: Compensation Committee, Employee Benefits Committee, and AR Council (lead executive). Show less

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  Coda Holdings

  Mar 2011 - Dec 2011

  CODA Holdings, Inc. will engineer, manufacture, and sell 100% electric cars (EV), EV Propulsion Systems, and supply Stationary Energy Storage units. Company is funded through a series of capital raises in excess of $250M. At the ground level building a corporate finance team (accounting operations, SEC reporting, FP&A, Treasury, and Internal Audit). Major Accomplishment As finance lead, successful assisted in completing Coda’s 1st tranche of Series D financing (equity private placement) in the amount of $81M. This round included Harbinger and Riverstone accepting co-leads positions in the investment. Show less

  • Chief Financial Officer

    Aug 2010 - Dec 2011

  • Acting Chief Financial Officer

    Mar 2011 - Jul 2011
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  University of Phoenix

  Aug 2012 - Sept 2018

  EVP and Chief Financial Officer
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  Apollo Education Group

  Mar 2018 - Sept 2018

  SVP and Chief Financial Officer
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  Keurig Dr Pepper Inc.

  Sept 2018 - Oct 2020

  Vice President Finance

  Driving Transformation and Integration strategy for the newly combined Keurig Dr Pepper

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  Movico Loop LLC

  Jan 2021 - now

  Principal
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  Veyron

  Nov 2021 - now

  Senior Managing Director