North American Finance Executive Summit

Chris Suh is the Chief Financial Officer at Visa. In his role, he oversees Visa’s financial strategies, planning and reporting, in addition to all finance operations and investor relations.

Mr. Suh joined Visa in July 2023 from Electronic Arts, where he served as Chief Financial Officer.

From 1996 to 2022, Mr. Suh held senior finance roles at Microsoft, including serving as Chief Financial Officer of the Cloud + AI division from 2018 to 2022, and Head of Investor Relations from 2013 to 2018. Prior to Microsoft, Mr. Suh worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers from 1992 to 1996.

Mr. Suh holds a BA in Accounting and Finance from the University of Washington and an MBA from the University of Washington Michael G. Foster School of Business.

Pablo Di Si was appointed President and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America, and CEO, Volkswagen North American Region, effective Sept. 1, 2022. He is responsible for the Group‘s growth strategy in the U.S., with a portfolio of more than 25 EV models planned by 2030. He assumes leadership for the 20,000+ employees across the region who are helping seize the historic market opportunities across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.

Previously, Pablo was Executive Chairman of Volkswagen South America Region with more than EUR 7 billion in sales and 20,000 employees. He led the Latin American market’s return to profitability for the first time in years, promoting the most significant launch of new products in its history tailored to the region’s needs. He led a restructuring focused on cultural transformation, creating new business models, accelerating digitalization, and improving client satisfaction. Volkswagen became the leader in the A0 SUV segment in Brazil, and the brand remains the largest producer and exporter of light vehicles in the country.

Pablo began his career at Volkswagen Group in 2014 as President and CEO of Volkswagen Argentina. He took over the position of President and CEO of Volkswagen Brazil and Latin America in 2017. Recently, he was appointed Executive Chairman of Volkswagen South American Region.

Previously, he held key positions in finance and business development both in U.S. and Brazil with the Fiat Chrysler Group, Kimberly-Clark, and Monsanto. A graduate of Harvard Business School (AMP 2011), he holds an M.B.A in International Management at the Thunderbird School of Management (2002) and a Degree in Accounting at Northwestern University (1996). Pablo also earned a B.A. in Business Administration with a major in Finance at the Loyola University of Chicago (1994).

Caroline Litchfield is executive vice president and chief financial officer for Merck, responsible for the company’s finance, procurement, and real estate operations.

Prior to this role, Caroline served as the company’s treasurer, a position that included responsibility for treasury, tax, and investor relations.  From 2014 to 2018, Caroline led finance for Human Health the company’s largest business, overseeing financial operations and reporting in approximately 100 markets.  As a lead member of the Human Health Operating Committee, she partnered with the business to reshape the commercial organization by driving efficiencies to reinvest and enable the standup of the Oncology Business Unit and the expansion of the business in China. While in this role, Caroline led the transformation of the country finance teams, installed technology and analytics capabilities throughout the organization and centralized activities into shared services.

Before leading all of Human Health Finance, Caroline established the finance function for the Emerging Markets region following the merger of Merck and Schering-Plough, playing a key role in the development and execution of the growth strategy for the business.

Caroline previously held the position of Finance lead for the European region, where she led merger-related integration planning for Merck’s second largest regional business.

Since joining Merck in the U.K. subsidiary, Caroline has held a wide range of roles at country, region and global levels covering every aspect of finance, including procurement, IT implementation and facilities management.  Caroline has been based in the UK, Germany, Switzerland, and the US. Through her global career she has gained a close understanding of Merck’s business, customers, and people.  An advocate of talent, she led the global finance talent committee, and sponsors Merck’s General Management Acceleration Program. Caroline has also been an integral contributor to a number of enterprise-wide Merck transformational initiatives.

Caroline holds a BSc in Mathematics from Leicester University, and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Phillipe Fau is an experienced Division Chief Financial Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the cosmetics industry. He has a strong finance professional skillset in Business Planning, Change Management, Management, Business Strategy, and Finance.

Lavanya Chandrashekar was appointed Chief Financial Officer and a Director of Diageo plc in July 2021.

Previous Diageo roles

• Chief Financial Officer, Diageo North America and Global Head of Investor Relations

Previous relevant experience

• Vice President Finance, Global Cost Leadership and Supply Chain – Mondelez International
• Various senior finance roles – Mondelez International (across North America, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa)
• Various senior finance roles – Procter & Gamble (across India, Asia Pacific, Europe and North America)

Rui Barbas is currently Chief Financial Officer for Zone North America ($30 billion turnover, 11 Business Units, 35,000 employees) at Nestlé. He is responsible for driving consumer-centric business and strategic transformation as well as the execution of ZNA strategic value creation plan as a key catalyst of profitable growth acceleration. Rui also spearheads ZNA financial and strategy plans including growth acceleration, portfolio transformation (inclusive of M&A), investment in new capabilities, deployment of new organizational and operational model, and end-to-end operating margin and ROI optimization plans.

Previously, Rui served as the Corporate Vice-President / Zone Deputy for North America at Nestlé, overseeing the business in North America as well as the category development of the key businesses in the region. Rui also led the strategic transformation program for Sales & Marketing—including e-Business, Strategic Revenue Management and Consumer Personalization at-Scale—and managed the overall development of the business portfolio & regional strategy to accelerate profitable growth in North America.

Rui joined Nestlé USA in 2011 as Director of Corporate Innovation focused on the development of new growth ventures and product pipelines to expand Nestlé’s portfolio into new high-growth, profitable consumer spaces. From 2012 to 2015, Rui was Vice President of Business Optimization responsible for the execution of key strategic priorities within the operational master plan, including business development, commercial acceleration, organizational transformation and cost optimization. In 2015, Rui was named General Manager for the Strategic Growth Business Unit and responsible for the commercial strategy, operations and retail sales of the strategic growth channels, which include eCommerce, Value, Club and Natural retail channels. In 2017, Rui became the Chief Strategy Officer and then in 2020 the Interim CFO and Chief Strategy Officer for Nestlé USA in charge of corporate strategy and enterprise transformation in the areas of growth acceleration, portfolio transformation, new business ventures, new capabilities, agile organizational structures and profit/ROI optimization.

Rui joined Nestlé in Global Headquarters in 2007 where he had a Global Operations Strategy role advising General Management, Regions and Strategic Business Units in the areas of Capital Investment, Business Development and Competitive Strategy. In this global role, Rui worked across different businesses and geographies (including Asia, Europe, Africa, Latin America and North America).

Rui started his career at Oliver Wyman (management consulting) where he led multiple assignments for the Board of multinational companies in Telecom, Media, Core Industries and CPG. Areas of focus included Corporate Strategy, Business Development, Marketing & Sales, Organizational Alignment and Operations Improvement.

Rui holds an MBA from INSEAD in France and a Master of Science degree in Management & Industrial Engineering from IST in Portugal. He is trilingual speaking English, Spanish and Portuguese and has lived and worked in 9 different countries across Europe, Asia, Latin America and North America.

Guru brings wide-ranging global finance and leadership experience across different businesses and countries.  He has a strong track record of enabling business turnaround and expansion and driving functional transformation. Guru has worked with Bayer in a range of roles over the past 20 years. He recently served as Chief Financial Officer of AskBio from March 2021 to July 2023. He was previously the Global Finance Lead for the Oncology franchise from January 2020 until February 2021; CFO of the North American business at Bayer Consumer Health from 2016 to 2019; and CFO of the Bayer Medical Care Division from 2013 to 2016. Prior to that, he held various finance roles in Germany (Berlin, Wuppertal); Italy; Japan; and Berkeley, California. Before Bayer, his career was focused on finance, audit, and accounting roles at various companies, including Siemens, Citibank, and PWC.

Guru holds an Executive Master of Business Administration degree from INSEAD, France, and a bachelor’s degree in commerce with emphasis in accounting and tax from St. Xavier’s College, India. He is an Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA) and Graduate Cost and Works Accountant (Grad CWA), both internationally recognized professional accounting degrees.

During Dumi’s 25 year career as a corporate executive, he has had the pleasure to work and lead multicultural teams of dedicated finance leaders across North America, Latin America, Europe and MEIA. Together they have been more than a finance team, being recognized as a diverse set of experienced business partners and strategic advisors, representing multiple nationalities and acting as global citizens of the business world. While Dumi has been charged with supporting and driving the financial performance of the companies he has worked for, hisfinance teams are always empowered to do something more – to be looked to as agents of change.

For more than two decades Dumi has helped manage the financial performance of some of the biggest names in consumer-packaged goods, including Procter & Gamble, Danone (Dannon), Essity (formerly SCA) and most recently at KIND, Natures Bakery and TruFru, at Mars Inc. Dumi is excited by the idea that the finance function he leads needs to be focused not exclusively on bottom line results, but also on our commitment to customer centricity. Together with his teams he guides revenue management, customer incentive programs and promotions, joint business plans, strategic planning and beyond. To succeed as business partners, they need to not only speak the language of finance, but also to speak their customers’ and consumers’ language as well.

Dumi is passionate about cultural diversity and over the years he has developed an intellectual curiosity that has been fueled by my travels to 65 countries and counting! These experiences have helped make him smarter and more strategic, and they also have helped him understand that while accurate financial reporting is a critical pillar to the reputation of any company or brand, the numbers are only part of a bigger story. Dumi is delighted that my team and I will get to play a key role in shaping that bigger story for Mars Global Services in this new, exciting professional adventure!

Erik Gerding joined the SEC in October 2021 and leads Legal and Regulatory Policy in the Division of Corporation Finance. He has taught as Professor of Law and a Wolf-Nichol Fellow at the University of Colorado Law School, where he has focused in the areas of securities law, corporate law, and financial regulation. Mr. Gerding previously taught at the University of New Mexico School of Law. He also practiced in the New York and Washington, D.C., offices of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, representing clients in the financial services and technology industries in an array of financial transactions and regulatory matters. He received an undergraduate degree from Duke University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Cameron is the Chief Financial Officer, Europe, Middle East & Africa for Marriott International.  He is based in London. He served as CFO, Europe from 2016 and expanded his role to include Middle East & Africa in 2019. He provides leadership for all operations finance, business analysis, administrative finance, feasibility, asset management, and continent reporting for the region’s 900 hotels.

Cameron joined Marriott in 2005, based out of the corporate headquarters in Washington, D.C.  He served in roles of increasing responsibility in the Corporate & Development Finance function, and ultimately Global Asset Management, before relocating to London in 2012. In London, Cameron created the Asset Management and Business Analysis team, where he held the position of Vice President, Asset Management & Analysis until 2016. In this role Cameron oversaw a variety of finance and transactional functions across the life cycle of Marriott’s European hotel portfolio. Specifically, his team completed the business valuations to support all new hotel projects, oversaw the process in opening all new hotels, and structured a wide range of business transactions that may be required after hotels join Marriott’s portfolio.

Prior to joining Marriott, Cameron worked for American Airlines in Fort Worth, Texas.  He holds a BA degree in Economics from Duke University and an MBA from the University of Michigan. Cameron and his wife Nadia, along with their three children, thoroughly enjoy London life. Cameron likes to run, play golf, and takes any opportunity to see live music.

Clara Sun is a strategic business partner that brings financial expertise to the table along with broad global and portfolio perspective. She is known for pinpointing levers and identifying opportunities to drive business growth and deliver results. Clara prides herself on being a genuine people manager that cares and develops team.

Victoria Kuklina is a seasoned Chief Financial Officer, often referred to as the ‘FinTech CFO,’ at Pinnacle Home Care, a leading provider of skilled home health nursing services with a robust presence across 17 locations in Florida with 10,000 patient census. In her role as FinTech CFO, Victoria is instrumental in guiding Pinnacle towards informed and strategic decision-making, with a strong focus on leveraging Information Technology and Anlytics to support the company’s ambitious consistent 35% YOY growth and innovative tech objectives.

Victoria’s expertise and contributions have been acknowledged with her recognition as a CFO of the Year honoree by Tampa Bay Business Journal in 2021.

Before her tenure at Pinnacle, Victoria dedicated a decade to CFO consulting, where she spearheaded and nurtured teams through strategic and tactical processes, and successfully steered numerous organizations through critical financial transformations.

Victoria’s qualifications include a Canadian CPA, CGA designation and an Honors Bachelor of Commerce degree from Laurentian University. Her extensive skill set encompasses:

✔ CFO Leadership
✔ Specialization in FinTech
✔ Strategic Visionary
✔ Driving Organizational Growth
✔ Mergers and Acquisitions
✔ Restructuring Expertise
✔ Sustainable Process Enhancement
✔ Proficient Team Development
✔ Proven Track Record of Delivering Results
✔ Expertise in Financial Reporting
✔ Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A)
✔ Proficiency in US GAAP and IFRS
✔ Public Company Accounting Acumen
✔ Systems Implementations and Integrations
✔ Automation Advocate
✔ Sustainable Financial Modeling
✔ Commitment to Continuous Personal Development

With Victoria at the helm, Pinnacle Home Care is poised for sustained success and innovation in the home care industry.