Thomas van de Wiel

Interim position to lead the design of new accountability and governance structures across the business, evaluate and professionalise finance processes, and select and implement a new ERP system to support the long-term profitable growth of the business

RWC is an American headquartered, Australian listed plumbing parts manufacturer that grew its European presence significantly following the acquisition of John Guest (JG) in 2018. RWC has three manufacturing facilities in the UK, one in Spain and has sales and distribution facilities across Europe with a turnover of £225m across wholesale, retail and OEM channels. Joined RWC as CFO to partner with the Regional CEO to deliver the ongoing integration, related synergies and set the strategic growth direction for the European business including a very active M&A agenda. Delivered an increase in EBITDA by 19% to £72m (record 32.3% of EBITDA%) • Delivered with the CEO and the SLT the integration and cultural transformation and exceeded the targeted synergies of the previously privately owned JG business. In FY23 the business delivered a record EBITDA and outperformed the direct competition. • Executed a very active M&A agenda. Multiple M&A opportunities in the UK and in Continental Europe were pursued, including several from initial evaluation, through to due diligence, integration planning and a fully negotiated SPA. • Led the transformation of the finance function following the JG acquisition, including building a strong finance team, stabilising the recently implemented UK SAP solution, bringing financial reporting & accounting to the required standard of a listed multinational, and vastly improving business insights with enhanced management reporting, analysis, and forecasting. • Successfully rolled out SAP in 5 European countries with no disruption to the business, bringing the whole region onto one platform. This included a restructure of the Continental European finance functions, centralising all core accounting processes in the UK, delivering significant financial savings across Europe while improving the quality of the accounting.

CFO of a privately owned world-leading organisation in the supply, exchange, repair, and lease of commercial aircraft spare parts ($500m turnover with a diverse worldwide customer base, including large long-term contracts with easyJet and Bombardier). Led the finance, legal and HR functions with a total staff of 50. At the time of joining, the business was running out of cash, close to breaching newly agreed banking covenants, and had significant accounting and systems issues with no real understanding of the profitability and cash generation of the various business lines. • Leading role in the refocus of the business in light of liquidity and financing issues to cash generation, exit and renegotiation of underperforming contracts and targeted investment in profitable growth. This increased operating profit from $3m to $41m over the period and increased sales from $357m to $519m +45%. • Worked closely with consortium of existing lenders to reset breached covenants. Refinanced the business in distressed conditions in 2017 with a debt fund and again successfully refinanced in 2019 with mainstream lenders at market rates. • Uncovered significant misstatements in the accounts and shortcomings in the financial close processes. Rectified misstatements (leading to one-off charges of $28m in 2016) and implemented new methodologies, and system changes to prevent reoccurrence. • Executed a finance transformation programme. This included a full restructuring and strengthening of the senior finance team, a complete redesign of the financial accounting and control processes and a successful replacement of the legacy accounting system by new accounting software integrated with the operational system. • Actively managed the business's cash and working capital. This included new credit collection processes and renegotiation of specific contract terms, which led to a $15m improvement in working capital in the first year and continued improvement throughout the period.

Finance Director and business partner for the operations in Europe with an annual turnover of $600m across 50 sites in 16 countries. Primary responsibility to work closely with the two area management teams in Europe to optimise the operations and improve the financial returns and cash flow. Led the change programme within finance to refocus and add greater value by improving the support to the business while retaining high-quality accounting and control. Harsco Metals & Minerals is the world's largest provider of outsourced, on-site mill services to the global steel and metals industries ($1.5bn turnover, 175 sites in 35 countries). Harsco is a diversified industrial services company and listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Responsible for all aspects of finance for the Europe North/East region ($300m turnover, 25 sites, 9 countries) including financial accounting, controls, management reporting, financial planning & analysis, cash flow management and investment appraisal.

Responsible for all aspects of Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) for the Harsco Metals and Minerals Divisions worldwide ($1.5bn turnover, 175 sites in 35 countries). Led successful implementation of Hyperion Planning as the new divisional management reporting and planning system which increased the accuracy, efficiency, and flexibility of the forecasting and reporting processes, and replaced several legacy systems. Recognised as best-in-class, the new system was subsequently rolled out across all Harsco divisions.

Responsible for all aspects of Financial Planning & Analysis for the Contract Logistics division in the Western and Eastern Europe region (€1,5bn turnover, in 15 countries, +300 facilities).

As member of the KLM Cargo Operations Management team responsible for the financial and business controls of the worldwide operations. This included the hub in Amsterdam (>900 FTE), the 747 freighter operation and all joint venture, rental and trucking activities with a total cost base of € 400m. • Participated in the negotiation and successful implementation of a first time cargo Joint Venture between KLM and China Southern on the route between Shanghai and Amsterdam.

Selected to join the very highly regarded KLM Finance trainee programme that offered successful candidates two different finance positions in four years, mentoring, in-house training plus full sponsorship to attain professional accounting qualifications.

Specialization: Management Accounting, Financial Reporting, Financial Risk Management, Security & Investment Analysis.

Professional qualification as Dutch Registered Controller (RC), closest equivalent is the ACCA qualification in the UK. Achievement: Winner of the ‘Professor Meij Award’ for the best final thesis written by the graduates of the academic year 2001/02, which included a €2500 cash award.

Dutch Registered Controller (RC) equivalent to ACCA (see further detail under Vrije Universiteit)