E. Benjamin Buttolph: 

Profile:

Mr. Buttolph brings to EBB 19 + years as a senior financial executive with significant turn-around, valuation, and international experience in technology, manufacturing, and service company environments. Specific areas of expertise include corporate recovery, crisis management, capital investment allocation, evaluation and approval. Operational experience in financial reporting, including  SEC reporting, regulatory compliance, financial planning, analysis, acquisition planning and execution. A strategist skilled at linking market needs, product/portfolio offerings, and operational performance metrics through the use of careful controls, discounted cash flow and statistical process methods. A successful turn-around executive with significant problem solving and team development abilities 

Career Accomplishments: 

·        Led financial turn-around of US based heavy metal stamping company with operations in Mexico. Successfully reduced staff by 53%, reduced debt from $5 million to $3 million while maintaining revenue level of core business. Improved accounts receivable collections from 90+ days to 47 days. Terminated 2 unprofitable acquisitions, liquidated excess inventory, equipment, and real estate. Renegotiated extensions and renewals of all bank obligations and trade relationships. Managed completion of successful environmental contamination issues and managed all legal affairs including those stemming from employee terminations, property tax claims, real estate sales, employee benefits, and collection of bad debts. 

• Completed a successful financial turn-around of public multi-national Internet service provider. Led efforts to address accounting and control issues. Implemented internal-audit co-source arrangement and replaced external audit relationship. Successfully planned and transitioned central accounting and external reporting from United States to United Kingdom. Designed and implemented revised financial controls for all expenditures, customer contracts, revenue recognition, credit memos, credit and collection efforts, capital and period costs, as well, plus external vendor relationships. Designed and implemented procedures and reviews necessary for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.

·        Provided consulting and expert witness services to large software vendor regarding collection and retainage of proceeds during customer bankruptcy proceeding. 

• Led financial and operational turn-around of commercial printing, fulfillment, and print on demand facility with revenues of $15 million. Successfully reduced staff by 27% with minimal reduction in revenue. Identified and exited unprofitable Florida operation and terminated unprofitable customer relationships. Improved working capital management and reporting. Established weekly management meetings, revised scheduling efforts, mapped internal processes, established defect metrics, designed management reporting and reorganized organizational structure. To date, annual recurring costs have been reduced by $ 1,050,000. Fallow/underutilized equipment is being liquidated and major vendor contracts for equipment maintenance and supplies have been recast and reduced. Prepared analysis and led discussions with debt and capital lease holders to restructure company liabilities. Working with owners to establish clear exit/succession plan for other family members involved in company operations.

• Reduced a start-up client company’s cash consumption rate from $25 million to $5 million quarterly in 6 month timeframe. Revised cash investment activities and management to gain $2 million annual interest income.

• Led effort to review and investigate joint fibre build project / contract for one of three partners where general partner was experiencing financial distress. This effort gained final title to the project for client as well as a significant cash payment from the bankruptcy estate for my client and avoidance of payment in excess of $10 million in additional costs.

• Led financial turn-around of $1.0 billion revenue 1 million customer ILEC. This company’s free cash flow on an annual basis was improved from $(2.7) million to $195 million within 8 months.

• Developed financial model and research to analyze portfolio securitization clause in private label credit card contract resulting in $1 million benefit in contract extension negotiations.

• Analyzed international acquisition candidate resulting in rescission of proposed transaction saving $14 million for buyer.

• Investigated prior financial management irregulataries in billing activities of subsidiary company, recommended and executed corrective action plan, restated financial results and lead effort to respond to SEC inquiry.

Previous Positions Summary: 

Via Net.Works, Inc, Reston Virginia

Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer   

Ernst & Young, LLP, Chicago/New York                                                              

Director National Telecom Accounts

Level (3) Communications, Inc., Broomfield, Colorado                                                

Group Vice President Finance

Concert Global Network Services, Limited, Hamilton, Bermuda                                   

Vice President – Network Commercial Management

Citizen’s Communications, Dallas, Texa                                                          

Vice President  Finance    

Price WaterhouseCoopers, LLP, New York, New York                                             

Principal Consultant

Boatmen’s First National Bank of Kansas City, NA                                                      

Commercial Lending Officer 

Educational Background 

Millikin University, Decatur, IL   –   B.S. Economics 1985                       

Rockhurst College, Kansas City, MO      –   M.B.A. Finance 1990          

EBB Role: Founder and Managing Partner