Jose CASTELLO

Responsible for 7 countries in Latin America, overseeing 50 FTEs and £500M in revenue.

• Strategic Leadership: Led the finance stream of the Americas Growth agenda, acquiring and integrating five businesses across the region, and transforming loss-making entities into profitable operations.
• Operational Excellence: Built a high-performing finance team with a clear succession plan for pivotal roles, optimizing team efficiency and readiness.
• Process Innovation: Pioneered standardized processes, spearheading the successful implementation of Group Business Services (GBS), achieving front-runner status with operational stabilization by Working Day 3 reporting.
• Strategic Influence: Played a key role in shaping and refining the Group’s long-term strategy, leveraging deep market insights to align financial goals with global business dynamics.
• Turnaround Specialist: Partnered with business leaders to execute transformative strategies, renegotiating key contracts, and identifying actionable change initiatives that turned underperforming operations into growth drivers.
• Automation Leadership: Led the automation of manual finance processes, significantly reducing human error while boosting departmental productivity.
• Financial Insight & Planning: Delivered data-driven financial analysis, guiding executive decision-making and supporting robust long-term strategic plans.
• Leadership & Development: Coached and mentored a high-performing finance team, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and driving professional development.
• Executive Collaboration: Worked closely with C-suite executives and key stakeholders to craft long-term financial strategies aligned with business goalspivotal contracts

Reported to the Regional CFO, overseeing FP&A, Treasury, and Controlling activities across the region. 10FTES

• Financial Leadership: Led the Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) function for the Americas, later expanding responsibilities to include Treasury and Controlling, ensuring comprehensive financial oversight across all business areas.
• Risk Management & Hedging: Spearheaded the successful implementation of a Hedge Policy for foreign currency risk, aligning with strategic objectives to optimize financial resources and mitigate exposure. Improved forecasting precision through advanced treasury systems, reducing currency risk and enhancing financial stability.
• Audit & Compliance: Managed high-stakes engagements with external auditors, ensuring full compliance with regional financial reporting standards and maintaining transparency across all financial operations.
• Process Standardization: Implemented group-wide standardized processes and forecasting methodologies, providing senior management with timely, accurate, and actionable financial data to inform decision-making.
• Financial KPIs & Analysis: Developed and introduced key performance indicators (KPIs) to track regional financial health, driving improved decision-making and ensuring alignment with broader financial objectives.
• Profitability Enhancement: Conducted profitability analysis across divisions, identifying opportunities for margin expansion through cost reduction initiatives and strategic pricing adjustments.
• Financing & Working Capital Optimization: Engaged with external financial institutions to secure tailored financing solutions for customers, optimizing Working Capital and significantly enhancing both internal efficiency and customer satisfaction.

• Financial Oversight: Directed all aspects of the month-end close process, ensuring the timely and accurate preparation of financial statements for executive review.
• Process Optimization: Enhanced the accuracy of financial reporting by streamlining internal processes and implementing robust financial controls, driving efficiency across the department.
• Strategic Leadership: Led the Ernst & Young (E&Y) team in formulating and executing the company's Exit Strategy, aligning financial operations with long-term strategic goals.
• Operational Support in Complex Markets: Provided financial leadership in day-to-day operations, successfully navigating the challenges of Nigeria's volatile and restricted foreign currency market.

Seconded to establish and lead the FP&A function for the region. 5 FTES; $900M

• FP&A Leadership: Set up and led the FP&A department, developing and implementing robust forecasting processes that supported strategic planning and operational efficiency.
• Predictive Analytics & Strategic Forecasting: Introduced predictive analytics techniques to enhance forecasting accuracy, directly contributing to the successful launch of the IQOS heated solution. Recognized with the “Top Forecasting Accuracy Q1 & Q2 2015” award.
• Tax Restructuring Expertise: Co-piloted tax restructuring initiatives, collaborating with the Corporate Affairs team on VAT strategy formulation, and awarded the "ABC Philip Morris Award" for contributions to tax restructuring in Belgium in 2015.

Led financial initiatives across Europe, supporting corporate growth and operational efficiency.

• Strategic Financial Planning: Contributed to the development and execution of long-term financial plans that aligned with corporate growth strategies and market expansion goals.
• Team Leadership & Mentorship: Mentored and developed junior finance team members, fostering a culture of professional growth, skill enhancement, and increased team productivity.
• Risk Management: Identified financial risks proactively, developing contingency plans to safeguard the company’s financial stability.
• Reporting & Analytics: Improved financial reporting processes by creating comprehensive dashboards and KPI tracking tools, providing actionable insights for leadership.
• Profitability & Pricing Strategy: Collaborated with sales leadership to formulate competitive pricing strategies, maximizing profitability while maintaining market competitiveness.

• Led the turn-around of finance organization, bringing two years of un-reconciled books up to date, establishing strong controls and implementing a new ERP
• Successfully dealt with liquidity issues by improving the management of net working capital
• Led implementation of new ERP system, increasing efficiency within the finance department while enhancing data visibility.
• Strengthened communication between finance department and other business units, fostering an environment of collaboration across the organization.

Established the Internal Audit department for the forwarding business, developing a comprehensive Risk Assessment framework that served as the foundation for the Audit Plan

• Enhanced audit efficiency by implementing risk-based audit strategies and streamlining processes.
• Facilitated clear communication between auditors and stakeholders regarding findings, promoting transparency throughout the entire audit process.

Awarded “Best Audit Report” and “Best Auditor” in 2008; Worldwide recognition.