Paul Brotton
Brisbane,QLD
Summary
Adept at driving IT transformations, I spearheaded a comprehensive POS system overhaul at Freedom Fuels Pty Ltd, enhancing data visibility and inventory control. My leadership, marked by exceptional interpersonal communication, successfully integrated new acquisitions under budget, showcasing my proficiency in vendor relationships and project management, achieving an 80% reduction in monthly inventory loss.
Overview
28
28
years of professional experience
Work History
General Manager – IT
United Petroleum Pty Ltd
06.2024 - 10.2024
- I managed the IT Department for the business including various projects
- This included 450 Service Stations, 4 terminals and 2 head Offices
- Oversee the day-to-day operations of the department
- My department managed the IT infrastructure that supports the service stations, POS systems and offices over 4 locations
- Responsible for a team of 3 within the IT Department
- All the other services were outsourced and vendor managed
- Vendor Management – This included POS Vendors, MSP, Data network and hardware providers
- Project Management – Manage various projects including Migration of all Service Stations to a new provider
- OPT suppliers, Office relocation from Melbourne to Brisbane and various other smaller projects
- Data Provider migration: This project was to migrate all data connections to a new provider
- I managed the vendor during the time I was at the company
Group IT Manager
Freedom Fuels Pty Ltd
02.2009 - 05.2024
- Appointed to manage the IT for the entire Group and drive the IT turnaround and transformation for the business covering 60 locations throughout QLD and NSW
- Oversee the operations of the helpdesk with 120 internal clients
- My department manages the IT infrastructure that supports the service stations, the POS systems and offices over three locations
- Responsible for a team of five within the IT Department; financial and budget and variance reporting thereof
- Managing the IT transformation process, including change management, business analysis, preliminary research, investigations, recommendations, planning and procurement of new ERP and POS systems
- POS Transformation: As the project manager, I researched available software and hardware for suitability within the petroleum industry
- My recommendations to the steering committee were approved
- I then project managed a comprehensive and complete hardware upgrade and POS software implementation across the 57 sites
- I successfully mitigated risks and minimised downtime during the transformation phase
- Project was completed ahead of time within in 6 months, resulting in centralised reporting, increased inventory control, centralised procurement and enhanced visibility of data
- Financial System ERP Implementation: Managing the turnaround of the incumbent financial system which included set up changes, integration investigation and streamlining
- Successfully project managed the restructuring of the fuel pricing process requiring an analysis of current pricing, margins and existing contracts
- All reconciled and unidentified balance sheet items now accounted for and gross margin reporting is now aligned with the contract pricing resulting in significant savings
- System integrity is now at an acceptable risk
- New Acquisition Systems Merge: Managing the integration of all IT and Financial systems after an acquisition in 2018
- Successfully project managed the systems integration into the existing financial system
- This included introducing fundamental fuel pricing process changes
- Recently completed the integration of 17 Fuel sites into the network
- This included full hardware replacements as well as migrating Point of Sale systems
- This was completed on time and under budget
Administration & Finance Manager
Dy-Mark (Aust) Pty Ltd
05.2006 - 01.2008
- Initially appointed as the IT & Organisational Methods Manager (May 2006 – Jul 2007), my role was to build the IT function for the company
- I was offered and accepted the additional responsibilities of the Group Financial Manager in early 2006
- Managing a team of 9, I was entirely responsible for the departments of IT/Data Processing, Finance, Procurement and Inventory
- Financial Reporting and Management including month end financial reporting, cash flow management, preparation of budget including forecasting and planning and management of the data input and exception reporting on potential integrity errors
- Procurement; ensuring specifications met for effective procurement of goods and services, including planned supplier analysis and Inventory Management; from a logistical and financial perspective
- Driving Business Process Improvement with the development of policies and procedures especially within finance and IT
- MS Infrastructure & Telephony Systems: Transforming the IT infrastructure to full Microsoft standard server based, including full AD integration, requiring physical set up and server configurations
- I managed the Integration of systems to software, including a banking upgrade and integration to current Pronto ERP system
- Lead the migration from legacy mail system to MS exchange and upgraded telephone system to enable VOIP
- ERP Turnaround: Transformation of the ERP systems from a mandatory process to a system that significantly improved the management of systems and procedures involving inventory
- I played a critical role in the financial implementation, including defining all integration rules into the ERP package for General Ledger visibility and control
- The transformation reduced the monthly inventory loss by 80%
- The department was self sufficient and supporting within 6 months
Group IT Manager
StonCor Africa
01.1997 - 04.2005
- Appointed as the organisations first IT Manager, I set up and established the IT department
- I completely implemented, developed and evolved the IT within the group
- Managing a team of 5, I was responsible for the development of the department and procurement of the IT infrastructure
- Provision of IT Support, installation and training of software and hardware (61 users in 3 locations) including networking
- My role entailed Project Management; Financial/Data processing manager; Inventory, Costing & Logistics
- Built the department from a mere server in a corner to a full MS based AD integrated IT infrastructure; Elected as the project manager for the Dubai and South African divisions
- Project Leader, Baan Implementation, Dubai: Assisted with an international ERP implementation, with Dubai being the first to convert
- I was responsible for the entire project, attending site to research and recommend suitability and establish milestones and roadblocks
- The implementation was successfully completed; all deliverables and objectives were achieved
- Communication between the US and UAE was maintained despite time zone differences
- BaaN ERP Implementation, Global: Upgraded the company’s chemical processing and formulation management software from nonY2K compliant system to a compliant version
- Successfully project managed the implementation of ERP software, including all finance, logistics and process manufacturing, sales and general ledger modules
- The project required data cleansing and migration of data to the new system
- The project was completed on time; the budget was met through negotiating a fixed price contract, and effective data migration with no downtime
- The transformation significantly improved the groups reporting and manufacturing processes
- The BOM revaluations resulted in greatly enhanced inventory management
Education
Bachelor of Commerce - Accounts
WITS University
South Africa01.1996
Skills
- Sales
- Advertising and marketing
- Branding
- Exceptional interpersonal communication
- Training and development
- Regulatory affairs
- Client account management
- Administrative skills
- Financial document control
- Departmental operations management
- Financial administration
- Business development
- Supervision and training
- Budgeting and cost control
- Vendor relationships
- PC competent
- Staff management
Systemsturnaround
- Freedom Fuels Australia, 01/01/09, 12/31/24, Migration of Retail POS systems on 3 separate occasions (2009, 2018 and 2020)., Financial Systems implementation (Data and Retail systems integration 2014)., Financial system migration (Full system in 2020 because of an acquisition)
- Dy-Mark Australia, 01/01/06, 12/31/08, MS Infrastructure, ERP turnaround and Telephony System implementation
- Stoncor Group South Africa, 01/01/97, 04/30/05, BaaN and ERP implementation, Dubai and globally
References
Available upon request.
Qualificationsandcertifications
- Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Microsoft, 2000
- A Plus Certified Computer Technician, Comptia, 2003
- Effective Communication Course, Dale Carnegie, 2003
- Bachelor of Commerce (Accounts), WITS University South Africa, 1996
Professionalcompetencies
- Group Information Technology Management; over 26 years at senior management level within Australia and overseas.
- IT Turnaround & Transformation; successful development, implementation and integration of IT for SME’s within the petroleum, retail and manufacturing industries.
- Project Management; effective project planning, analysis, budget management and reporting of several major POS and ERP Implementations.
- Operational Management within IT and Financial Department; developing policy and process and effective management of costs and allocation of resources.
- Financial Management including profit & loss management, budget planning, cash flow management and monthly reporting; contributing critically to the development of improved reporting standards resulting in greater interpretation, data integrity and reduced costs.
- People Management & Leadership of IT, Finance and administrative employees including HRM, recruitment, training and development.
- Business Process Improvement significantly reducing risk and improving organisational efficiencies and bottom line results.
- Business Analysis within IT and Financial divisions; undertaking extensive investigations and analysis to advise and recommend solutions for appropriate turn around and transformations.
- Inventory & Procurement of all associated data systems, development of improved costing systems and procedures, and procurement of ERP and POS systems.
- Risk Management associated with IT turnaround and transformations improving interpretation of data and development of objective reporting procedures.
- Vendor Management associated with interactions, procurement, contracts, and performance.
Timeline
General Manager – IT
United Petroleum Pty Ltd
06.2024 - 10.2024
Group IT Manager
Freedom Fuels Pty Ltd
02.2009 - 05.2024
Administration & Finance Manager
Dy-Mark (Aust) Pty Ltd
05.2006 - 01.2008
Group IT Manager
StonCor Africa
01.1997 - 04.2005
Bachelor of Commerce - Accounts
WITS University
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