GABRIEL NAVARRETE
Canton,MI
Summary
Operations finance leader integrating multi-site P&L ownership, costing, FP&A, and capital planning across industrial and regulated sectors.
Overview
5
5
Certifications
22
22
years of professional experience
Work History
SR. DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS FINANCE
DAWN FOODS GLOBAL
Jackson, MI
03.2023 - Current
- Provided full financial oversight for five manufacturing locations, leading a 12-person operations finance organization including controllers and costing teams.
- Led financial and operational transformation across five-location ingredient manufacturing network, partnering with operational leadership on turnaround priorities, standard costing, continuous improvement, KPI development, accountability, and data-driven decision making.
- Co-led 5- and 10-year capital asset planning to address aging equipment and infrastructure, aligning capital deployment with commercial strategy and enterprise financial objectives.
- Lead product and product-line optimization using capacity constraints analytics, landed-cost analysis, distribution and route optimization, and profitability targets.
FINANCE DIRECTOR
SODEXO
Detroit, MI
06.2019 - 03.2023
- Redefined budgeting and cost-control processes through automation and optimized finance staffing, resulting in $1.6M+ estimated first-year savings and achieving target profitability within 18 months.
- Directed finance strategy for Pharmaceutical Integrated Facility Management business model across seven manufacturing locations, collaborating with VP of Finance on contract management, performance metrics, and profitability.
- Led total maintenance costing and Enterprise Asset Management processes supporting accurate quoting, budgeting, and cost control; identified $2M+ annual savings.
- Managed eight direct/indirect reports in Integrated Facility Management / Life Sciences finance, enhancing team alignment across site and above-site operations.
SR. MANAGER, FINANCIAL PLANNING & ANALYSIS
MERIDIAN LIGHTWEIGHT TECH
Plymouth, MI
07.2014 - 06.2019
- Built financial analysis, reporting, planning, and performance-management processes for a $850M+ manufacturing business spanning nine locations and North America, Asia, and Europe.
- Managed 20+ direct and indirect reports in FP&A, costing, business systems, and plant finance, enhancing team collaboration and performance.
- Aligned PLEX ERP with Longview Financial Analysis Solution to automate planning and generate financial analytics, supporting strategic KPI measurements for 5-year growth plan.
SR. FINANCIAL SPECIALIST – FP&A, BRANDED BUSINESS
LA-Z-BOY INCORPORATED
Monroe, MI
05.2012 - 07.2014
- Led global supply-chain continuous-improvement initiatives resulting in $169.4M in annual savings, or 10.2% of COGS.
- Oversaw Southern Ohio and Las Vegas market acquisitions, converting dealer/license-owned to company-owned networks, contributing $60M in sales at 8% margin while integrating 10 retail and 4 distribution locations.
- Led strategic finance and continuous-improvement initiatives by integrating manufacturing, retail, and global supply chain operations in support of a 5-year growth strategy.
- Developed financial models and conducted analyses for HR, Residential/Retail Operations, Marketing, R&D, and Quality to support strategic decision-making.
REGIONAL SR. FINANCIAL MANAGER
ANESTHESIA BUSINESS CONSULTANTS
Jackson, MI
02.2010 - 05.2012
- Directed finance and business-management functions for 20+ private healthcare practices, overseeing $92M+ annual budget.
- Developed profitability and minimum-standard models for financial consulting services, resulting in 18% revenue increase ($320K) in 2010.
- Directed financial reporting for anesthesia business consulting operations and client accounts.
- Managed budgeting, forecasting, and cash flow planning for healthcare service portfolios.
- Reviewed billing workflows, payer reimbursements, and patient account balances.
BUSINESS MANAGER II / CONTROLLER
VOITH, AG – INDUSTRIAL SERVICES
Cincinnati, OH
10.2004 - 02.2010
- Managed two technical automotive customer sites, overseeing costing, analysis, health & safety, HR, training, IT/CMMS, and customer service to ensure operational excellence.
- Directed Six Sigma statistical and financial analysis models, achieving $650K in repair-parts inventory savings and $287K in equipment-utilization savings in 2009.
- Led supplier/partner strategy and competitive bidding initiatives, resulting in cost reductions and enhanced operating efficiency.
Education
MBA - Business Turnaround
University of Detroit Mercy
Detroit, MI01-2012
B.S. - Accounting
Siena Heights University
Adrian, MI01-2001
Skills
- Oracle JD Edwards E1
- Business intelligence tools
- Power BI
- Hyperion HFM and Essbase
- Longview financial solutions
- Plex ERP
- SAP
- Microsoft Dynamics GP
- AS/400 systems
- Crystal Reports
- MAS 90 accounting software
- NPIC software
- Syteline ERP
- Datastream management
- Maximo asset management
- Kronos and Lawson systems
- Microsoft Office suite
Personal Information
Title: EXECUTIVE FINANCE & OPERATIONS LEADER
Certification
Six Sigma Green Belt
EDUCATION & EXECUTIVE CREDENTIALS
Fluent in Spanish
Accomplishments
- Delivered $4M+ in 2025 cost savings at Dawn Foods through a redesigned continuous-improvement and savings pipeline leveraging MES-driven opportunity identification.
- Generated $3M+ in enhanced gross margin in 2025 through product and product-line optimization, capacity analytics, landed-cost analysis, distribution optimization, and profitability targeting.
- Reduced planned capital spend by $21M at Meridian Lightweight Tech through capacity planning, production rebalancing, and capital equipment analysis.
- Delivered $169.4M in annual supply-chain savings at La-Z-Boy, representing 10.2% of COGS.
- Expanded La-Z-Boy market operations by $60M in sales at an 8% margin through acquisition of Southern Ohio and Las Vegas markets, incorporating 10 retail and 4 distribution locations.
- Created $1.6M+ first-year savings at Sodexo through budgeting, cost-control, automation, and finance-staffing redesign; reached target profitability within 18 months.
- Identified $2M+ annual savings opportunity through total maintenance costing and Enterprise Asset Management processes at Sodexo.
- Increased Financial Consulting Services revenue by 18% ($320K) at Anesthesia Business Consultants.
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP STRENGTHS
- Enterprise Strategy & Execution
- P&L Leadership
- Profitability Improvement
- Global Operations Finance
- Strategic Planning
- Cost Transformation
- Supply Chain & Network Optimization
- Capital Planning
- FP&A
- KPI / Performance Management
- Continuous Improvement
- ERP / Business Systems
- Financial Modeling
- Change Management
- Cross-Functional Leadership
- GAAP / IFRS
Timeline
SR. DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS FINANCE
DAWN FOODS GLOBAL
03.2023 - Current
FINANCE DIRECTOR
SODEXO
06.2019 - 03.2023
SR. MANAGER, FINANCIAL PLANNING & ANALYSIS
MERIDIAN LIGHTWEIGHT TECH
07.2014 - 06.2019
SR. FINANCIAL SPECIALIST – FP&A, BRANDED BUSINESS
LA-Z-BOY INCORPORATED
05.2012 - 07.2014
REGIONAL SR. FINANCIAL MANAGER
ANESTHESIA BUSINESS CONSULTANTS
02.2010 - 05.2012
BUSINESS MANAGER II / CONTROLLER
VOITH, AG – INDUSTRIAL SERVICES
10.2004 - 02.2010
MBA - Business Turnaround
University of Detroit Mercy
B.S. - Accounting
Siena Heights University