Global Leadership

USA

William Billeaud is President of Lombard Global, Incorporated. A lifetime of diverse global business experience, education and research has provided him with a mental playbook on global expansion. He is an accomplished and global senior executive, global management consultant, investment banker and investor who possesses over 26 years of experience helping U.S. and international firms grow and/or turnaround their firms globally, regionally and locally. Bill’s experience is both deep and broad; he focused his career in the consulting (business and technology) and finance (private equity ops, investment banking, real estate) verticals and has further broadened his business knowledge through consulting and entrepreneurial engagements in technology, retail, agribusiness, consumer goods, professional services, healthcare, manufacturing and many others. This combination of diversity and discipline has provided him with a reputation as a creative, client-centric, strategic leader, entrepreneur and deal maker who creates immediate impact and sustainable results.

While Bill’s client list includes multinationals such as Wal-Mart, Maytag, Ericsson and Anderson Merchandisers, he also has a wealth of experience helping middle market and sub middle market market firms, including his own, grow rapidly while building efficiencies. As a brief snapshot, Bill has grown and managed the Joint Venture established between Pepsi de Mexico SA de CV and Industrias Bachoco and has lived in Mexico. He has managed and grown the operations of Private Equity portfolio manufacturing and service companies, the global expansion of management consulting firm, The Highland Group and the global expansion and management of Italian retailer Dondi Salotti, srl. He recently helped hyper-growth international businesses firm, Nair & Co, acquire tangible business more rapidly than any previous group or individual in their history. His technology experience includes mobility/wireless startup and global systems integration with Unix partners Oracle, IBM and HP. Bill currently travels and executes business all over the world, including North America and CALA, EMEA and APAC. Of value to his inbound (non-USA) clients, he has southern USA roots, was raised and educated in the north and has traveled to nearly all of the 50 states in the USA. He speaks Spanish fluently and can function in several others, including Italian, French and Portugese. Bill speaks and is published consistently on topics related to international business, most recently for Saint Louis U.and U. of Texas at Dallas full-time MBA programs. He was Chairman of the DFW Third Annual International Business Summit, holds the TRC or Transnational Referral Certification in real estate, holds an Import Certification from the Institute for Supply Management, is a member of the Alliance of Merger and Acquisition Advisors (AM&AA), served as an original member of the International Commercial Real Estate Virtual E-Group for the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and serves on the China Task Force for the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Bill has a Global MBA from The Boeing Institute of International Business at the John Cook School of Business-SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY, a Bachelors from THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, posseses the GMI (Global Mindset Inventory) Certification (www.globalmindset.com) and Certificates each in Global Strategy Implementation and in Global Market Entry from THUNDERBIRD-GARVIN SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT. He also holds the Series 79 Investment Banking Representative registration through FINRA (06/12) and is a licensed real estate broker through NAR. He has held Series 7, 63, health and life insurance licenses. Bill resides in Plano, Texas USA (near Dallas) with his wife, two daughters and their assorted pets. He can be reached at wbilleaud@lombardglobal.com or via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/wbilleaud .

Shareholder Magazine (SLU’s Cook School of Business) Interviews Lombard Global’s Billeaud
Saint Louis University EMIB Alumni newsletter June 2007
Lombard_Emerging_Economies_Continue_to_Drive_World_Growth_062110

Ruonan (Raina) Wu is Global Business Development Manager of Lombard Global, Inc.  She coordinates our global business development efforts, particularly as they relate to China and APAC.  She is also entrepreneur in residence with firms E-gno, LLC and Q-Cart.   Raina’s experience is broad yet focused in technology (biotechnology and internet) and finance. Her work experience includes Penn Biotech Group, New Time Trust Co., Ltd. in Baotou, China, and Norinco International of Beijing.  Raina has a Masters in Bioengineering from The University of Pennsylvania (Penn),  a B.S. in Bioengineering from Jiaotong University, Shanghai and a Minor in Finance from Antai College of Economics and Management. She is a CFA Level 2 candidate. 

John Daley has been involved in successfully growing businesses for the last 35 years in various high tech, medical and life sciences companies.  Prior to the Daley Institute, John spent most of his career building sales and marketing teams around the world with companies like Sigma Aldrich, Marquette/GE, Puritan Bennett and Alcon Surgical. John has started four successful companies in his career. He is a speaker, author, instructor, and advisor to business leaders around the world.  He has a BS in Marketing from Arizona State Univerity and a Masters of International Business from Saint Louis University.  He serves the St Louis St Patrick’s Day parade, Rotary, and the Saint Louis University MIB advisory board.  John also serves as Vice Chairman of the YMCA of the Ozarks board and The ALS Association, St Louis Regional Chapter.  John has also just  joined the Small Business Week of Eastern Missouri committee. John and his wife Kathleen have four outstanding adult sons.

Denise Lynch  began her career in banking and capital markets where she advised corporate clients on cash management, investments, risk management and hedging strategies.  As a global corporate finance executive with in-depth experience managing domestic and international treasury operations at Anheuser-Busch and MasterCard Worldwide, Denise has over 15 years experience in internal consulting and management roles.  Her extensive experience has been focused on building and rationalizing financial operations, developing and implementing cash management strategy, banking systems and technology strategy, process improvement and financial controls.  She is adept at aligning treasury and finance strategy to support the corporate planning process, business objectives, and growth strategy. acquisition.  For companies working through a cash crunch or committed to a growth strategy, Denise is able to support with strategies to optimize internal cash, financial systems and reporting tools to create visibility and improved cash management. For companies growing internationally, Denise has managed projects and integratied operations in China, Asia, Latin America, Western Europe, Russia, and Ukraine.  Creative and experienced in cross-functional project management, she has the ability to build teams, lead change and collaborate effectively at all organizational levels in a complex, dynamic environment.  Denise has an MBA from The University of Dallas and a BS in Finance from The University of Arkansas. Areas of expertise include:

• Global Treasury Management • Cash and Liquidity Management • Strategic approach to Bank Relationship Management • Financial Systems, Treasury Technology and Controls • Development of Policies and Procedures coordinated to audit planning  • Corporate Finance / Capital Markets,  Domestic and International Payment Systems • Risk Management /Hedging Strategies/ Foreign Exchange  • Business Development and cross-border expansion.

Sylvie Le Bouthillier, CA began her career in public accounting with KPMG in Montreal,  Canada where she served as an external auditor and earned her  designation as a Chartered Accountant, the equivalent to a CPA in  the U.S. Over the next 17  years, she served mostly as internal and external consultant within Finance and IT, but also had some traditional Sarbanes Oxley, Corporate Controller and Interim CFO roles.

Sylvie is a creative and dynamic executive with demonstrated and successful  experience in leading financial and cross functional teams, turning around and/or integrating departments, managing critical projects, designing strategic solutions, reengineering business process within limited time frames, developing internal controls, optimizing systems, orchestrating ERP  implementations, meeting cash flow targets, developing budgets and forecasts, and coordinating internal and external audits.

Sylvie has also been involved with M & A post-investment assignments in issues ranging from talent acquisitiona and retention to process, policy, procedure and system integrations. She is regarded as a highly effective communicator and owes much of her organizational success to her ability to work effectively with all levels of organizations.

Robert Kiehl focuses on Sales Performance Coaching, IT  assessments, leadership coaching, and organizational strategy.

Bob has been involved in management, sales & marketing, business expansion and coaching teams and individuals for the last 37 years in various high-tech, training and direct marketing firms. Bob has been involved in all levels of management, with a focus on improving revenue results, identifying cost savings and developing a corporate Culture of Performance. Bob received his B.S. degree from the University of Missouri-St. Louis in  Business Administration. Bob has served on various industry Boards, was elected to serve as a representative in local politics and is active in many church and community groups.

Eleanor Eaton is a senior and former McKinsey consultant who specializes in the assessment of global growth opportunities, creation and support of off-shore facilities, competitive intelligence/ benchmarking, mergers and acquisitions search and due diligence. She is widely recognized as one of the foremost independent advisors in the globalization or global strategy space. Her key achievements include the identification of global markets and subsequent market entry strategy and execution for US Fortune 500 companies in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Ms. Eaton created several acquisitions in the aerospace industry. She also created and conducted a series of seminars, workshops and training courses for corporate clients on international culture, ethics, mode of conduct and sensitivity when working and dealing in foreign markets. A few of her clients include Georgia Pacific, Sara Lee, Kimberly Clark, Johnson and Johnson, Pratt and Whitney, Lockheed, Eagle-Picher and Handango. Ms. Eaton lived in Russia and France, in addition to the USA. She speaks Russian, Italian and Spanish, has an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh and an MS in Mathematics from the University of St. Petersburgh (Russia).

Clara Viladomiu is Marketing Manager for Lombard Global. She is a recent MBA graduate from The University of Southern Mississippi. While completing her studies, she worked as a Graduate Assistant for Athletic Business and Operations where she obtained accounting experience. She also obtained her Bachelor’s degree in International Business from USM where, among other recognitions, she became a Beta Gamma Sigma member and NGCA Scholar All-America. Originally from Spain, she moved to the U.S. four years ago when she was awarded a full scholarship to join the Lady Eagle golf team, becoming a Division I athlete.

Brazil

Fernando Mello is our lead partner in Brazil. Fernando has more than 28 years of high-level professional experience with multinational and smal to medium-sized firms worldwide. Since 2006, he’s focused on startups and business development projects. Previously, Fernando had a successful multinational corporate career with positions such as CEO of Iqara Telecom (BG/British Gas Group), Vice-President at MetroRed (Fidelity Investments) and Proudfoot Consulting, Executive Director at Compugraf, Professional Services Director at AT&T/Lucent Technologies and Senior Consultant at Bull Technologies. He has a BS in Computer Sciences and an MBA from FGV.

Naylo Oliveira has more than 27 years of professional experience in Brazil, Europe and North America. With a strong financial background, he has served several world-class organizations as finance manager and CFO in a wide range of industries from services to manufacturing, construction and finance/investment. He developed his career in companies such as Price Waterhouse Coopers, Fidelity Investments, Nidera, OAS, and DelRio. Since 2006, Naylo has represented foreign companies in discovering and developing business opportunities in South America, including innovative technologies for environmental and energy applications.

Omar Claro brings more than 25 years of operational and executive experience in manufaturing, logistics and supply-chain to world-class multinational companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Volkswagen, Avon, Revlon, Oriflame and Management Engineers. He has a long international career, having worked in several countries in Latin and North America, as well as in Europe. Omar is a Mechanical Engineer and holds an MBA from FIA/SP.

Renan Vicentini is our Senior Business Development Manager in Brazil. Renan brings over 25 years of international business experience to the table. Renan started in the leather business in 1983. He worked at Courolan, which was founded by his grandfather. There, he learned the technical aspects of selling leather, and how to deal with different cultures when developing markets for products. In 1994, Renan formed his own company, RR Vicentini Leathers. Renan has conducted business in the US, Canada, Germany, England, Portugal, Spain, France, South Africa, Holland, Italy, South Korea, Taiwan, China, and others. He holds a BS in Business Administration from UFRGS.

Renan is focused on deal flow and business development for Lombard Global, Inc. in Brazil.

Daryl Brown is an economist, financial analyst, independent translator and consultant based in São Paulo, Brazil. He initiated English language coverage of Brazilian capital markets at Brazil’s first and largest independent equity research firm, Empiricus Research. Previously, Daryl was an account manager at Travelex, and Congressional staff member in the US House of Representatives. Daryl holds a master’s degree in Economics from the Federal University of Bahia, and graduated cum laude from Texas Tech’s Rawls School of Business. He speaks Portuguese, Spanish and French. Daryl is a 2012 Level II CFA candidate.

India

Dr. Rajesh Kumar is an Associate Professor of International Business Strategy at the University of Nottingham Business School in the UK where he is currently teaches Management Strategy and Indian Business and Society. His role with Lombard Global involves the strategic direction and growth of its global delivery system. He is also involved in the execution of current business in India and the UK. Prior to moving to the UK, Dr. Kumar was an Associate Professor at the Aarhus School of Business, University of Aarhus, and Director of the Indian Research Center there. Along with Anand Sethi, he is author the book, Doing Business in India (MacMillan 2005). Dr Kumar’s expertise lies in International Business and within this domain his work has focused on the management of alliances, international negotiations, and managing in emerging markets with a particular focus on India. Dr Kumar has a PhD degree in International Business from New York University, an MBA from Rutgers University, and a Masters degree in Economics from the University of Delhi, India. He is an active researcher and leads seminars on doing business in India for global firms and consults for multinational firms around the world.

SP Joshi, an engineer and an MBA from Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, Joshi has specialized in market entry and marketing strategies for Indian markets. Based out of New Delhi, India, he has been advising companies from across the world about entry strategies for growing Indian markets for over ten years.

Having worked for over 23 years in Indian industry at senior management levels in diverse areas such as automotive, chemicals, building products, industrial products and consumer durables, Joshi is well versed with ground realities of the Indian market and with the regulatory environment. His deep understanding of Indian business environment and business methods is the reason for his success in strategic business partner search in India. He has assisted several companies from Australia, Germany and Singapore etc. not only in marketing research & formulating their entry strategies but also has helped facilitation of process of setting up businesses. He has been a key note speaker at some international seminars on ‘How to do business in India’ including Riding the Indian Elephant’ held in Melbourne in 2007. He is also a senior adviser to an Australian Business Chamber in Sydney.
For a large part of his working career, Joshi worked for Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. a large Indian automotive company with annual sales of 7 billion USD at senior positions in marketing & sales. Mahindra is also poised to become largest tractor company in the world. He also worked for Degussa AG of Germany (now Evonic Industries AG, a fortune 500 company) as their Vice President in India.

Mr. Joshi is a visiting professor in areas of strategic marketing and distribution management at Indian Institute of Foreign Trade and other prominent business schools of New Delhi in India. Joshi knows most of generally spoken languages in India. He is a widely traveled person within and outside India.

Anand Kumar Sethi, an alumnus of the world famous Indian Institute of Technology – Bombay (IIT), has almost four decades of active involvement in the global electronics sector with expertise covering the gamut of EMS, SMT, semiconductor, photovoltaic, and hybrid circuits sectors.

Sethi lived and worked in the US where he was involved in converting semiconductors into the world’s first usable devices (e.g. transistors and integrated circuits) and other leading edge technologies. He has been associated with many leading Indian corporate entities and also with several Central and State Government organizations, and is considered a pioneer in bringing many high technology activities and ventures to India, including such pioneering activities as India’s first International Expositions on Electronics, telecommunications, biotechnology and aviation/ aerospace (India’s famed Air Show in Bangalore owes its start to him).

Dr Sethi has four decades of active involvement in international joint ventures and business, particularly inbound ventures, technology transfers, projects and investments into India, and he has worked closely with many international companies from the USA, UK, Switzerland, and the Nordic countries on projects in India and other Asian countries. He is a frequent contributor to business and technical publications, journals and magazines in India, Europe and in the USA and is a co-author of the recent, highly acclaimed book entitled “Doing Business in India” (2005, Palgrave Macmillan)

China

Steven Huang is a senior partner in Jade & Fountain’s Shanghai office and is admitted both in China and New York. Steven’s practice covers foreign direct investments, general corporate, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, IT and telecommunication, venture capital, and international trade. Steven directs Lombard Global’s execution and clients’ growth in China.

Steven has extensive experience in representing international and local clients in investment projects in China in a wide range of industries including various manufacturing industries, banking and finance, professional service, high-tech and IT industry. He has helped a number of major international clients in their incorporation of foreign-invested enterprises, acquisition of assets and equities from Chinese companies, and restructuring of investment in China. Steven also advises foreign and local businesses on general corporate and commercial matters such as industry policy, administrative approval, trade, real estate, intellectual property, employment, foreign exchange and tax.
Some of his representative transaction experience include:

M&A

• Buyer’s counsel in an equity acquisition of a Chinese online game company by a Nasdaq-listed online game company.
• Seller’s counsel in an equity acquisition of a leading Chinese brewery equipment manufacturer by a European brewery equipment manufacturer.
• Buyer’s counsel in an asset acquisition of a Chinese training company by a NASDAQ-listed recruitment company.

Capital Markets

• PRC counsel for the listing of a Chinese online game company in Nasdaq
• PRC counsel for the listing of a US and China based information security technology company in Taiwan Over-the-counter Market (first foreign company IPO in Taiwan)
• Buyer’s counsel in an equity acquisition of a Chinese online game company by a Nasdaq-listed online game company.
• Seller’s counsel in an equity acquisition of a leading Chinese brewery equipment manufacturer by a European brewery equipment manufacturer.
• Buyer’s counsel in an asset acquisition of the industrial gas department of a leading Chinese steel maker by an international industrial gas investment company.

Foreign Direct Investment

• Retained by a major international car manufacturer to set up an automotive products distribution in a joint venture in China.
• Retained by a major international engineering company to set up 3 joint venture companies in automotive products sector in China.
• Retained by an Australian-listed telecommunication company to set up its wholly owned subsidiary in China and captive business structure in China for value-added telecommunication services.
• Retained by a Canadian telecommunication company to set up its wholly owned subsidiary in Shanghai and enter into business cooperation agreement with Shanghai Telecom.
• Retained by a German automotive products manufacturer as its only PRC counsel to provide legal services for its PRC holding company and around 20 subsidiaries established in China.

Chambers China Awards 2012