Prior Professional Experience
Financial Restaurant Consultant and Advisor
Chris Kline is a financial executive and seasoned restaurant industry expert, having held senior-level roles with The Ritz Carlton, Stephen Starr and Jose Garces. He is adept at building strong financial teams and creating solid back-office infrastructures to support rapid growth and profitability. Chris is also skilled in collaborating with investors, owners and operational managers to streamline work processes and interface with accounting, allowing for the extraction of information that is relevant and useful for ultimate success.
Garces Restaurant Group
Philadelphia, PA
10 restaurants and catering division. Purchased by Ballard Brands in July 2018.
Chief Financial Officer (CFO) - Hired by Jose Garces and turnaround CEO to prepare company for Chapter 11 restructuring and sale.
Managed cashflow daily and renegotiated vendor contracts for improved terms
Restructured financial reporting and implemented new accounting software for improved streamlined functionality
Prepared monthly financials, budgets and proformas
Supervised a 10-member Accounting department until hiring an outsourcing firm to handle all daily accounting functions as a cost-saving measure
Successfully managed accounts payable and payroll throughout bankruptcy without any cash infusions
Produced Due Diligence for multiple bidders
Starr Catering Group
(purchased by Elior North America in 2015)
Philadelphia, PA
$100M per year catering company, manages high-end food and beverage services at various cultural institutions and special event venues comprised of 31 units in 8 states (PA, NJ, NY, FL, MA, DC, NC, CT).
Director of Finance – Reported to CFO of Elior
Led the daily accounting functions of 12-member Accounting/IT team including: AR, AP, payroll, general ledger and operational finance
Responsible for the monthly executive summary and financial packet submitted to Corporate Elior NA
Worked with GMs and Directors in creating their unit’s budgets. Facilitated budget meetings between corporate and directors
Travelled to all units in order to continuously improve work flow, reporting and increase profitability
Responsible for the collaboration between Elior North America and Starr Restaurant Organization (SRO) to conduct Due Diligence from April – August 2015 for the purchase of Starr Catering Group by Elior
Assumed the additional role of Controller during Due Diligence and throughout the transition
Starr Restaurant Organization
$250M per year hospitality company comprised of 3 divisions: The Restaurant Division – consisting of 32 restaurants in 5 states (PA, NJ, NY, FL, DC); The Catering Division – consisting of 16 units; and the Hotel Division – specializing in the management of food production for events, room service, lounges and pool outlets at boutique hotels.
Director of Finance and Analysis – Reported to CFO
Accounting/IT:
Managed entire organization’s 5-year financial plan
Developed and managed a $2M per year capital expenditure monitoring program
Created and trained accounting opening teams for all new restaurant openings
Worked with Director of IT and Controller to incorporate a web-based budgeting tool for entire organization
Set-up and implemented an Accounting department for the Catering division consisting of a Controller and 4 staff members
Development:
Produced proformas and ROI summaries for all future projects
Assisted Development department in creating construction and pre-opening budgets for all future projects
Managed and monitored all construction and pre-opening budgets. Remained in constant communication with Development department to ensure budgets were met
Assisted all new restaurant Directors and General Managers with the development of their first-year operational budgets
Provided onsite financial assistance to over 20 restaurants and 7 catering unit openings. Assisted and trained General Managers to follow all financial and reporting requirements properly
Restaurant:
Created, redesigned and implemented various user-friendly financial tools for the management of restaurants (weekly and monthly profit and loss tool, food and beverage inventory tool with cost indicators, weekly sales and labor forecasting tool)
Continuously worked with General Managers to enable their restaurants to achieve maximum profitability
Assisted Corporate Controller in analyzing restaurant budgets
Implemented procedures for having servers declared charged tips appear on their paychecks. Positive savings with regard to fewer IRS audits and less on-hand money required at restaurants resulting in attracting more responsible servers
Catering/Hotel:
Developed an Accounts Receivable program
Worked closely with the President of Catering to improve profitability
The Ritz-Carlton
Philadelphia, PA
Assistant Controller, Food and Beverage Controller
Five-Diamond hotel, renowned for their customer service and training techniques.
Education
University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School of Business, BBA-Accounting and Finance
Volunteer
Social Impact Center – Lend my assistance to ensure the financial well-being of the non-profit