RAYMOND DE LA CRUZ
Martinez,CA
Summary
Experienced executive with a proven track record of managing financial health, driving strategic decisions, and ensuring long-term success for companies. Strategic partner involved in shaping business growth and innovation through technology and data analytics. Skilled at identifying opportunities for improvement and implementing solutions to enhance business performance. Passionate about driving organizational success through strategic planning and innovative problem-solving.
Overview
27
27
years of professional experience
Work History
Director of Finance and Accounting Operations
The CBR Group
Martinez, CA
04.2019 - 12.2025
- Executive Strategy: Partnered with the CEO and executive leadership to develop and execute long-range plans; aligned financial strategy with global corporate objectives while mitigating risk to protect $2M in corporate assets.
- FP&A Leadership: Directed budgeting and forecasting cycles for four lines of business ($13M annual revenue), translating complex financial models into actionable insights for executive initiatives.
- Liquidity & Crisis Management: Directed a $1.3M monthly cash flow and capital allocation strategy. Mitigated operational risk by negotiating asset-based financing to bridge AR/AP gaps and secured $2.5M in critical liquidity (PPP/EIDL) to ensure long-term solvency.
- Systems Innovation: Spearheaded the implementation of a Quickbase-driven ERP system, streamlining the transition from project delivery to revenue recognition by configuring workflows to auto-generate invoices upon milestone achievement.
- CapEx & OpEx Governance: Established rigorous controls for capital expenditures and client-related OpEx, ensuring 100% alignment between vendor orders and project completion while capturing all billable reimbursements.
- Financial Reporting: Guaranteed impeccable financial governance by overseeing the preparation of all financial statements, consistently exceeding accuracy, timeliness, and regulatory compliance standards.
- Team Leadership: Led and developed the finance team, implementing cross-training and skill-enhancement programs to drive departmental efficiency.
Consultant
State Compensation Insurance Fund, SCIF
San Francisco, CA
10.2018 - 04.2019
- Strategic Advisory: Served as a specialized consultant to the Director of FP&A, providing data-driven guidance on business case development and competitive market positioning.
- Financial Planning & Stress Testing: Orchestrated company-wide financial planning processes, including annual budgeting and quarterly forecasting. Developed stress test models to evaluate corporate resilience against volatile market scenarios.
- Decision Support: Conducted in-depth competitor analysis to identify market trends, presenting strategic recommendations to executive leadership that informed long-range planning.
- Process Integration: Streamlined the reporting architecture for long-range strategic plans, ensuring seamless alignment between departmental forecasts and global corporate objectives.
Manager, Corporate Financial Planning and Reporting
Bank of the West
San Francisco, CA
01.2015 - 07.2018
- FP&A Leadership: Directed bank-wide Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) cycles, including annual budgeting, quarterly forecasting, long-range strategic planning, and sophisticated stress test modeling.
- P&L & Balance Sheet Management: Managed comprehensive balance sheet projections, P&L forecasting (interest/expense income and fees), loss mitigation strategies, and risk/opportunity analytics.
- Board Reporting: Provided executive management and the Board of Directors with timely, data-driven reporting on the financial performance of Bank of West and its subsidiary, First Hawaiian Bank.
- Process Optimization: Developed and deployed standardized tools and procedures across all lines of business to streamline planning and forecasting cycles.
- Systems Implementation: Implemented a rolling-forecast process for 5-year strategic planning and modified Hyperion-based planning tools to support risk-opportunity based quarterly forecasting.
- M&A Support / Restructuring: Led the finance team through the de-consolidation of the Bank's balance sheet and income statement following the partial ownership sale of First Hawaiian.
- Operational Efficiency: Standardized executive management reporting methodologies, creating integrated, user-friendly dashboards that reduced duplication and improved overall financial understanding/profitability drivers.
Manager: Financial Planning and Reporting, Commercial Banking Group
Bank of the West
San Francisco, CA
01.2012 - 01.2015
- Executive Business Partnering: Directed the FP&A team supporting the Group Head of Commercial Banking, aligning financial strategy across industry-specific coverage lines and product partners.
- Strategic Financial Governance: Orchestrated the end-to-end planning cycle for the Commercial Banking LOB, including annual budgeting, quarterly forecasting, and long-range stress test modeling.
- Financial Transformation: Spearheaded the transition to a driver-based planning framework, implementing KPIs to benchmark sales productivity, portfolio performance, and expense efficiency across all divisions.
- Organizational Integration: Managed the financial consolidation of the Middle-Market portfolio into the Commercial Banking Group, ensuring seamless reporting integration and data integrity during the transition.
- Model Innovation: Re-engineered complex financial models and established new shared revenue and expense allocation methodologies, enhancing the transparency of divisional profitability.
- Portfolio Decision Support: Utilized advanced portfolio modeling to guide executive decision-making, optimizing the balance between sales growth and risk-adjusted returns.
Manager: Financial Planning and Reporting, Cards Services and Consumer Lending
Wells Fargo & Company
San Francisco
01.2008 - 01.2012
- P&L & Portfolio Management: Directed financial planning and reporting for a $6B consumer loan portfolio, generating $600M+ in annual revenue and $100M in NIAT.
- M&A Integration: Spearheaded the financial integration of Wachovia’s loan portfolio; re-engineered revenue and expense allocation models to support a 22-region expansion.
- Strategic Planning: Authored and modeled the long-range strategic plan for the PCM business line; successfully obtained CEO and Executive Committee approval for product transparency and 5-year financial projections.
- Transformation & Best Practices: Championed a shift from short-term financial focus toward comprehensive strategic planning, implementing standardized financial processes and best practices across multiple business lines.
- High-Performance Leadership: Fostered a collaborative team culture by centralizing communication and empowering staff participation, resulting in improved departmental engagement and operational accuracy.
- Executive Recognition: Consistently recognized by executive leadership for exceptional performance in delivering accurate, data-driven insights for mission-critical bank initiatives.
Education
Master of Business Administration (MBA) - Business Administration And Management
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA06.2005
Bachelor of Science (BS) - Finance & Economics
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA05.1998
Skills
- ERPs & Accounting: SAP, PeopleSoft, QuickBooks Financial Management, Quick-base (Custom ERP/LCP)
- FP&A & Reporting: Hyperion, Oracle SQL
- Office & Analytics: MS Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Access), Google Workspace
Timeline
Director of Finance and Accounting Operations
The CBR Group
04.2019 - 12.2025
Consultant
State Compensation Insurance Fund, SCIF
10.2018 - 04.2019
Manager, Corporate Financial Planning and Reporting
Bank of the West
01.2015 - 07.2018
Manager: Financial Planning and Reporting, Commercial Banking Group
Bank of the West
01.2012 - 01.2015
Manager: Financial Planning and Reporting, Cards Services and Consumer Lending
Wells Fargo & Company
01.2008 - 01.2012
Master of Business Administration (MBA) - Business Administration And Management
University of San Francisco
Bachelor of Science (BS) - Finance & Economics
Carnegie Mellon University
Prior Experience
- McKesson Corporation, Senior Business Analyst, McKesson Pharmaceutical Organization
- Hewlett Packard, Senior Financial Analyst, Business PC North America Marketing Organization