North American Finance Executive Summit

Rui Barbas is currently Chief Financial Officer for Zone North America ($30 billion turnover, 11 Business Units, 35,000 employees) at Nestlé. He is responsible for driving consumer-centric business and strategic transformation as well as the execution of ZNA strategic value creation plan as a key catalyst of profitable growth acceleration. Rui also spearheads ZNA financial and strategy plans including growth acceleration, portfolio transformation (inclusive of M&A), investment in new capabilities, deployment of new organizational and operational model, and end-to-end operating margin and ROI optimization plans.

Previously, Rui served as the Corporate Vice-President / Zone Deputy for North America at Nestlé, overseeing the business in North America as well as the category development of the key businesses in the region. Rui also led the strategic transformation program for Sales & Marketing—including e-Business, Strategic Revenue Management and Consumer Personalization at-Scale—and managed the overall development of the business portfolio & regional strategy to accelerate profitable growth in North America.

Rui joined Nestlé USA in 2011 as Director of Corporate Innovation focused on the development of new growth ventures and product pipelines to expand Nestlé’s portfolio into new high-growth, profitable consumer spaces. From 2012 to 2015, Rui was Vice President of Business Optimization responsible for the execution of key strategic priorities within the operational master plan, including business development, commercial acceleration, organizational transformation and cost optimization. In 2015, Rui was named General Manager for the Strategic Growth Business Unit and responsible for the commercial strategy, operations and retail sales of the strategic growth channels, which include eCommerce, Value, Club and Natural retail channels. In 2017, Rui became the Chief Strategy Officer and then in 2020 the Interim CFO and Chief Strategy Officer for Nestlé USA in charge of corporate strategy and enterprise transformation in the areas of growth acceleration, portfolio transformation, new business ventures, new capabilities, agile organizational structures and profit/ROI optimization.

Rui joined Nestlé in Global Headquarters in 2007 where he had a Global Operations Strategy role advising General Management, Regions and Strategic Business Units in the areas of Capital Investment, Business Development and Competitive Strategy. In this global role, Rui worked across different businesses and geographies (including Asia, Europe, Africa, Latin America and North America).

Rui started his career at Oliver Wyman (management consulting) where he led multiple assignments for the Board of multinational companies in Telecom, Media, Core Industries and CPG. Areas of focus included Corporate Strategy, Business Development, Marketing & Sales, Organizational Alignment and Operations Improvement.

Rui holds an MBA from INSEAD in France and a Master of Science degree in Management & Industrial Engineering from IST in Portugal. He is trilingual speaking English, Spanish and Portuguese and has lived and worked in 9 different countries across Europe, Asia, Latin America and North America.

Pablo Di Si was appointed President and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America, and CEO, Volkswagen North American Region, effective Sept. 1, 2022. He is responsible for the Group‘s growth strategy in the U.S., with a portfolio of more than 25 EV models planned by 2030. He assumes leadership for the 20,000+ employees across the region who are helping seize the historic market opportunities across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.

Previously, Pablo was Executive Chairman of Volkswagen South America Region with more than EUR 7 billion in sales and 20,000 employees. He led the Latin American market’s return to profitability for the first time in years, promoting the most significant launch of new products in its history tailored to the region’s needs. He led a restructuring focused on cultural transformation, creating new business models, accelerating digitalization, and improving client satisfaction. Volkswagen became the leader in the A0 SUV segment in Brazil, and the brand remains the largest producer and exporter of light vehicles in the country.

Pablo began his career at Volkswagen Group in 2014 as President and CEO of Volkswagen Argentina. He took over the position of President and CEO of Volkswagen Brazil and Latin America in 2017. Recently, he was appointed Executive Chairman of Volkswagen South American Region.

Previously, he held key positions in finance and business development both in U.S. and Brazil with the Fiat Chrysler Group, Kimberly-Clark, and Monsanto. A graduate of Harvard Business School (AMP 2011), he holds an M.B.A in International Management at the Thunderbird School of Management (2002) and a Degree in Accounting at Northwestern University (1996). Pablo also earned a B.A. in Business Administration with a major in Finance at the Loyola University of Chicago (1994).

Phillipe Fau is an experienced Division Chief Financial Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the cosmetics industry. He has a strong finance professional skillset in Business Planning, Change Management, Management, Business Strategy, and Finance.

Caroline Litchfield is executive vice president and chief financial officer for Merck, responsible for the company’s finance, procurement, and real estate operations.

Prior to this role, Caroline served as the company’s treasurer, a position that included responsibility for treasury, tax, and investor relations.  From 2014 to 2018, Caroline led finance for Human Health the company’s largest business, overseeing financial operations and reporting in approximately 100 markets.  As a lead member of the Human Health Operating Committee, she partnered with the business to reshape the commercial organization by driving efficiencies to reinvest and enable the standup of the Oncology Business Unit and the expansion of the business in China. While in this role, Caroline led the transformation of the country finance teams, installed technology and analytics capabilities throughout the organization and centralized activities into shared services.

Before leading all of Human Health Finance, Caroline established the finance function for the Emerging Markets region following the merger of Merck and Schering-Plough, playing a key role in the development and execution of the growth strategy for the business.

Caroline previously held the position of Finance lead for the European region, where she led merger-related integration planning for Merck’s second largest regional business.

Since joining Merck in the U.K. subsidiary, Caroline has held a wide range of roles at country, region and global levels covering every aspect of finance, including procurement, IT implementation and facilities management.  Caroline has been based in the UK, Germany, Switzerland, and the US. Through her global career she has gained a close understanding of Merck’s business, customers, and people.  An advocate of talent, she led the global finance talent committee, and sponsors Merck’s General Management Acceleration Program. Caroline has also been an integral contributor to a number of enterprise-wide Merck transformational initiatives.

Caroline holds a BSc in Mathematics from Leicester University, and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Chris Suh is the Chief Financial Officer at Visa. In his role, he oversees Visa’s financial strategies, planning and reporting, in addition to all finance operations and investor relations.

Mr. Suh joined Visa in July 2023 from Electronic Arts, where he served as Chief Financial Officer.

From 1996 to 2022, Mr. Suh held senior finance roles at Microsoft, including serving as Chief Financial Officer of the Cloud + AI division from 2018 to 2022, and Head of Investor Relations from 2013 to 2018. Prior to Microsoft, Mr. Suh worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers from 1992 to 1996.

Mr. Suh holds a BA in Accounting and Finance from the University of Washington and an MBA from the University of Washington Michael G. Foster School of Business.

Lavanya Chandrashekar was appointed Chief Financial Officer and a Director of Diageo plc in July 2021.

Previous Diageo roles

• Chief Financial Officer, Diageo North America and Global Head of Investor Relations

Previous relevant experience

• Vice President Finance, Global Cost Leadership and Supply Chain – Mondelez International
• Various senior finance roles – Mondelez International (across North America, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa)
• Various senior finance roles – Procter & Gamble (across India, Asia Pacific, Europe and North America)

Dumi Martinez is the CFO of Mars Global Services (MGS), the global business services division of Mars, Incorporated. As CFO, Dumi oversees all strategic financial initiatives across Mars, including integration services, global portfolio management, and business development. His leadership is instrumental in actualizing the MGS OGSM and the success of the MGS finance team and its business partners. Dumi started his career at Mars in 2020 as the CFO of KIND and subsequently assumed the role of Global CFO, Health and Wellness, overseeing finance and strategy of this new division within Mars Snacking, which, under his leadership, reached $1.1 billion in sales across North America, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, and Asia in 2022. During his tenure, Dumi played a pivotal role in the integration of acquisitions such as KIND North America, Nature’s Bakery, and TrüFrü. Before joining Mars, he served as the CFO for Essity’s Professional Hygiene and Americas business units. Dumi earned his degrees in international management from Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management and Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Mexico. Dumi is passionate about spending time with his family, coaching and mentorship, and travel. To date, he’s traveled to 67 countries (and counting)!

Cameron is the Chief Financial Officer, Europe, Middle East & Africa for Marriott International.  He is based in London. He served as CFO, Europe from 2016 and expanded his role to include Middle East & Africa in 2019. He provides leadership for all operations finance, business analysis, administrative finance, feasibility, asset management, and continent reporting for the region’s 900 hotels.

Cameron joined Marriott in 2005, based out of the corporate headquarters in Washington, D.C.  He served in roles of increasing responsibility in the Corporate & Development Finance function, and ultimately Global Asset Management, before relocating to London in 2012. In London, Cameron created the Asset Management and Business Analysis team, where he held the position of Vice President, Asset Management & Analysis until 2016. In this role Cameron oversaw a variety of finance and transactional functions across the life cycle of Marriott’s European hotel portfolio. Specifically, his team completed the business valuations to support all new hotel projects, oversaw the process in opening all new hotels, and structured a wide range of business transactions that may be required after hotels join Marriott’s portfolio.

Prior to joining Marriott, Cameron worked for American Airlines in Fort Worth, Texas.  He holds a BA degree in Economics from Duke University and an MBA from the University of Michigan. Cameron and his wife Nadia, along with their three children, thoroughly enjoy London life. Cameron likes to run, play golf, and takes any opportunity to see live music.

Chad Heaton is VP of Finance for Meta Platforms, a role he’s held since 2014. In this role, he leads the Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) sector at Meta. He joined the company in 2010 as Manager of Platform Analytics. Prior to Meta, Heaton was a VP at Morgan Stanley Technology Investment Banking. Before that, he served as a Technology Investment Banking Associate at Deutsche Bank. Earlier in his career, Heaton worked in consulting at Avanade, PwC, and Andersen Consulting. He earned a degree in Economics at the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

At Senneca Holdings, strategy and financial acumen converge in my role as Vice President of Finance, where I specialize in crafting commercial management and cash flow optimization solutions. My leadership journey, marked by a steadfast commitment to financial strategy and operational excellence, has been fueled by a passion for forecasting accuracy and a drive for process improvement.

Steering our financial team, we prioritize integrity and innovation, harnessing the power of meticulous forecasting to inform business decisions. Our collaborative efforts have shaped a culture of continuous improvement, positioning Senneca Holdings at the vanguard of financial management excellence, where I continue to champion a balanced approach to leadership that inspires peak performance and accountability.