Jim Burton, CPA
Executive Career Biography
“Whatever the business issue was – liquidity, quantity of profits and/or
quality of profits - I have developed and led business improvement efforts that
improved company liquidity and financial flexibility, improved productivity
and capacity utilization, improved pricing and product mix along with
sustainable changes in cost structure. Helping companies fulfill their potential
is what I do.”
A world-class and highly versatile Chief Financial Officer and Chief
Operations Officer with global experience and particular expertise in turnarounds, Jim
Burton is not content with quick fixes that merely stop the bleeding. Beyond his talent
for solving immediate problems fast and getting returns right away, he masterminds
company transformations across the entire spectrum of business. His solutions
safeguard the company, leaving the organization and its people firmly grounded for
sustainable growth well into the future.
Jim learned his skills early in his twenty six years at Ernst & Young and AlixPartners,
where he held leadership roles in building Ernst & Young’s Energy Industry Practice
focused on the small to large Independent Producer market, and developing the largest
Corporate Services Practice outside of New York. His career broadened into Practice
Development and Management with a move to Houston to transform and manage the
Houston Office.
After five years in Houston, he was asked to take a five-year
international assignment to London and Brussels to help build consulting capabilities
across Western Europe.
Upon returning to the U.S., he spent three years leading global business
transformation efforts at Warner Home Video and assisting Blockbuster in developing a
Digital Supply Chain ‘go to market’ strategy and operating model. This path allowed
him to see and experience different industry issues and develop a unique operational
and financial insight solving complex problems.
At AlixPartners, he had overall
Practice Development responsibility for the Paper Products Industry Segment and led
an international Shared Services Project for Henkel, a German based Consumer
Products Company.
During his career, Jim has served in various critical executive roles. For example, he
served as engagement lead for a Global Business Transformation effort at Warner Home
Video (WHV) to transform to a Consumer Products oriented business model.
He
developed an innovative new strategic business model thus transforming WHV’s
operations from a single supply chain into multiple supply chains, based on product
characteristics and leveraging vendor managed inventory (VMI) principles.
His
leadership and innovation created a more integrated global supply chain structure;
better collaboration with outside manufacturing and logistics partners producing 20%
reduction in product lead time, 13% reduction in returns and reduction in expedited
freight costs totaling $20M.
Earlier, he held the important role of BellSouth Account Executive for E&Y. With his
35 member team, he developed and managed overall account strategy, resulting in sales
of more than $32M, which was 116% of plan.
Before his assignment to BellSouth, Jim was named the WorldCom Global Account
Executive. Leading a team of 45, he exceeded plan by 34%, generating $19M in global
sales from projects for a Mexican affiliate, and other major projects in the Asia Pacific
Region, the UK, and the U.S.
In early 2007, Jim joined Norton Lilly International as the CFO/COO, putting his vast
and deep turnaround and operations experience to good use in helping turnaround and
transform Norton Lilly.
Driven by a strong sense of urgency and incredible stamina, Jim thrives on massive
change under fire in crisis situations. He is at his best when turning uncertainty and
chaos into order and harmony. Resourceful and innovative, he always searches out
new ways to improve business operations and elevate best-practices to be everydaypractices.
Along with revitalizing ailing organizations through game-changing turnarounds,
Jim dramatically improves the health of the corporate culture. His mission with
transformation is not only to restore financial health but also to strengthen the firm’s
management team and to establish a solid foundation for continued growth. He is
proud to have mentored and guided many managers to senior leadership roles.
Fearless and confident throughout his career, Jim has been a pioneer in envisioning
and implementing advanced business processes and methods to move the organization
to a step-function higher capability in productivity and efficiency improvements,
quality, internal controls, and customer service.
Jim is a professional financial executive and, as such, he has published several
written works and delivered speeches to various groups. His articles include:
 The Winds of Change, Business Excellence Magazine – Dec, 2008
 Case Study – Norton Lilly International (for textbook – Crafting and Executing
Strategy – Thompson, Peteraf, Gamble, Strickland), 2010
 Setting a New Course, Business Excellence Magazine – Dec, 2009
Speeches he has given include:
 Rolling Forecasts and Continuous Financial Planning – (Business Forecasting –
Predictive Intelligence Summit, Feb, 2012 – San Diego)
 Abandoning the Budgeting Process – (The CFO Forum, The Harvard Club,
April, 2012 )
With more than 25 years’ broad-based finance, operations, and general management
experience, Jim understands each part of an operation functions on a very deep level.
He also knows that it is imperative for companies to continuously review sources of
competition outside their normal, established competitors, as technology, business
dynamics and global competition can create entirely new sources of competition.
Another lesson learned is that, above building profit, acquiring and retaining good
customers must be every company’s primary goal.
With a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from the University of South Alabama and a
current Certified Public Accountant certification, he possesses deep expertise in how
financial decisions are made, the strategies organizations follow, the alignment between
these two variables, and the relationship of financial decisions and levels of operational
competitiveness.
Education & Certifications
Bachelor of Science – Accounting, University of South Alabama
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) - State of Texas
Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP)
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV)
Professional Affiliations
Member, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
Member, Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA)
Member, Institute of Management Accountants (IMA)
Member, Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR)
Member, Turnaround Management Association (TMA)
Member, Accounting Advisory Board – University of South Alabama
Away from the business world, Jim is a member of the Lions Club and is an avid
golfer. He currently resides in Mobile, Alabama and can be reached via phone at 251581-4551 or via e-mail at jfburton753@gmail.com.
He has a LinkedIn profile, which can be viewed at:
www.linkedin.com/in/jimfburton
His web portfolio can be accessed at:
http://executivecareerspotlight.com/portfolio/jim_burton/.