Controller / Cfo, Trend Intermodal Chassis Leasing

Hiring Company

Founded in 2013, Trend Intermodal Chassis Leasing (Trend) is a Chassis Leasing company formed by a group of seasoned intermodal transportation industry professionals offering its customers high-quality, multi-loading capacity equipment on term leases. With a focus on high touch customer service, Trend offers alternative leasing solutions to the intermodal industry. Trend was recently acquired by ITE Management (ITE), an investment firm that targets real asset investments with strong cash yield and downside protection. Trend has nearly doubled in size over the previous two years and is poised to accelerate its growth trajectory even further with fresh capital infusion from its new majority owner through both organic growth and strategic acquisitions.

Parent Company (Majority Owner of Trend)

Founded in 2014, ITE’s investment strategies focus on broad macroeconomic themes to make long view investments rather than expedient ones - acquiring industrial transportation assets for investors as a unique opportunity to combine operating and investing execution. ITE works directly with operators who build, manage and service these physical assets – always trying to better optimize their performance and using a hands-on approach as the best way to cultivate relationships, mine analytics, and generate cash flow.

The firm was built from the ground up to optimize intersecting disciplines, enabling the ability to scale efficiency over time and address each asset as its own opportunity.

ITE combines a team with deep, long-standing relationships and financial and operating expertise in rail, aviation, and intermodal with an entrepreneurial mindset and culture. The team brings extensive experience in investments, portfolio management, risk management, data analytics, credit analysis, and industry-specific operations.

Today, the firm manages over $3.5bn of investor capital across various industrial transportation- related verticals, with office locations in NYC, Chicago, and St. Louis. Due to the firm’s dynamic and forward-thinking approach, the capital commitments have tripled in the past three years. Today, ITE manages over $7 billion of real assets across freight railcars, commercial aircraft, and intermodal.

Role and Responsibilities

Trend is currently looking for a Controller / CFO to join its rapidly growing and dynamic business. Trend serves as ITE’s primary operating platform for its intermodal leasing business (Fund). As ITE’s investments in transportation assets (rail, intermodal, aviation and marine) continue to grow, the necessity to work closer financially and strategically with the operating companies becomes imperative for continued growth and value creation. The Controller or CFO will serve as a strategic operator to help set, drive and execute growth, transformation and value creation plans within Trend. She/he will assume overall responsibility for developing the strategic finance function within Trend with a continuous focus on public and private reporting, improving profitability, managing costs, creating efficiencies, and mitigating risk for Trend and the Fund.

The Controller or CFO will serve as the finance leader for Trend with particular emphasis on reporting, planning, and analysis efforts. The individual will manage the preparation of current financial reports / summaries and create forecasts with the portfolio manager to provide visibility towards performance and growth. The individual will be instrumental in overseeing Trend’s financial planning and analysis, accounting and controls, financial reporting, budgeting and forecasting, treasury, pricing, tax, audit, credit, billings & collections and institutional financing. This Controller or CFO will work closely with the ITE Fund CFO to be sure key Fund executives, teams and stakeholders (internal and external) are provided with comprehensive financial information to provide for accountability and to facilitate effective decision making. He/she will participate broadly in strategic, operational and financial discussions. The Controller or CFO will report to the CEO of Trend.

The individual must be an experienced, hands-on practitioner, who is able to immediately strengthen and bring greater efficiency to the organization’s operations. Moreover, the Controller or CFO for Trend will be a critical formal and informal contact with leaders at ITE and the Fund. She or he will interact frequently with external constituencies to help communicate the company’s progress against key strategic, financial and return objectives. Other key relationships will include the broader management team, external auditors, bankers, and lenders.

The Controller / CFO will be responsible for:

● Reporting / Control: Oversee and lead financial / SEC quality financial reporting. Supervise the preparation of timely and accurate financial reports, including tax filings and analysis of performance, variance and cash flow to the strictest standards of accounting and the law. Ensure the fiscal integrity of the business through enhancement and management of accounting systems and controls.

● Financial Planning & Analysis: Provide overall leadership to the management reporting, financial planning and budgeting processes. Lead efforts to drive the analytical rigor of the finance team so that business decisions throughout the organization are informed by analytical insight while improving the organization’s ability to leverage and manage data. Develop standardized data sets for business measurement, business planning, performance management and reporting.

● Treasury / Lender Management: Play a leading role in optimizing the financial structure and balance sheets. Manage banking and financial advisor relationships; interface with lenders and lessees; manage bank credit lines, loans and capital leases. Develop and enhance procedures for working capital management.

● Efficiency / Process Improvement: Develop a roadmap to ensure movement towards an efficient set of financial management systems. Continuously examine opportunities for sustainable cost efficiencies that are consistent with the operating and growth strategies for the business. Manage the integration of accounting systems or ERPs.

Requirements

● Ten years minimum experience in progressively responsible financial leadership roles.

● Controller or CFO experience or equivalent is preferred. Experience in real asset leasing is preferred, or other relevant leasing businesses.

● Demonstrated experience operating in a lean and fast growing environment

● Strong planning and execution track record, contributing to significant improvements in financial and operational performance

● Experience leading transformation, business optimization and performance improvement, inclusive of executive partnerships, acquisitions and divestitures

● Proven track record of implementing systems and processes that leverage data and analytics to drive business insight, decision-making and performance improvement

● Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Accounting, or Finance required.

● Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation required.

● Must be available to work in office, in South Kearny, New Jersey (3+ days a week in office)

Benefits

• BA with excellent academic credentials required.
• Juris Doctorate degree from an accredited law school and/or compliance certifications are a plus
• Minimum of 3 years of experience implementing SEC registered investment adviser compliance programs in the financial services industry
• Prior compliance experience at a hedge fund or PE firm preferred
• Knowledge of SEC and FCA regulations
• Knowledge of EU as well as various non-U.S. private placement marketing rules and regulatory framework
• Excellent verbal and written skills
• Excellent time management skills with attention to detail
• Well organized, self-starter with the ability to manage multiple projects