Suk Shah, Finance Expert in Chicago, IL, United States
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Suk Shah

Verified Expert  in Finance

Finance Expert

Location
Chicago, IL, United States
Toptal Member Since
September 4, 2017

Suk's spent the last four years as the global CFO of Avant—the fastest growing digital lending platform in the US—helping the company raise over $3 billion in debt and equity. His experience in global financial services includes a decade of executive leadership at GE and HSBC. As a freelancer, Suk enjoys helping other specialty finance-and-tech companies execute capital raises, solve complex problems and support key strategic initiatives.

Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)Capital MarketsMergers & Acquisitions (M&A)Fintech ConsultantFinancial SystemsFinancial ModelingValuation

Career Highlights

Global Chief Financial Officer
Avant
CFO, Commercial Banking North America
HSBC North America
Vice President, Financial Planning and Analysis
GE Financial Services (Healthcare and Commercial)

Education Highlights

Executive Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management
Bachelor's Degree
University of Illinois

Case Studies

Industry Expertise

FinanceBankingeCommerceFinancial ModelingFintechCapital MarketsPricing

Other Expertise

DivestituresEquity FinancingEquity ValuationFintechRisk Modeling

Work Experience

Global Chief Financial Officer

2014 - PRESENT
Avant
  • Led Series D ($225 million) and Series E ($325 million) equity rounds in late 2014 and 2015 from top-tier growth equity firms including Tiger Global, General Atlantic, and J.P. Morgan.
  • Structured and transacted over $1 billion in rated consumer asset-backed securities backed by personal loans.
  • Developed a global investment decision-making process for new products (installment loans, credit cards, lines of credit, and point of sale lending) through detailed business cases which require appropriate capital allocation and hurdle minimums on returns on equity.
  • Built treasury and accounting operations which currently process over 6,000 transactions ($7 million of cash payments) daily through more than 50 bank accounts.
  • Drove a shift in company strategy including cost and marketing efficiency; executed over $40 million in cost savings through headcount reduction, offshoring and vendor spend rationalization.
  • Grew the team from 6 to 54 members by acquiring top talent to enhance the Treasury, Internal Audit and Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) teams.
Focus areas: Banking Provision Models, Financial Regulations, Management, Audits, Equity Financing, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Capital Markets

CFO, Commercial Banking North America

2012 - 2014
HSBC North America
  • Drove all the key financial activities (pricing and transaction support, liquidity and capital management, treasury, planning and reporting, and investor relations) for a $1 billion profit before tax (PBT) for the commercial banking division with operations in the United States and Canada.
  • Managed a finance team of 22 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees across North America including a global finance support team in India.
  • Led the structuring of a critical real estate transaction resulting in a $25 million gain for the bank.
  • Completed comprehensive capital adequacy review (CCAR) under the guidelines of the US Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and UK Prudential Authority which passed with the first submission.
  • Coordinated $3 billion in capital optimization projects with Risk Analytics team, resulting in optimization of capital coverage ratios to support higher lending volumes.
Focus areas: Pricing, Forecasting, Budget Management, Financial Systems, Financial Management, CCAR

Vice President, Financial Planning and Analysis

2008 - 2010
GE Financial Services (Healthcare and Commercial)
  • Drove all the financial activities (pricing, reporting, and analytics) for the healthcare and inventory financing businesses with $2 billion in revenue, $500 million in profit, and $40 billion in assets.
  • Prepared all the board and investor relations packages, including market and industry analyses.
  • Collaborated with corporate treasury to stabilize funding through three successful public bond issuances representing over $500 million, despite significant market liquidity concerns during the 2008 financial crisis.
  • Executed over $25 billion in asset divestitures to ensure capital adequacy during the 2008 financial crisis.
  • Supported the repricing of $4 billion in assets to increase margins and returns on equity by 200 basis points (BPS).
Focus areas: Cost-saving Structure, Cost Management, Senior Secured Debt, Secured Loans, Pricing, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)

Financial Management Program and Corporate Audit Staff

2002 - 2008
General Electric
  • Completed GE’s version of the MBA, "GE Finance Disciplines" spanning cost accounting, commercial pricing to working capital management. Received the highest honors for completing coursework in financial analytics, controllership, and strategic operations.
  • Led more than 60 associates over the course of four years. Devoted significant time to mentor, coach, and develop young talent.
  • Completed 12 different audits including balance sheet and compliance reviews across nine different GE business segments in 11 different countries totaling $40 billion of asset coverage.
Focus areas: Management, Audits
2010 - 2012

Executive Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Marketing and General Management

Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management - Chicago, IL, USA

1998 - 2002

Bachelor's Degree in Finance and Management Information Systems

University of Illinois - Champaign, IL, USA