Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Websites
Certification
Professional Associations
Timeline
Generic

Srivatsan Balan

Connecticut

Summary

First generation entrepreneur operating my own company, Zeal Tanners (Partnership firm), in India from 2007 & A Line Leathers, LLC from Apr 2017 in the USA. 2nd Generation Tanner and extremely techno-commercial savvy; inherited legacy from my father, who is a renowned Technician and worked as a General Manager in one of the leading leather group in south India, Salco Group. Subject Matter Expert on leather tanning & processing from raw to finished leather. Highly motivated professional; will seek challenging opportunities and strive harder until I get the desired results, e.g. building customer base for A Line leathers and securing a stable, on going business of USD150k in less than 2 years. Expert in international business practices (knowledge on logistics & other trade practices) as well as business landscape in India regarding full-cycle import & export of leather, chemicals and machinery from Europe, US, South America and Far East. Great interpersonal skills, communication and business acumen gained through networking at various trade shows around India, Europe & US.

Overview

23
23
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification

Work History

President

A Line Leathers
Avon
05.2017 - Current
  • Coordinated supply chain activities to ensure timely product delivery.
  • Analyzed inventory levels to optimize stock management processes.
  • Managed vendor relationships to enhance procurement efficiency and collaboration.
  • Developed logistics plans to streamline transportation and distribution networks.
  • Implemented process improvements to reduce delays in the supply chain workflow.

CEO & President

A Line Leathers, LLC
03.2017 - Current
  • Serving customers Small, Medium & Large scale with fine quality leather & leather products around U.S - North East region as core area.
  • Single-handedly achieved a business of USD150k in less than two years with major customers around North East USA in both Imports & Exports.
  • Established markets for my unique leather – Vegetable Tanned Calf Leather; Top Grade with competitive prices within the North East region.
  • Complete control over supply chain and logistics from overseas (Aisa) to USA and local haulage expert.
  • Scaled up production of custom made designer leather Jackets to upto 100300 jackets leather garments with lead-time from sample to production approval to full delivery all in 10 weeks as against the industry standard of approximately16 – 24 weeks.

Vice President of Operations

Pearle 88 Inc
Bloomfield
03.2020 - 05.2021

  • Associate, V.P Operations
  • Pearle was a retail supplier for different goods – With my role as senior associate and operations In charge I performed several administrative and sales tasks as listed below:
  • Worked with the Product owner to understand the upcoming deliveries.
  • Worked with suppliers to coordinate on time delivery and managed logistics around imports from China, Turkey & India.
  • Worked with logistics companies to ensure all procedures were completed prior to import.
  • Performed quality check and provided feedback on product quality to continuously improve.
  • Kept track of all account payables and receivables, handled cash, prepared financial statement, and provided it to auditors for tax filing purposes.
  • Extremely tech savvy, have experience working with excel, word, online systems and basic cloud knowledge.

Managing Partner

Zeal Tanners, India
04.2007 - 03.2017
  • Tanning Business: Leather Process house from Raw Hides to Finished leather.
  • Increased business over a 7-year period from less than USD150,000 (2007) to USD4.2 Million (2014):
  • Changed business model from Contract Tanning work to Comprehensive Finished leather supply (own) which brought in value addition to the process & increased revenues.
  • For e.g., Contract work sale price Rs. 15/sq.ft. & Supply of Finished leather Sale price will range from Rs.70 – Rs.200.
  • At the same time, capitalized on contract tanning work on the side that would eventually bring in 25% of total revenue with decent fixed margins & secure a new set of clients for finished leather supply.
  • Managed the challenge of convincing partners & immediate stakeholders with appropriate delegation and supervision.
  • Used constant checks & balances to run the business seamlessly and professionally.
  • Used my business acumen to manage partners who primarily brought in deeper technical knowledge to the company.
  • Accomplished a production for the Lining Leather for Cole Haan & Florshiem shoes of 50k S.ft to 100k square feet a month in 6 different colors with an unmatched delivery timing of 2 -3 weeks from the date of P.O, seamlessly managing inventory (including raw materials), keeping employees highly motivated at all times and machinery intact condition etc.
  • Managed finances efficiently keeping all stakeholders (bankers, suppliers and customers).
  • Bought Own Tannery in 2011 value USD175,000 & increased it to USD750,000 (current valuation):
  • Starting 2005, Central Pollution Control board (CPCB) banned any new tannery license and the need for tannery space was becoming rare.
  • With great foresight, I seized the opportunity, bought a new tannery at a strategic location by negotiating favorable terms.
  • Value of License along with the property value increased significantly, due to location advantage, regulations enforced by CPCB & TN PCB and all statutory dues that were paid.

Country Head, Business Development

Itakem FineChem Pvt. Ltd., India
04.2002 - 03.2007
  • Company deals with leather Chemical Trading & Distribution (its B2B).
  • Built the entire business of Leather Chemical Trading, Indenting Importer & All India Distributer ground up with an Italian Tech team of three team members, at the Centralkimica lab in Santa Croce, Italy.
  • Achieved a country-wide sale of EUR 0.75Mio euro in 4 years from its inception across more than 35 – 40 clients, which including prominent companies such as Tata, Dewas, MP; Farida Tanning Compnay; K H & Sons, who are the pioneers of Indian Leather industry.
  • Led a team of 7 members all technicians assigned across the country.

Education

Masters Program - International Business Specializing in Supply chain Management, Trade Logistics with Elective in International Trade Finance

PSG Institute of Management in Affiliation with Indian Institute of Foreign Trade
India
03.2002

Bachelor of Commerce - Business Accounting & Economics

Madras University
India
04.2000

Skills

  • Techo-Commercial
  • Wealth creation
  • Managing Profit & Loss Account
  • Knowledge of Indian Business landscape
  • People Management
  • Passionate about driving an efficient and effective business model
  • New project Assessment
  • Expert Supply Chain and Logistics
  • Strong Networking skills

Websites

Certification

Safety / Quality Audit standard certification, ILIFO, Chennai, 07/11

Professional Associations

  • Council of Leather Exports, Chennai, India, 2009
  • New England Tanners Club, MA, USA, 2017

Timeline

Vice President of Operations

Pearle 88 Inc
03.2020 - 05.2021

President

A Line Leathers
05.2017 - Current

CEO & President

A Line Leathers, LLC
03.2017 - Current

Managing Partner

Zeal Tanners, India
04.2007 - 03.2017

Country Head, Business Development

Itakem FineChem Pvt. Ltd., India
04.2002 - 03.2007

Masters Program - International Business Specializing in Supply chain Management, Trade Logistics with Elective in International Trade Finance

PSG Institute of Management in Affiliation with Indian Institute of Foreign Trade

Bachelor of Commerce - Business Accounting & Economics

Madras University

Similar Profiles

CREATE PROFILE
Srivatsan Balan