Robert Decusati - Finding the Best Investment Solutions

When Robert Decusati bought Premier Top Solutions, an old manufacturing company, he adopted the strategy of investing capital where it could do the most good – improving manufacturing productivity, smoothing throughput and getting productsto the client faster. He worked on the replacement of an outdated IT system and developed a way to report the profitability per customer. This gave him the insight to improve pricing procedures, and increase prices where it would benefit the company the most without losing any customers. He sought ways to improve the staff where possible. All his efforts resulted in him being able to profitable sell Premier Top Solutions after 27 months of buying it.

This did not happen by chance. Robert had been honing his ability to choose from among the various investment opportunities that present themselves throughout his career. As Director, Production Inventory Control at Rubbermaid, he introduced new products and implemented Kanban, while getting rid of 750 SKUs that were no longer justified by customer demand.
At Eastern Seaboard Packaging, he negotiated a joint venture to secure a national distribution footprint and conducted due diligence on ten possible acquisitions before selecting the two that were best for the company.

And at Klockner Pentaplast as Corporate Controller America, he concluded four more acquisitions, as well as implementing a SERP and managing a successful transition to SAP 6.0.

All of this was excellent preparation for the successful reconstruction and sale of Premier Top Solutions, company owned by Robert Decusati.
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Robert Decusati - Working with Consultants

During the time that Robert Decusati was Corporate Controller America at Klockner Pentaplast, private equity company The Blackstone Group initiated four separate consultancy studies – byErnst &Young, by Alix Partners, by McKinsey and by Proudfoot. Managers may see consultants as potentially helpful, as obstructive or in any position between those extremes, but when the investors demand it, the only possible route is cooperation. Robert Decusati took charge of the financial side of each study.

Consultancy studies give the chance to examine in depth processes that may have been looked at rarely. The disadvantage is that the consultant will rarely have direct experience that precisely matches the company. However, this can be a benefit at the same time asthat means that things are looked at in a new light. The manager explains to the consultant how things are done and why they are done that way. On occasion, just the process of explaining will cause the manager to think, “That was the way to do it when we started, but maybe it isn’t the way to do it now”. Or perhaps the new set of eyes and ears sees things from a different perspective and throws out suggestions on how processes can be improved.

Robert Decusati used the consultancy process at Klockner Pentaplast to the company’s benefit, because he implemented a factoring program that released $60 million in cash. Since that happened immediately before a severe credit crunch, the benefit to the company was immense.
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Robert Decusati - The Importance of Lifelong Learning

When Robert Decusati graduated in Finance as a Bachelor of Science, he knew that this was in many ways the beginning and not the end of the learning process. No one ever knows everything that he/she needs to know. Even at the end of a long and full life, you cannot expect to have gained all the knowledge that you might have found useful. But you can, as long as your mind is open to the idea, acquire through the years a lot of knowledge that you didn’t have at the beginning.
Robert identifies a number of ways to learn.
Formal Education
The manager may lack either the desire or the financial capacity to study full-time for an MBA. There are programs that allow you to gain the qualification while working. It might be study at home or in the classroom. It might be during the day or in the evening and at weekends. The right program is there for everyone.
Mentoring
Especially, but not only, in the earlier, more junior stages of a career most people find themselves working for and with experienced managers who are willing to share wisdom and expertise. Robert Decusati recommends taking full advantage of those opportunities.
New Software and Processes
When installing (or even thinking about installing) new software or business processes, there will probably be training courses and literature you should consider. Robert Decusati advises paying close attention not only totraining courses and literature, but also to what others who have already been through the implementation process have to say.
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Robert Decusati - The Herringbone Pattern

Robert Decusati knows how to build a successful long term career as a finance professional, because he’s done it. He offers the following advice to those embarking on a finance career:

Consider the skeleton of the herring. It has a straight central line (the spine) but leading off that to right and left is a series of lateral bones. A successful career follows the herringbone pattern: you start at the bottom (the base of the spine) and you progress towards the head, but as you go you take diversions on some of those lateral pathways to pick up business knowledge to augment your career “toolbox”. Each time you return to the central path you are that much better equipped – that much more competent – because of the extra knowledge and experience you’ve picked up.

Robert has followed his own advice to great effect. After graduating, he joined Cytec Inc. as a junior accountant, but by the time he left he had focused for a while on cost accounting and then taken responsibility for procurement and planning in a small plant. His next move was to Rubbermaid where he progressed from Controller to Director, Production Inventory Control, taking on responsibility for a $22 million restructuring program on the way.

As Director, Finance and Administration at Fuchs Systems, Robert Decusati designed and implemented a restructuring plan that returned the company to profitability. Further moves gave him the confidence and the skillset to buy a fabrication company where he used the widely varied experience he had to restructure the company and sell at a profit.

Robert DeCusati - Civil War History Junkie

Robert DeCusati has lived throughout the United States working as a finance manager. DeCusati has lived in two hotbeds of Civil War history, Richmond, Virginia, where he currently lives, and Knoxville, Tennessee. Knoxville was the site of a crucial battle during the Civil War that DeCusati loves to learn about.

Knoxville was the object of a long and bloody campaign by both sides during the Civil War. Both sides coveted the city’s railroad station that linked Confederacy’s east and west sides. The two primary generals during the Knoxville Campaign were James Longstreet on the Confederacy side and Ambrose Burnside on the Union side. Burnside came to occupy Knoxville and eventually hold it under Confederacy siege in the end. One of the decisive battles of the campaign occurred near where Robert DeCusati and his family lived near Knoxville in Campbell’s Station.

Robert DeCusati loves to think about the brave men who fought and died an hundred and fifty years ago in the places where he has lived and visited. Throughout his travels, DeCusati has always been drawn to the history of the places he has found himself, especially in Richmond, where he now lives, and Knoxville.
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Robert DeCusati - Many Career Options

Robert DeCusati had several career options when he graduated with a BS degree in Finance from Fairfield University. Throughout the course of his career as an accounting and financial professional, advisor, and manager, he found himself in positions with increasing responsibilities. These promotions created opportunities throughout the United States. Bob noted that those who sign up for a corporate career may face difficult relocation choices at various times as you progress up the ladder and those choices often have significant impacts for family and relationships. . Other than the financial manager avenue that Bob DeCusati chose, there are other career options for those seeking to enter the financial sector workforce:

• Financial Planning. For those who love strategy and building financial portfolios to help clients achieve their financial goals, financial planning is an excellent career option. You can get started in many companies, including banks, mutual fund management companies, insurance companies, and securities firms.
• Broker. Another name for a financial advisor, brokers work with individual and institutional customers of particular organizations to provide for them the financial help and services they need to manage their portfolios and more. You will need strong interpersonal communication skills and an unusual ability to clearly articulate complex financial products and ideas to customers on a regular basis.
• Claims adjuster. Most people equate claims adjusters with insurance companies, but banks and large retail companies also employ claims adjusters to ensure that clients’ claims match the company’s eligibility standards. They prepare documentation and reasoning behind the denial or approval of customer claims as well, so a meticulous eye for detail is required.

Robert DeCusati has worked his way up from an entry level job as a financial management trainee to a manager of finance.
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Robert DeCusati: Getting Started in Finance

Robert DeCusati got his start in finance soon after he graduated with a BS in Finance from Fairfield University. After graduation, he started the Financial Management Training program working at positions of increasing responsibility at three different divisions of his company.  Promotions created relocation opportunities across the United States. He got his start in industry by networking and identifying a few companies he would fit in well with and landing one with an excellent training program. Here are a few ways to get your start in finance after you graduate: 

•  Look for good employers. Much like Robert DeCusati, the best way to find positions you will like in the any  industry is to look for good employers you would like to work for, rather than open positions anywhere. The internet version of the local business journals can be a great resource for finding fast-growing companies looking for bright, young accounting and finance candidates fresh out of college. Identify ten companies you’d like to work for, and check back to see when positions at these companies open up.  Start in you junior year to develop these contacts, those relationships will reap rewards for you down the road.
• Network. As with any job, getting your foot in the door requires that you know someone who can help you. Take advantage of any and all resources that can put you in touch with recruiters or professionals in the financial field with experience. Robert DeCusati had several mentors along the way that helped him build his career and provided sound advice along the way.
• Dress up your resume. Fresh out of college, you won’t have much work experience, but make sure you list all leadership roles, key relevant  classes you took, , especially any internships or experience you have, and coursework you completed on your resume when you’re first starting out. 

Robert DeCusati works as an accounting / finance professional.