toptal.com
Contact us: +1.888.867.7001
Richard Cleary, Finance Expert in Austin, TX, United States
Richard Cleary

Finance Expert in Austin, TX, United States

Member since November 17, 2022
Richard is a Columbia MBA and CFA charterholder with 13 years of experience helping C-level executives at Fortune 500 companies. His work includes competitive benchmarking, KPI identification, budgeting, strategic planning, and linking plans to compensation targets to drive employee behavior tailored to a client's unique culture. Richard enjoys freelancing because he is passionate about aligning pay for performance and helping companies and those who work for them maximize value.
Richard is now available for hire
Hire Richard

Career Highlights

Education

Select Certifications

  • CFA
    CFA institute

Employment

  • Vice President

    2021 - PRESENT
    Fortuna Advisors
    • Led project teams of four consultants on major engagements, developing project plans, conducting executive interviews, preparing C-suite and board presentations, overseeing associate consultants, and proposing new projects.
    • Designed short- and long-term incentive compensation plans acceptable to investors and proxy advisors while simultaneously achieving strategic objectives and shaping organizational culture.
    • Prepared models and presentations for public company board meetings.
    • Extracted market expectations embedded in stock prices by decomposing analyst targets and guidance.
    • Valued business units to show wealth creation drivers and reallocated shared corporate expenses to these business units.
    • Examined acquisitions and divestitures in EVs of $300 million, $500 million, $1.3 billion, and $2.1 billion.
    • Valued capital budgeting projects ranging from $20 million to $350 million and ran Monte Carlo simulations.
    Focus areas: Valuation, Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Benchmarking, Cost Allocation, Capital Allocation, Research, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Root Cause Analysis, Strategic Planning, Incentive Simulations, Incentive Plan Design, Financial Training, Change Management, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Capital Budgeting, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Capital IQ, Forecasting, Pitch Decks, Revenue & Expense Projections, Budgeting, Reporting, Financial Modeling, Business Models, Return on Invested Capital (ROIC), Compensation Programs, Finance, Break-even Analysis, Valuation Multiples, Valuation Modeling, Fundraising, Excel Expert, Project Management, Management Reports, Dashboards, Excel VBA, Data Visualization, B2B

  • Associate Director

    2015 - 2021
    Institutional Shareholder Services | EVA Dimensions
    • Reported directly to the CEO of ISS Corporate Solutions with three direct reports and a revenue of $1.2 million. My primary role was to retain recurring revenue while identifying new leads and prospects.
    • Collaborated with executives at Fortune 500 firms, including Ball Corporation, BorgWarner, a large NY-based beverage company, and an MI-based cereal maker.
    • Benchmarked KPIs and identified improvement levers, automating this process into a quarterly reporting rhythm.
    • Recommended best practices and cost savings opportunities.
    • Improved the methodology on adjusted and marginal ROIC and EVA calculations, capitalizing operating leases, restructuring, R&D, and advertising.
    • Valued business units for emerging market companies, including on-site projects in Argentina, Brazil, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, and Trinidad, becoming skilled in currency translation issues and international WACC calculations.
    Focus areas: Valuation, Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Benchmarking, Cost Allocation, Capital Allocation, Research, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Root Cause Analysis, Strategic Planning, Financial Training, Change Management, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Capital Budgeting, Bloomberg, Capital IQ, Forecasting, Pitch Decks, Revenue & Expense Projections, Budgeting, Reporting, Financial Modeling, Business Models, Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (SME), Return on Invested Capital (ROIC), Economic Value Added, Finance, Investor Relations, Investor Presentations, Valuation Multiples, Valuation Modeling, Fundraising, Fintech, Software as a Service (SaaS), SaaS, Business Technology, Excel Expert, Project Management, Management Reports, Dashboards, Excel VBA, Data Visualization, B2B

  • Equity Research Associate

    2014 - 2015
    CLSA
    • Covered 16 companies in the gaming and lodging space trading in New York and Hong Kong.
    • Published 44 research reports on the sector and specific companies.
    • Tracked weekly and monthly economic data, including GGR, for different jurisdictions, building models to examine value creation levers and scenario analyses surrounding market developments and M&A.
    • Provided valuable insights to buy-side clients, enabling better-informed investment decisions.
    Focus areas: Equity Research, Valuation, Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Due Diligence, Financial Modeling, Three-statement Modeling, Bloomberg, Capital IQ, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Break-even Analysis, Profitability Analysis, Investor Relations, Investor Presentations, Valuation Multiples, Valuation Modeling, Forecasting, Revenue & Expense Projections, Return on Invested Capital (ROIC), Finance, Fundraising, Investment Banking, Excel Expert, Management Reports, Excel VBA, B2B

  • Senior Financial Analyst

    2011 - 2013
    EVA Dimensions
    • Helped clients benchmark, set performance targets, analyze strategic plans, review M&A opportunities, and assess investor expectations to drive shareholder value.
    • Improved the methodology on adjusted and marginal ROIC and EVA calculations, capitalizing operating leases and restructuring expenses, converting accrual accounts to a cash basis, and capitalizing and amortizing R&D and advertising expenses.
    • Benchmarked performance on ROIC value drivers, recommending the adoption of peer best practices.
    Focus areas: Valuation, Benchmarking, Cost Allocation, Capital Allocation, Research, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Root Cause Analysis, Strategic Planning, Financial Training, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Capital Budgeting, Forecasting, Pitch Decks, Revenue & Expense Projections, Budgeting, Reporting, Financial Modeling, Business Models, Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (SME), Return on Invested Capital (ROIC), Economic Value Added, Finance, Valuation Multiples, Valuation Modeling, Fundraising, Fintech, Business Technology, Excel Expert, Management Reports, Dashboards, Excel VBA, Data Visualization, B2B

  • Senior Financial Analyst

    2008 - 2011
    Stern Stewart & Co.
    • Assisted clients in value-based strategies, planning, corporate financial advisory, and compensation.
    • Created a marketing screener ranking each company in the Russell 3000 by ROIC using Bloomberg automatic data updates.
    • Examined proxy statements and recommended changes to management compensation structures.
    Focus areas: Valuation, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Capital Allocation, Benchmarking, Cost Allocation, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Strategic Planning, Incentive Simulations, Incentive Plan Design, Financial Training, Capital Budgeting, Bloomberg, Forecasting, Pitch Decks, Revenue & Expense Projections, Budgeting, Reporting, Financial Modeling, Business Models, Return on Invested Capital (ROIC), Economic Value Added, Compensation Programs, Finance, Valuation Multiples, Valuation Modeling, Fundraising, Excel Expert, Management Reports, Dashboards, Excel VBA, B2B

Education

  • Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA)
    2013 - 2014
    Columbia Business School - New York, NY, USA
  • Bachelor's Degree in Commerce
    2004 - 2008
    University of Virginia - Charlottesville, VA, USA

Certifications

  • Series 7, 63, 87, and 89
    SEPTEMBER 2014 - SEPTEMBER 2016
    Securities and Exchange Commission
  • CFA
    JUNE 2014 - PRESENT
    CFA institute

To view more profiles

Join Toptal
Share it with others
Hire the top 3% of freelance finance experts TM