Arthur Kouts

Proven expertise in managing significant business portfolios in APAC and Latin America, adept at aligning financial strategies with commercial goals, offering valuable insights that contribute to organisational success supporting CEOs, CFOs and Line of Business presidents.

Commercial Finance Director at Rizing Group (a Wipro company) (2022-04 – 2026-07)

Oversee APAC business finance responsibilities, $65M USD revenues, team of 250 employees across five countries as a trusted advisor to global CFO, regional presidents and sales executives. One direct report. Served as a member of the APAC Executive Leadership Team.

• Facilitate revenue and cost management, P&L ownership with leaders presenting results, risks and opportunities.
• Collaborate with sales and project delivery teams to ensure balanced commercial results and risk mitigation.
• Lead annual budget planning and prepare monthly and quarterly forecasts, revenue management reporting for APAC.
• Collaborate with finance controllership addressing annual audits and testing, operational matters impacting projects, revenue recognition and utilisation.
• Spearheaded the performance turnaround of HCM LoB from -55% EBITDA and a $6M loss to a positive 5% operating margin within 24 months by establishing a new leadership team focused on unprofitable clients, enhancing sales governance and deal qualification, pricing strategies and improved contract terms.
• Facilitated sales growth of 28% YoY for HCM LoB by refining sales qualification, deal structuring, and contract pricing.
• Lead Go To Market business case strategy for APAC market expansion.
• APAC finance transformation and integration from SAP S4 HANA to Wipro in-house systems.
• Enhanced global reporting for sales bookings and CRM pipeline data management to ensure accurate revenue and sales external reporting to Wipro post-acquisition.

Country Finance Manager at SOLERA Group (SaaS companies) (2018-05 – 2022-03)

Group financial responsibility for $25M USD, 120 employees, managing the FP&A function, capex investments, product pricing, revenue management, KPI metrics evaluation, and budget planning. Prepare and deliver group results and rolling 4-year business plans, forecasts and P&L results to regional VPs, global CFO, and country CEO.

Senior Management

Team member in Brazil and Global Finance Leadership group.

Company

Secretary overseeing all company contracts, legal and compliance obligations. Directly managed two FP&A employees, indirectly overseeing the finance controllership team of eight employees.

• Led transformation initiatives and restructuring during the pandemic by rationalising product development, IT operations, supplier contracts and product line profitability resulting in revenue growth of 25% and a 90% increase in EBITDA compared to pre-pandemic levels.
• Achieved a 70% reduction in capex by leveraging global product development team.
• Developed KPIs for product lines, focusing on customer retention and SaaS subscription pricing.
• Led local M&A activities for CESVI acquisition and integration of $4M USD.
• Prepared and presented business cases for new offerings launched in the Brazilian market for HQ review. Collaboratively defined the aftermarket parts GTM strategy with the CEO, concentrating on the expansion to a B2C business model.
• Led Receivables Anticipation Project leading to a 4% revenue increase.
• Led the office co location initiative with HR, achieved 27% savings.

Finance Manager of New Business Projects (RFP and Renewal contracts) at HP ENTERPRISE SERVICES / DXC. Technology (2013-11 – 2017-05)

Transitioned from Australia to Brazil, predominantly focusing on mentoring financial peers and leading pursuit teams to develop client proposals. Crafted board presentations, managed stakeholder communications, and provided language support for local interactions with US regional leadership. Served as an advisor to finance and sales executives on deal strategy and structuring alternatives.

Held financial project responsibility and conducted negotiations for client contracts ranging from $5M to $200M USD including Editorial Brasil, Association Paulista de Medicina, Atento, and Banco Caja Social (Colombia).

• 2016 - Secured the largest new client win for HP Enterprise Services in 2016 with Association Paulista de Medicina.
• 2015 - Awarded Team Excellence Award for outstanding contract renegotiation with Editorial Abril.

Finance Manager of New Business Projects (RFP and Renewal contracts) at EDS & HP ENTERPRISE SERVICES (2003-07 – 2013-10)

Held financial responsibility for new business sales opportunities, contract values $20M to $1Bn; prepared pricing, P&L statements, cash flow, and capital investment analysis while evaluating financial and legal contract terms. Sales and business development experience, successfully preparing, presenting, and negotiating contracts with established and new clients. Stakeholder management by providing financial reporting packs, risk assessment and contractual T&Cs to local, regional, and global CFOs.

Managed business case evaluation models and executed financial due diligence based on client information. Developed price-to-win analysis, establishing investment and operational price targets based on existing accounts performance and data stemming from win/loss reviews. Led financial planning coordination and approvals, ensuring compliance with revenue recognition policies and US GAAP, Tax, Treasury, and Credit and Collections departments.

• Acted as finance team leader on complex deals, mentored and developed finance consultants for new business opportunities.
• Served as Employee Engagement Manager managing 5 peers across APAC to implemented the Employee Engagement Initiative for 70 employees.
• Multiple Deal of the Year Awards for new business wins, Pre-sales finance team leader award for contract wins valued at $1Bn.
• Achieved promotion to Finance Manager, leading key projects, onboarding and mentoring new team members.

Customer Support Business Analyst at HP Australia - Imaging and Printing Group (2002-11 – 2003-06)

Reported directly to the Group ANZ Manager.

Financial Planning & Reporting Manager at SIEMENS LTD, Siemens Business Services IT (SBS) (1999-08 – 2002-10)

Served as Senior Finance Analyst / Management Accountant for the IT Division, reporting to the CIO.

Head Office Management Accountant at Visy Paper Pty Ltd (subsidiary of Visy Industries) (1997-03 – 1998-08)

Reported to the Group Financial Controller.

Bachelor of Business in Accounting – Swinburne University of Technology

CPA - Certified Practising Accountant in Director Level – Interathiva Corporate Education