Clint Chien

Lead operations, finance/accounting, and strategic planning for $30 million plus wholesale and online retail footwear company with multiple brands in US and United Kingdom.

Led costs related matters for $400 million plus portfolio of energy efficiency programs and customer assistance. Serving as cost witness for $1 billion plus Energy Efficiency application, developed zero-based budget from scratch. Responsible for cost controls, accounting, budget planning, reporting, compliance, and business cases.

Led core operations of $120+ million revenue international consumer products trading company. Besides managing accounting and financial functions, my team was responsible for receiving inventory and fulfilling orders, primarily wholesale to big-box retailers and online retail. Operations included ~200,000 square feet of facilities in US and other responsibilities included financing, accounting, taxes, collections, controls, external audits, IT, HR, legal, merger assessment, insurance, real estate, and capex. Accomplishments included ~50% reduction in borrowing costs, significant increase in income from assets, reduction of tax liabilities, and increased HR benefits without increasing costs. Involved in key business decisions and negotiations involving customers, vendors, outside sales, consultants, intellectual property, accountants, bankers, brokers, and attorneys.

Elevated to lead team of over two dozen professionals, majority held graduate degrees, responsible for $2 Billion of annual capital program of transmission, substation, and distribution projects, including entire project lifecycle, from conception to feasibility to final engineering to construction. Most valuable contributions included obtaining Federal and California approvals for investments with attractive rate of return. Day-to-day responsibilities included overseeing budget plans, forecasts, C-level reports, SOX compliance, input for SEC filings and investor presentations. Applied best project management practices related to risk management and controls, including Earned Value Management. Team focused so enjoyed over 90% retention rate and 50% promotion rate for full-time employees.

Promoted to manage team of financial analysts to develop new approach for estimating costs for major projects. Served as the cost witness for major transmission projects’ licensing applications, each project valued in the $100’s of millions. Maintained long term capital investment plan, SEC and investors reporting, and regulatory filings.

Started as individual contributor, then promoted to manage team responsible for all regulatory aspects of Edison SmartConnect program (smart metering), including obtaining California’s authorization for $1.6 billion of program costs, a successful outcome for a high-profile project. Directed research and analysis of the retail energy market to identify opportunities as part of developing Edison’s corporate strategy with direct input from all levels of management, including the C-suite. Headed development of 2007-2012 customer service strategic plan by leading a diverse planning team in compiling and synthesizing impacts of major initiatives and market changes to customers and employees, culminating in an integrated long-term plan with a vision, strategies, and tactics; developed and delivered presentations for senior executives and communication materials for the entire company of ~15,000 resources.

Established investment banking operations in Southern California office, engaged seven transactions totaling over $80 million within six months with fees ranging 3%-10%, led workshops for entrepreneurs on exit strategies – succession planning, financing, mergers, and acquisitions.

Hired out of business school to be an investment banker at a full-service brokerage. Within six months I helped originate and execute the 50-year firm’s largest success fee through a capital raise. Thereafter, with the same client, we originated and executed an acquisition with that capital. I then orchestrated the sale of a private network security firm to a public entity, resulting in an 8-fold increase in stock price within a few calendar quarters. I was also involved, to a lesser degree, in a variety of other transactions in various industries. A lot of business development work including generating leads, developing, and implementing targeting strategies, making ‘cold calls’ to prospects including institutional investors, developing relationships with companies and investors, identifying and attending key industry conferences, marketing directly to enterprise executives and directors, due diligence of opportunities using primary and secondary research, and develop complex financial models.