Robert Kunihiro

Regional Director & CFO

A 20+ year career Chief Financial Officer and COO most recently for large automotive tier 1 suppliers ($1b-$5b USD Sales) ABC Technologies and Yazaki North & Central America. Robert is well connected in the automotive industry and related government agencies.

Past board member of APMA (Canadian Auto Suppliers Association) and Accelerate ZEV (Electric Vehicle Supply Chain Advocacy). He was public company CFO for an industrial real estate holding company and a software company, VP Finance for a pet products retailer / franchisor and worked at the Molson Companies in the early part of his career.

With a track record of delivering sustainable business growth and operational excellence, Robert is a proven leader with the strategic vision to navigate today’s rapidly changing global markets.

Board Member (Past): Accelerate ZEV, Canada’s ZEV Supply Chain Alliance, Clean Tech
Board Member (Past) Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA): Audit Committee Chair
Special Advisor (Past): Automotive Industry: Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing
Stromvolt (Past): Director of Strategy (Lithium-Ion Battery Start-Up)

Volunteering

Momiji Health Care Society, Board Member, Vice Chairman
Variety Village, The Children’s Charity: Board Member, Audit Committee (Past)
AUTO21 Inc. AUTO21 Inc.: Board Member, Audit Committee (Past)

Accounting Designations

Chartered Professional Accountant, CPA, CA
U.S. Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

Robert manages a fractional CFO team providing outsourced services for small and medium sized businesses in Ontario and the Greater Toronto Region of Halton Peel, including Mississauga, Brampton, Burlington, Bolton, Oakville, and Milton.

Track record highlights

Achieved record earnings in a 75-year-old company by standardizing KPIs and leading daily management processes.
Increased EBITDA margin by 3.5% on $1B revenues in 5-years by sparking new product innovation and cascading improvements throughout the organization.
Reduced overhead $200m a year (on $5b revenues) and drove earnings by developing key operating metrics and implementing a proactive daily management strategy.
Divested 1 non-core division and negotiated 2 strategic joint-ventures, one of which resulted in a $100m plus business; becoming the largest in its category in North America.
Executed the exit of a $1B multi-product enterprise to private equity at a multiple 20% higher than industry standard.

Sector Experience

manufacturing transport logistics Automotive
retail consumer products Franchisor & Corporate
technology media telecoms Middleware software
National Sector Lead for Supply Chain & Manufacturing Industries.

Robert's specialist skills

Profit Improvement

Led a cross functional process to reduce costs by 300m per year

Strategic Thinker

Sold non-core divisions and entered into highly strategic JV's

Management Information

Standardized metrics and led the daily management process

Exit Planning

Successfully engineered a sale to PE above industry multiples at

Financial Operations

Designed and implemented a matrix structure with BU's and Core Functions

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