Mark Flaherty

Licensing Direct-to-Consumer Media Company: As Chief Financial Officer, Mark was recruited through an investment banking connection for this licensing, direct-to-consumer, and media business with a portfolio of brands that has a retail equivalent revenue of $1.3 billion (brands include Martha Stewart, Sur-la-table, America’s Test Kitchen, Body Glove, Bruno Magli, BCBG Max Azaria, Dakine, and Anti-Social Social Club). He was responsible for all support center functions and hired/coached a 25-person team spanning Finance (Accounting and FP&A), Supply Chain, Legal, IT, and HR. Mark worked on the company’s first Debt Raise, the previous source of capital was through the raise of two funds to purchase brands for the company’s portfolio. He developed the post-merger integration plan for the acquisition of America’s Test Kitchen and Anti-Social Social Club. Mark also implemented accounting/ finance processes, disciplined cash flow forecasting and inventory planning, and open-to-buy policies as the direct-to-consumer business was being developed. He planned and implemented the company’s first fully integrated ERP system (NetSuite), and selected/implemented Adaptive Insights, a budgeting and analytics tool integrated with NetSuite, allowing for seamless integration to payment platforms, customer service, and a 3rd party logistics provider. 

Television Network: As Chief Financial Officer, Mark spearheaded financial reporting and M&A considerations for a start-up owner and operator of a 24-hour cable, streaming and subscription video channel with annual revenues of $10M, showcasing on major cable operators (Dish, AT&T, Verizon, Armstrong, and more). He developed M&A strategy and 5-year forecasts to expand network from a $10M network to a $150M network (and eventually to a $.5B network). His strategy outlined two major deals/transactions with brand-name cable networks. He hired/coached a 20-person team spanning Finance (Accounting and FP&A), Strategic Planning, Legal, IT, and HR. He worked on both Equity Raises (shareholder fundraises) as well as multimillion-dollar Debt Raises. Mark also developed the post-merger integration plan for the networks and complete network architecture using Microsoft 365 and Exchange (Active Directory for the enterprise). He implemented an ERP system (NetSuite), and selected/implemented Adaptive Insights, a budgeting and analytics tool integrated with NetSuite, allowing for seamless integration from PO to final payment and to the production side using shell manager (PO and budgeting tool for content production, Show Manager, integrated with AP). Mark also implemented Paychex, a cloud-based, 3rd Party HR & Payroll processing tool with Performance Assessment & Onboarding modules. 

Global Specialty Retailer: Mark was recruited by the CFO, CEO, and PE fund as a potential successor CFO for this global specialty retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies in North America, South America, and Europe with 30,000 employees and $3.9B in annual revenues. He directed a $135M capital budget and $140M shared services budget and guided the global M&A process that delivered $500M in M&A-related revenues over 8 years (more than 200 transactions ranging from $15M - $125M of business beauty & distribution entities spanning more than 14 Countries). Mark led a 496-person team across Finance, Accounting, Treasury, Distribution, Tax, IT, Investor Relations, Supply Chain, Loss Prevention, and Real Estate. Mark guided global strategy, managed all derivative and hedging activities, and optimized tax exposure and cash-in-country to avoid volatility exchange rates. Mark directed a capital structure that included term debt and bonds totaling $1.8B, refinancing it twice; refinanced a corporate credit facility of approximately $500M twice (interest savings of $11M on the 1st refinance, and $8M on the 2nd refinance). He launched a warehouse optimization project, repositioning facilities and technology investments (a three-year project designed to achieve $8-10M in distribution costs). Mark streamlined post-merger integration for international businesses, consolidated the individual ERP, POS, distribution, and finance systems across all international and domestic businesses, and created new functionality for outdated technology. He converted all international businesses to one enterprise-level ERP system that included new POS functionality and designed the first phase of the North American ERP system with the conversion of GL and AP systems into Oracle. Mark implemented a single platform BI tool (Hyperion) for all management reporting and the basis for worldwide external reporting, updated the POS system in the US business (for both business segments) to a Windows-based platform, and transformed the loyalty card system to a new platform to provide faster access to customer data while improving market segmentation tools. Mark also participated as the executive sponsor in developing the customer roadmap, design, and implementation of the B2B business, that improved the professional segment loyalty card program via a new CRM tool He established a separate office of the Chief Information Security Officer to improve defenses against growing cyber-attacks. 

National Designer and Marketer of Accessories: During his tenure, Mark served as Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer/Assistant Secretary and Corporate Controller for the $200M company with 1,100 employees. He was hired to lead a 30-person team across all financial reporting, budgeting, auditing, cash management, tax compliance, credit, and acquisition due diligence/post-acquisition integration functions (he was later promoted to CFO to guide a 60-person team in Accounting, Financial Reporting, Tax, HR and Payroll, Investor Relations, Legal, License Administration, Treasury, IT, Corporate Governance, Internal Audit, and acquisition due diligence/ integration activities). Mark restructured the women’s division, generating a $4M SG&A savings and improving gross margins by 200 basis points. He also initiated deeper channel penetration from existing retailers, expanded licensed brands, and led acquisition strategies that grew the company from $83M in revenues in 1997 to $200M in 2007.