Livison Buzuzi, Management Consultant in Pretoria, South Africa
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Livison Buzuzi

Verified Expert  in Management Consulting

Management Consulting Expert

Pretoria, South Africa

Toptal member since August 19, 2022

Expertise
Business Development
Bio

Livison is a management consultant who launched his firm after more than 30 years in the financial services sector. During his career, he has worked on setting up and improving processes for various-sized companies and playing an integral role in their success. He helped a bank win the Euromoney Award for customer centricity two years in a row by rolling out a CRM bank-wide program. Livison enjoys freelancing because it enables him to assist and work with talented entrepreneurs and investors.

Career Highlights

Global Operations Executive
Barclays Bank UK PLC
Executive Director, Retail
FBC Holdings
Divisional Director, Retail
NMB Bank

Education Highlights

Postgraduate Diploma
Varsity College
Master’s Degree
University of KwaZulu-Natal

Certification Highlights

Project Management Professional (PMP)
Varsity College

Case Studies

Expertise

  • Business Process Improvement (BPI)
  • Cost Management
  • Customer Service
  • Inquiries & Complaints
  • Marketing
  • Operational Efficiency Improvement
  • Operations
  • Productivity Improvement

Work Experience

Managing Director

2018 - PRESENT
Euzo
  • Devised an IT company's customer complaint resolution system, reducing its backlog by 50% in two months and achieving a customer satisfaction index of 90%.
  • Created and adapted an SME funding model for the largest bank in West Africa, designed to introduce three new revenue lines and increase its profits by $40 million per year.
  • Made a project management template for an IT company that reduced its turnaround for certain products by one week and increased its profits by 15% through enhanced costs.
  • Built a business plan framework for an online bank with a focus on West Africa, highlighting the bank's goals concerning technology and people and how it would achieve them.
Focus areas: Business Process Improvement (BPI), Strategy, Cash Management, IT Project Management, Business Strategy, Change Management, Customer Analysis, Productivity Improvement, Customer Support, Inquiries & Complaints, Operational Efficiency Improvement, Cost Management, Marketing, Operations

COO

2015 - 2018
Barakabora Capital
  • Designed an SME funding model based on retail and corporate banking experiences. The model enabled the company to fund SMEs through ring-fenced offtake agreements devised by large corporations.
  • Created and implemented the operations, credit, and human resource manuals, in addition to the company's business plan for this startup operation.
  • Introduced a new product in the form of individual loans to employees of selected companies based on direct repayments from employee salaries. The employees' involvement significantly reduced the risk of default.
  • Headed a new stringent loan disbursement procedure, requiring that all security verifications were met before the disbursement of loan proceeds, eliminating the risk concerning previously unverified payments.
  • Managed employee recruitment procedures, disciplinary procedures, and training needs.
Focus areas: Budget Management, Customer Service, Customer Analysis, Customer Support, Business Development, Financial Analysis, Business Strategy, Change Management, Inquiries & Complaints, Productivity Improvement, Operational Efficiency Improvement, Cost Management, Marketing, Operations

Finance Manager

2013 - 2015
Triumph Venture Capital
  • Reconstructed the capital account for the ten years of the venture capital fund. Facilitating the fund's closure was essential since it had reached its wind-up date.
  • Oversaw the issue and distribution of share certificates to the fund's shareholders based on the outcome of the capital account reconstruction. This resulted in some shareholders paying up what was outstanding from previous years.
  • Supervised the fund's wind-up and the relevant documents' lodging with the master of the high court, including convening and recording minutes of the fund trustee meetings.
  • Headed the fund accounts' closure, digitalizing records, and storing with a records storage company.
Focus areas: Budget Management, Cash Flow Management, Reports, Financials

Senior Banking Consultant

2012 - 2013
Tata Consultancy Services
  • Defined the Standard Bank's retail division strategy to reduce its funding cost through low-cost deposit mobilization focused on medium and large businesses.
  • Built the inclusive banking model for the Standard Bank to increase its footprint in densely populated communities with SMEs and individuals with growing businesses not using bank services.
  • Designed a model and created a marketing campaign for providing mortgages to young clients at the start of their careers to grow the bank's low-cost deposits.
  • Created a new card product for township communities to entice businesses to reduce the use of cash and, in doing so, the risk of robbery. This indirectly contributed to increasing low-cost funds for the Standard Bank.
Focus areas: Business Process Improvement (BPI), Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI), Financial Inclusion, Mortgages, Business Strategy, Productivity Improvement

Managing Director

2009 - 2012
Livison Consulting
  • Implemented a new product profitability analysis for a waste management company, reducing collected non-profitable material and significantly increasing the profitable material collected.
  • Introduced a new product sales target for the waste management company, leading to daily targets for each material produced, new supplier contracts signed to meet targets, and negotiating new sales prices based on production.
  • Rolled out new processes for the collected material to increase productivity and efficiencies on the shop floors, eliminating the material's double handling and improving the product's quality.
  • Achieved profitability after only six weeks of implementing the abovementioned changes, breaking the cycle of the company posting losses for almost ten years.
Focus areas: Budget Management, Customer Success, Inquiries & Complaints, Customer Support, Business Process Improvement (BPI), Cash Flow Management, New Products, Business Strategy, Change Management, Operational Efficiency Improvement, Cost Management, Marketing, Operations

Global Operations Executive

2007 - 2009
Barclays Bank UK PLC
  • Oversaw the improvement in operations processes involving stationery procurement and telecommunications, which saved £600,000 in six countries over six months.
  • Reduced Absa South Africa's time for foreign exchange transfer processing turnaround from two days to less than a day.
  • Improved the time it takes for the account opening process in Kenya from one day to one hour, which became the global standard for all Barclays branches in 2008, before digital banking.
  • Sped up the credit application process turnaround in Mauritius from taking three days to one day, resulting in the bank improving its market position from sixth to second place.
Focus areas: Operational Flow, Process Design, Operational Efficiency Improvement, Productivity Improvement, Change Management, Customer Analysis, Inquiries & Complaints, Customer Support, Cost Management, Operations, Project Design & Management, Financial Services, Business Analysis, Process Mapping, Use Case Analysis

Executive Director, Retail

2005 - 2007
FBC Holdings
  • Improved retail's profit contribution from 10% to 30% and reduced the cost-to-income ratio from 42% to 30% by training the team in customer centricity and improving processes that enhanced efficiency.
  • Introduced a deposit mobilization drive which helped the bank increase its market share and book value, drastically improving its ranking from 11 to five out of 14 banks.
  • Oversaw the creation of three new branches in two years. The branches were commissioned within budget and on time.
  • Trained and guided the branch managers in business development, customer engagement, mentoring, cost management, and revenue generation, leading to the division exceeding the board's target by five times.
  • Initiated an SME funding model for new business owners, leading to them establishing businesses as off-takers for services and goods and dramatically reducing the number of bad debts.
  • Chaired the works council committee and prevented a strike on two different occasions through diplomacy, resulting in winning over the workers' committee team and the bank employees embracing the new retail strategy.
  • Was Chairman of the committee for a new internet banking product that traveled to India to carry out due diligence on the short-listed Vendors after presentations. Managed the rollout of the new IT product and training of employees.
  • Headed the panel that recruited senior personnel for the retail division and handled disciplinary issues and training of employees in the retail division.
Focus areas: Operations, Marketing, Customer Service, Card Payments, Change Management, Productivity Improvement, Business Process Analysis, Project Design & Management, Financial Services, Business Analysis, Process Mapping

Divisional Director, Retail

1998 - 2005
NMB Bank
  • Oversaw the recovery of a $24 million debt from a mining company that was threatening the company's share value, instantly improving their share value by close to 200%.
  • Rolled out a bank-wide CRM program as the practical application of my MBA dissertation, leading to the bank winning the Euromoney Award for customer-centricity two years in a row, in 2002 and 2003.
  • Created a team of branch members who served niche customers with great success, leading to the bank being the fourth most profitable out of 14 banks at the time.
  • Built efficient corporate banking teams that dominated the market in terms of quality and profit, with success confirmed by an independent due diligence finding during a failed merger exercise.
  • Headed a team that visited India and selected a new core banking system that proved highly adaptable and helped the bank create the country's first online banking product.
  • Contributed to the CRM rollout by improving processes in various operations, resulting in the bank being the first to provide a printed letter of credit requests within a day, which became the bank's market selling point.
  • Chaired the committee that carried out the selection of a new banking core system from five presentations. Oversaw the transition from one system to the next through the parallel operation of both systems over three months.
Focus areas: Marketing, Operations, Customer Service, Change Management, Productivity Improvement, Business Process Analysis, Project Design & Management, Financial Services, Business Analysis, Process Mapping, Use Case Analysis

Education

2009 - 2009

Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Project Management

Varsity College - Sandton, South Africa

2000 - 2003

Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA)

University of KwaZulu-Natal - Durban, South Africa

Certifications

OCTOBER 2008 - PRESENT

Project Management Professional (PMP)

Varsity College

Skills

Finance

Cost Management, Cash Management

Industry Expertise

Financial Services

Output Software

Microsoft Word

Other

Operations, Customer Service, Operational Efficiency Improvement, Productivity Improvement, Business Process Improvement (BPI), Customer Analysis, Business Strategy, Change Management, Business Process Analysis, Business Analysis, Process Mapping, Inquiries & Complaints, Marketing, Card Payments, Operational Flow, Process Design, Budget Management, Project Management, Project Design & Management, Use Case Analysis, Foreign Exchange, Senior Executive Recruiting, Cash Flow Management, Resource Management, Customer Support, Customer Success, New Products, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI), Mortgages, Reports, Financials, Business Development, Financial Analysis, Strategy, IT Project Management, Financial Inclusion

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