Netherlands
Accomplished Finance leader with more than 20 years of international experience in strategic and operational finance, P&L oversight, supply chain transformation, management consultancy, auditing and business partnering. Results driven, dependable and influential leader with proven track record in spearheading uncharted area, leading positive changes and delivering results leveraging her extensive commercial finance experience and hands on operational industry knowledge, primarily in the Oil & Gas and Petrochemical industry. Currently, Rachel is the leading the accounting, finance and business planning interface, representing SABIC in the joint venture with ExxonMobil, that owns and operates a cracker, 2 polyethylene and 1 glycol unit (Gulf Coast Growth Venture). She leads and manages the team in providing key financial and operational insights in steering the PE and Glycol operations in the Americas region.
Leading tax operations globally including direct tax, indirect tax and ZAKAT.
Lead accounting, finance and business planning interface between the manufacturing joint venture with SABIC corporate functions including Controllership, Tax, Treasury, Performance Management; in providing critical decision support and manufacturing performance insights to the Polyethylene and Glycol Business Units Oversees monthly closing process, liaise with plant and JV teams to ensure timely receipt of financial information for accurate recording P&L oversight, business planning and performance management, this includes tracking and analysis of manufacturing variable cost, fixed costs as well as cost to serve by product lines Assurance and control - review partner cost allocations and offtake pricing in ensuring adherence to all standing Agreements Continuous improvement - challenge status quo, lead and negotiate changes to process and agreements Safeguard SABIC’s interest – manage cash flows, maximize return and cash distribution to partners Strategic business partnering- accurate tracking of key financial and operational insights for business decision making for e.g., material utilization, production capability and offtake nominations First line of defense on technical accounting topics, particularly US GAAP vs IFRS differences Lead capex tracking and management, as well as post investment look back review Review monthly financial performance deck for Business Unit review and Joint Venture Affair stewardship
Key support to the Transformation Office, I play a pivotal role in driving the success of supply chain’s transformation journey. I support the external spend workstream responsible for $3bil spend: Provide guidance on valuation of initiatives and estimated benefit Validate the business case, challenge the assumptions and perform necessary checking on the data and calculation of savings, and approve the initiatives Drive impact tracking of implemented initiatives and providing reconciliation support to P&L Provide insights on contract leakages in driving contract compliance and realization of savings Provide ad-hoc data analytics support Cost analyzer expert, and design structured approach to commodity indexing and normalization process
Finance lead, managing global team of 4, responsible for providing full suite of finance support activities including planning & appraisal, management information & performance management, commercial decision support and others to a global commercial business engaging in selling and provision of technical services and technology licenses to third party customers in > 15 countries. I managed wide group of very senior stakeholders in this role, with direct accountability to the business and Finance VP.
Shell project finance controller for major Shell operated capital projects, as well as representing Shell in non-operated ventures: Negotiated key operating venture agreements representing Finance Key member in the technical and management committee team in monitoring project delivery and project governance per the terms in the operating agreements Provided finance analytics support and operational insights for strategic decision making and safeguarding Shell’s interest Led annual Work Program & Budget and monthly closing process with P&L oversight Reviewed joint interest billings and coordinate operator audit Provided commercial support and commercial contract management, support supply chain group in variation orders and management of change process Coordinated AFE approvals, maintain fit for purpose WBS structures to enable proper cost monitoring Provided technical accounting support Key Achievements: Award winner for cost control enhancement, and cost recovery improvement in major upstream capital projects Instrumental in the design and implementation of Project Discipline & Control Assurance Framework (DCAF) Successfully executed cost reduction by realizing synergy and reducing support headcount by 2 Robust contract management and project controls, endorsed by a “Good” audit rating by Group Audit Successfully roll out value of work done reporting; vs cash spend reporting for more accurate cost reporting in accordance with group accounting standards Significantly improved late payment to < 5% - improved vendors relationship and Shell reputation
Provided management consultancy support on project basis to various strategic initiatives, spanning across different Shell businesses including upstream and unconventional Oil Shale businesses. I was responsible for meeting with internal client that are typically Senior Executives, determining project objectives and writing up terms of engagement, defining project milestones and deliverables, and leading the project independently Key achievements: Successfully set up a local JV in North East China, completed all local registration processes, devising the financial control and governance framework of this new JV, building local finance team, implementing new finance ERP system, calling of group capital and run board meeting Implemented chart of accounts and GL codes, delivered seamless GL close and generation of financial statements Delivered 2 divestment evaluation models in support of lubricant blending plant spin offs Project management of SOX roll out and segregation of duties remediation program Project management support for a credit improvement project for Shell Malaysia Upstream business
I was engaged in the capacity of a professional accountant to spearhead the financial audit function of PROTON (a Malaysia national automotive manufacturer), reporting directly to the Board Audit Committee. • Led financial audit unit in providing assurance to the Board Audit Committee prior to quarterly financial results announcement to the stock exchange • Managed quarterly reviews of local holding company and 4 other local and foreign subsidiaries i.e. local car distributor, local automotive credit company providing financing, Lotus Cars UK, MV Augusta S.P.A single-handedly at the start, and later through a team of 3 having recruited and expanded the unit globally, under my supervision • Designed, performed and managed various process improvement, internal control and fraud investigation audits
I Led and supported financial audits of companies of various sizes (including public listed companies) spanning across diverse industries. Most notably, I was recognized for great expertise in plantation audits having performed many cycles of quarterly control audits in remote plantation estates. During this time, I have completed CPA Australia as a top scorer with high distinctions in all segments