About Robert
Robert Strauss is a member of the Corporate Finance practice. For more than 20 years, Mr. Strauss has specialized in formulating and evaluating strategic business plans, cash management and financial structuring. He has also assisted clients with customer and product profitability studies.
Mr. Strauss has provided advisory, restructuring and interim management services for clients across diverse industries, including renewables, oil and gas, manufacturing and distribution, building products, retail, mining, military contracting, technology, textiles, furniture, restaurants and healthcare.
Mr. Strauss has advised debtors, creditors and equity holders in matters involving financial forecasting, cash management and analysis and operational analyses. He has worked with public and private companies with revenues ranging from $30 million to $13 billion.
Prior to joining FTI Consulting, Mr. Strauss served as CFO for Pioneer Landscape Centers. Pioneer Landscape Centers is a leading landscape and hardscape materials provider with 36 retail distribution centers, 23 quarries, a paver manufacturing facility and a civil construction division.
Mr. Strauss also served as interim CFO to the nation’s largest residential pool franchisor. Mr. Strauss set a corrective course in the finance organization to achieve an eventual transformation from struggling to report accurate financials to producing timely and accurate numbers, established financial planning and analysis (“FP&A”) and budgeting processes, developed new reporting and KPIs, implemented accounting policies, processes and procedures, designed a new franchise accounting department, established a formal treasury function, prepared the Company for a transition to a new enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) and treasury management system, converted the HR function to a PEO and redesigned the employee benefits package.
Relevant Experience:
- Served as Interim CFO to a $200 million family-owned carpet manufacturer; developed a 13-week rolling cash flow forecast and identified cost savings opportunities through organizational redesign, built a five-year strategic business plan and performed product and customer profitability analyses; the company successfully refinanced both its term loan and revolving credit facility
- Served as interim CFO to a $100 million private equity‐backed secure network, helpdesk and broadband communication solutions provider for the Joint Forces Command; identified and implemented working capital improvements, negotiated vendor repayment plans, actively managed liquidity and developed a 13-week rolling cash flow forecast, implemented cost savings opportunities, performed contract and new business profitability analyses and developed a three-year strategic business plan with an integrated three-statement model; the company successfully obtained new financing and positioned itself for future growth
- Served as Interim Treasurer/Financial Advisor for the Houston and Nigerian divisions of a publicly traded $1.6 billion oil and gas exploration and production company with primary operations in Nigeria and Iraq; developed a short‐term liquidity forecast and was responsible for companywide cash flow management, performed on‐site management of the Nigerian accounting, finance and procurement departments, actively managed vendor relationships and negotiated repayment plans, created and implemented new financial and operational controls and procedures and participated in strategic planning with the COO, CFO and CRO for worldwide operations; the company successfully entered into a recapitalization plan with existing lenders to finance operations
- Served as interim CFO to a $150 million family-owned furniture manufacturer and finished goods importer; identified and implemented working capital improvements, including, but not limited to, the sale of slow moving/obsolete inventory and stock keeping unit (“SKU”) rationalization; developed a 52-week rolling cash flow forecast, developed a three-year strategic business plan with an integrated three-statement model, performed customer and product profitability analyses, managed monthly reporting of financial statements and bank covenants and assisted in negotiations with Senior Lenders
- Served as financial advisor to a $6.3 billion publicly traded full-service restaurant company operating more than 1,500 restaurants in the United States and Canada; performed restaurant level analytics (four‐wall analysis) and an operational review on the two largest restaurant chains; developed recommendations to improve operations and identified between $40 million to $90 million in cost savings opportunities
Certifications
Certified Turnaround Professional (“CTP”)
Six Sigma Black Belt
Associations
Turnaround Management Association
Institute of Management Accountants
Education
M.B.A., University of Illinois
B.B.A., Finance, University of Georgia
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Contact
T: +1 404 877 2533
robert.strauss@fticonsulting.com -
Office
1201 W Peachtree Street, NW
Suite 3300
Atlanta, GA 30309
United States
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Expertise
Business Plan Review
Interim Management
Restructuring / Turnaround Services