Neil Portus | CFA, CMA
Finance Expert
Location
New York, NY, United States
Toptal Member Since
March 17, 2017
Neil is a CFO for growth companies and a former equity analyst at Goldman Sachs in NY where he helped lead numerous transactions including Zipcar's $1.1 billion IPO. He was also an equity analyst at Barclays Capital & Lehman Brothers and began his career at a boutique investment bank (M&A, restructuring, debt financings). He's built his operational skills both as a startup founder and as the CFO of an East Africa-focused impact investment firm.
Neil is available for hire
Hire NeilCareer Highlights
CFO
Unity Development Group
Vice President, Global Investment Research
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Vice President, Equity Research
Barclays Capital & Lehman Brothers
Education
Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
Institute of Management Accountants
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
CFA Institute
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina
Industry Expertise
Accounting ServicesFinanceBankingInvestment BankingVenture Capital & Private EquityTravel Agencies & ServicesManufacturingRetailOther Expertise
Capital RaisingCFOFinancial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)Pitch DecksThree-statement ModelingWork Experience
2012 - PRESENT
CFO | Advisor
Tailored Partners
- Retained by early stage and growth companies to provide CFO and financial advisory services. The core industry focus was on consumer, hospitality, retail, and tech.
- Advises companies as a CFO through their entire capital raising (equity and debt) and M&A processes: create investor presentations and financial models, lead due diligence efforts, negotiate terms, and close on transactions.
- Leads all the financial activities of the company and manage the appropriate teams: financial planning and analysis, define KPIs, and prepare forecasts, budgets, and operating plans.
- Develops financial reporting cadence and make presentations to internal decision makers—board of directors, C-Suite, and senior management.
- Formulates and executes on corporate development initiatives.
- Manages external relationships with strategic partners, investors, and investment banks.
- Serves as a personal vehicle to seed startups.
Focus areas: Working Capital Management, Strategic Planning & Execution, Entrepreneurial Finance, Investor Relations, Investment Summaries, Investor Presentations, 409A Valuation, Valuation Multiples, Valuation Modeling, Valuation, Financial Reporting, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Project Finance, Due Diligence, CFO, Fundraising, Strategy, Financial Modeling
2014 - 2017
CFO
Unity Development Group
- Worked for UNITY which was the consortium lead for the world-class American group of companies that was in consideration for the $4 billion Central Corridor Railroad (CCR) project in East Africa in order to provide Tanzania, DRC, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi with efficient market access to accelerate regional social and economic prosperity.
- Led the fundraising for a transformative railroad project in East Africa—secured interest for $340 million in equity from private funds and $1.2 billion in debt from the US Export-Import Bank.
- Acted as a strategic partner to the CEO and COO.
- Drove the firm financial planning and analysis and oversaw cash management in order to meet operational targets.
- Prepared and communicated weekly financial summary to the C-Suite.
- Coordinated tax and audit filings for the US and foreign subsidiaries.
Focus areas: Three-statement Modeling, Strategic Planning & Execution, Working Capital Management, Entrepreneurial Finance, Investor Relations, Investor Presentations, Valuation Modeling, Valuation Multiples, Valuation, Market Research, Investment Summaries, Financial Risk Assessment, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Financial Management, Asset-based Finance, International Finance, Project Finance, Equipment Finance, Financial Modeling, Due Diligence, CFO, Fundraising
2009 - 2011
Vice President, Global Investment Research
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
- Acted as the lead equity research analyst covering the rental car and small cap casino sectors—companies under coverage included Avis, Dollar Thrifty, Hertz, Ameristar Casinos, Pinnacle Entertainment, and Penn National Gaming.
- Helped to lead Zipcar's $1.1 billion IPO while covering the rental car sector.
- Handled team coverage responsibilities for the gaming, gaming technology, lodging, cruise, and restaurant sectors.
Focus areas: CFO, Three-statement Modeling, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Portfolio Analysis, Break-even Analysis, Price Analysis, Fund Analysis, Credit Analysis, Return Analysis, Ratio Analysis, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Data Analysis, Investor Relations, Investor Presentations, Capital Investment Appraisals, Capital Structure Analysis, Capital Structuring, Capital Raising, Fundraising, Due Diligence, Investment Summaries, Valuation Modeling, Valuation Multiples, Valuation, Financial Reporting, Financial Modeling, Equity Research
2005 - 2009
Vice President, Equity Research
Barclays Capital & Lehman Brothers
- Initiated Lehman's equity research coverage of IGT (international game technology) and the gaming technology sector.
- Handled team coverage responsibilities for the gaming, lodging, leisure, cruise, and toy sectors.
- Promoted to vice president.
Focus areas: CFO, Three-statement Modeling, Due Diligence, Profitability Analysis, Break-even Analysis, Portfolio Analysis, Return Analysis, Price Analysis, Credit Analysis, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Ratio Analysis, Fund Analysis, Fundraising, Data Analysis, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Investor Relations, Investment Summaries, Investor Presentations, Valuation Modeling, Valuation Multiples, Valuation, Financial Modeling, Financial Reporting, Equity Research
2000 - 2005
Investment Banking Associate
US Bancorp Libra | Libra Securities
- Closed 15 transactions totaling $1.3 billion; directly reporting to the managing director at a boutique investment bank founded by Drexel Burnham Lambert and Salomon Brothers veterans.
- Worked on a variety of deals spanning M&A, bankruptcy, restructuring, fairness opinion, valuation analysis as well as high yield and mezzanine financings.
- Led buyer diligence visits.
- Drafted investor materials.
- Constructed LBO models.
- Promoted to associate.
Focus areas: CFO, Profitability Analysis, Break-even Analysis, Portfolio Analysis, Price Analysis, Fund Analysis, Credit Analysis, Return Analysis, Ratio Analysis, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Due Diligence, Data Analysis, Financial Reporting, Financial Modeling, Fundraising, Working Capital Management, Capital Investment Appraisals, Growth Capital Raising, Capital Structure Analysis, Capital Structuring, Capital Raising, Debtor & Creditor Management, Debt Capital Markets, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
Education
2016 - 2017
Certified Management Accountant (CMA) in Accounting
Institute of Management Accountants - Montvale, NJ, USA
2000 - 2003
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) in Finance
CFA Institute - Charlottesville, VA, USA
1998 - 2000
Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Finance
Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina - Columbia, SC, USA
1993 - 1997
Bachelor of Science in Recording Industry Management
Middle Tennessee State University - Murfreesboro, TN, USA