Gary Kowalski

San Francisco, CA 94133

LinkedIn: Kowalski, Gary
gary.kowalski1@gmail.com
415-425-7303

Experienced Manager of Operations, Finance and Sales teams primarily within fast growth Financial and
Professional Services companies; author and expert on Franchising, and former business owner. Excellence in
assembling and leading teams, developing strategy and executing the vision.

Parkside Lending 2005 - 2009

Vice President, Operations and Finance, San Francisco, CA
 Worked with two principals to develop and implement all business strategies; built from scratch a 60-person
residential mortgage lender. Co-managed with CEO all Operational and Financial aspects of the company.
 Developed and documented Chart of Accounts and all Lock Desk, Loan Portfolio Accounting, Cash Flow
Management, monthly P & L reporting and Post Closing (post loan sale) processes.
 “Go to” person for staff members with regard to conflict resolution, problem solving, mentoring and
development, providing feedback, performance evaluations, and ensuring employee satisfaction.
 Maintained relationships with over 100 vendors, often negotiating contract terms and payment plans.
 Designed numerous reports ranging from Client Scorecards to Cash Flow Forecasting to Profit and Loss
statements to Rate Sheets.

Independent Franchise Research, LLC

Author - San Francisco, CA 2003 - 2005
 Published “The Franchise Ratings Guide”. View it here: The Franchise Ratings Guide.
 Conducted due diligence survey and collated data from 3,000+ franchise owners of 216 different companies.
 Created pre-investment franchise buying guide and integrated this with all collected data, including more than
1,100 quotations from franchise owners, to produce a 500-page text.

Parson Consulting

Professional Services firm specialized in Business Process Improvement, Systems Optimization and Project
Management solutions; #1 on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing, privately held companies for year 2000.
Managing Director - Los Angeles, CA 2002
 Responsible for business development, managing, leading and motivating staff of 18, and all day-to-day
operations; achieving gross and net profit goals of monthly forecasts, developing annual budget and annual
business plan; corporate reporting and communications.
 Increased gross margin 15% by training sales team to sell larger scale, higher profile projects.
 Increased sales call/client activity 40% by improving account strategy and sales techniques.
 Created sales training guide and conducted local training sessions. Training guide was utilized nationally.
 Created the firm’s first “Consultant Advisory Council”, increasing cohesion, morale and input of consulting team
while harnessing its ideas for greater efficiency and effectiveness.
 Selected by Corporate Human Resources Department as member of Professional Development Council,
dedicated to enhancing career-path opportunities for consultants.

Sales Team Leader - New York, NY 2000 - 2002

 Responsible for managing and mentoring team of four Business Development Managers, training of new hires
and exclusive strategic accounts.
 #1 in personal revenue production out of more than 60 sales people nationally.
 Exceeded quota all three years in sales and led New York team to highest average bill rate nationally.
 Selected by CEO as member of President’s Council (only Business Development person selected).
 Selected by COO as member of Business Development Council.
 Business Development Manager - New York, NY 1999 - 2000
 Responsible for establishing and managing relationships with C-level executives of Fortune companies.
Contacts identified and relationships established through personal research, cold calling and networking.
 #4 in personal revenue production out of more than 60 sales people nationally.
 Awarded for closing highest revenue-producing project in company during year 2000.
 Awarded for generating highest average bill rate nationally for year 2000.
 Revenue-generating clients, all developed from scratch through cold calling, included Barclays Capital,
JP Morgan Chase, HSBC, L’Oreal, Marsh, Maybelline, TIAA-CREF, et al.
 One of select-few, out of approximately 200 employees, recognized by CEO as a “Key Contributor” for 1999.
Operations Manager - New York, NY 1998 - 1999
 Responsibilities consisted primarily of identifying, interviewing and assembling teams of consultants to fulfill
clients’ needs, as well as motivation and administration of consultants.
 Assisted in hiring, management and conducting performance reviews of consultants.
 Conducted over 200 face-to-face interviews over 12-month period.
 Developed the first ‘new employee’ Orientation Program for the New York office.

H2O Plus
Retail franchise offering personal body-care products in high-profile mall location.
Franchise Owner - Willowbrook Mall, Houston, TX 1994 - 1998
 Owner and active operator managing staff of up to seven employees.
 Coordinated and managed all operations including sales training, marketing and promotions, database
management, accounting, inventory and all franchisor communications and negotiations.
 Prosperity achieved through superior customer service, strategic promotions and well-targeted direct mailings
with redemption rates reaching 15%.
 Established high morale environment with zero voluntary staff turnover rate over two-year period.
 Retained as Manager upon sale of franchise and increased sales 20% over prior year.
 Recognized as having the third highest dollars generated per customer among 60+ stores nationally.

Education:
M.S., Taxation
University of Texas at Arlington, 1994
Graduate Teaching Assistant, 1992-1994
B.S., Accounting and Finance
University of Arizona, 1989

Software:
ACT!, eKomas, MS Excel, MS Outlook, MS PowerPoint, MS Word

Personal:
Founder of San Francisco Professional Career Network, a goodwill group dedicated to enhancing career
opportunities for unemployed professionals through speaker programs and networking. Formed in March 2009, we
have conducted 31 free events and are comprised nearly 300 members, who have rated us 4.5 stars out of a
possible 5.0. Also see SFPCN's Group on LinkedIn
Active within The Commonwealth Club and The World Affairs Council of Northern California
Upwardly Global volunteer and mentor
Extensive travel through over 30 countries
Interests include: Hiking, history, racquetball, reading, traveling, writing

References: Available upon request