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Rustin Durden

CFO | COO Partner

Results-oriented financial and operational leader with global executive experience, business ownership, and extensive M&A across a wide range of industries and company sizes.

Rustin Durden

CFO | COO Partner

Results-oriented financial and operational leader with global executive experience, business ownership, and extensive M&A across a wide range of industries and company sizes.

Team-focused, with a history of driving sustainable financial and operational results.

Rustin developed his professional foundation during a 16-year progressive career with Brambles, the world’s largest supplier of reusable wooden pallets and plastic containers for the fast-moving consumer goods, fresh produce, beverage, retail, and general manufacturing industries. As a member of Brambles Global Executive Leadership Development Program, Rustin held various progressive leadership roles in Finance, Asset Management, Sales, and Operations.

During Brambles divestiture of its IFCO brand, Rustin joined the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) of IFCO, which was purchased in a private equity transaction by Triton Partners, together with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. In addition to contributing as a key member to the buying side of the transaction, Rustin was promoted to join the ELT and re-shape the business by leading Asset Management, Reverse Logistics, and Customer Operations as a Vice President. During his tenure at IFCO, Rustin and the ELT team radically transformed the industry, and doubled the size of IFCO through a successful 7-year partnership with Walmart, which contributed to avoiding 1 gigaton of greenhouse gas emissions across its supply chain.

In addition to his corporate career, Rustin has built, operated, and sold 9 personally owned businesses over the course of his career. Additionally, he led and/or supported several additional business sales transactions through his brokerage partnerships across multiple industries. Most recently, Rustin served as COO for a large electrical contractor where he was recruited to ‘professionalize’ the company and consult ownership through an exit strategy and sale process.

Help Business Succeed

  • Orchestrate exit strategies and valuations

  • Develop and measure performance metrics tied to the P&L

  • Design and execute commercial/sales strategies

  • Optimize business processes and controls

  • Cost control management

  • Process definition, documentation, and execution

  • Implement budgeting, forecasting, and tactical planning processes

  • Optimize and implement pricing strategies

  • Design cost and profitability modeling processes

  • Leadership development and coaching

  • The Customer experience

Memberships and Associations:

  • Advisory Board Member
    University of Central Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC)
  • Florida Real Estate License 20+ years
  • Business Brokers of Florida

Industries:

  •  Supply Chain
  • Logistics
  • Restaurant
  • Construction
  • Home Services
  • Multi-unit retail
  • Digital track and trace

VOLUNTEER: 

  • Avid competitive youth sports coach
  • Active United Methodist Church member

Education

  • Executive Education (Global Leadership) – INSEAD | CEDEP; Fontainebleau, France  (2016 – 2018)
  • Executive Education (Strategy) – Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, PA  (2012)
  • MBA – University of Central Florida;  Orlando, FL (2001 – 2003)
  • BA – Maryville College; Maryville, TN | NCAA athlete and ‘Academic All-American’ (1997 – 2001)

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Strategic planning

Budget planning

Exit strategies / M&A

Pricing strategy

Cost model development

Cost control

Process creation

Performance metrics

Contract negotiation

Employee engagement and empowerment

Team building

Safety programs

Customer experience

practical Experience, Impactful solutions

Business sale

Planned and orchestrated a magnitude of business sales

 I have coordinated (on many different levels) the sale process of businesses, with transaction values from $300K up to $100M.  Additionally, I was a key contributor to a $1.5B global private equity transaction on the buyer side.

Top-line revenue expansion

Defined new sales strategy and executed top-line revenue increase for an electrical contractor

Established new commercial sales strategies, resulting in $5M in additional contract value, and developed a strategic pipeline of $100M+ within 3 new diversified verticals

Process and cost control

 Improved processes and delivered cost savings for regional construction company

Instituted budgeting and tactical planning processes within operations to drive management accountability of departmental financial metrics, resulting in improved installation time of 9 days and cost reduction of $6M annually

Pricing optimization

Developed and implemented market-based pricing strategy for national packaging company

Delivered $25M increase in profit across 3,000 customers by instituting a pricing plan considering market factors, competition, profitability, and risk

Roles Served

spanning 30+ years in roles including:

  • Advisory Board Member
  • Chief Operating Officer / ELT Member
  • Vice President / ELT Member
  • Director, Commercial Finance
  • Director, Sales Operations
  • Director, National Sales
  • Director, Retail Supply Chain
  • Owner/operator, multi-unit Retail and Home Services