Rhonda McKearney

Drive strategic initiatives to enhance business performance and deliver sustainable growth. Partner with cross-functional teams to develop data-driven strategies, optimize operations, and improve customer engagement. Manage complex projects from concept to execution, leveraging market insights to identify opportunities and support innovation aligned with Mars’ long-term vision.

Program Lead for an educational offering, programmatic payment solution and working capital offering within Microsoft’s D&I/ ESG investment initiative, impacting partner businesses. Drive strategic conversations in order to develop solutions that scale. Collaborate internally and externally to create engagement with partners/stakeholders participating/supporting the program and monitor/report to leadership. Part of leadership team for Finance employee resource groups, focused on driving an inclusive culture through events, education, and continuing to attract and empower diversity.

Develop financing solutions and drive impact outcomes for Microsoft partners/customers. Partner with cross-functional teams to design, build and sustain solutions to support Microsoft’s growth ambitions. Manage bank relationships to design and deploy new products for leverage in the field. Drive negotiations and evaluate program economics in order to best support the business and monetize opportunities. Leverage qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques to apply analytical frameworks and strategic business models to support business decisions.

Partner with executive management, business, and engineering functions to develop and direct potential new business valuations to assess financial feasibility. Resulting in over fifteen valuations leading to the execution of multiple deals in first year of venture. Team lead in the identification and prioritization of business challenges, risks and opportunities while recommending action plans across 8 business units. Work directly with senior management and key stakeholders to present and monitor monthly KPIs. Spearheaded and implemented pricing initiative that leveraged the capabilities of platform and studio services as part of maximized long-term value creation. Led financial due diligence and initial valuation during strategic acquisition of an offline events company to partner with an internal digital property. Since acquisition, the company has expanded into multiple cities and allowed numerous sponsorship opportunities.

Directed new corporate financial analytics team as part of CFO strategy to dedicate resources to providing metrics, strategic initiatives, and reporting across eight wholly owned subsidiaries. Oversaw 2015 budgeting process for eight companies and facilitated meetings with executives. Created new process with CFO to look at metrics (distribution by channel, development success rate, timing of pickups), executed strategic initiative conversation with company heads, leading to a YOY growth projection. Authored and implemented CAPEX, petty cash, travel and expense, and corporate credit card policies and advance forms, as part of controllership review. Managed the monthly, quarterly, and year end close process for eight companies. Assessed revenue and expense metrics, facilitated meetings with executive team, and implemented process changes; providing timely analytics.

Managed the monthly prescription glasses product category and European Market S&OP team and ran monthly meeting with the Executive team. Assessed current and forward looking metrics (inventory, sales, backorder), resolved various category issues, and updated progress on initiatives, leading to a reduction in backorder of 18%. Implemented consensus demand planning as part of S&OP to foster better forecast accuracy and unconstrained growth. Reduced inventory levels, increased reliance on product mix, and bridged conversation between front end sales and back end production. Sales growth of 25% over prior year. Facilitated multiple-function team (procurement, sourcing, demand planning, sales) supplier capacity analysis for parent-company CEO negotiations with vendors; led to increase of 300K units received over 3 month span. Led ad-hoc CFO initiative on reducing company costs and increasing margins on royalty paid products by instituting a forecasting analysis that led to contract payments being renegotiated and product prices increasing, and the creation of an Executive Team Task Force. Co-managed implementation of sales forecasting tool as part of CEO-led initiative to improve demand feeds into production plant. Interviewed and selected best-in breed vendors, received Capex of $500K for short term off-the shelf, with possibility of additional $1.5M for systematic change.

Managed operational reorganization in order solve tax/treasury issues by instituting a new MTV company structure and project plan in Canada Facilitated communication amongst multiple MTV groups (tax, treasury, accounting, legal, HR) and external advisors which led to successful implementation of the plan and mitigating potential tax risks. Created Bloomberg-driven template model for equity risk premium calculation for UK subsidiary, replacing use of external vendors and saving the company in vendor fees

Managed cash reconciliation, transfer of benefits and employment, and due diligence of loan portfolio for multiple branches of $34 million financial institution resulting in successful sale to WestAmerica Bank Communicated insurance provisions to hundreds of depositors as supporting branch manager at IndyMac Bank, which resulted in receiving the outstanding employee award in July 2009 Performed capital, liquidity, security, earnings analysis at multi-billion dollar large-bank examinations throughout California, Nevada, and Hawaii in accordance with safety and soundness regulations