Curriculum Vitae of Dominic Ryan

Email: 1dominicryan@gmail.com Telephone: +44(0) 7804 533287 Address: London

My approach to life, business and work has always been governed by my personal ethos: "Adopt; Adapt; Improve".

With particular emphasis on company start-up and establishment, new business development, marketing and sales, customer acquisition, communication, hospitality and high-level business networking, opportunity identification, company and product awareness and senior management, I am an experienced and entrepreneurial expatriate with a career knowledge covering a wide range of industries and sectors internationally. Particularly suited to new and undeveloped areas and companies requiring a dynamic, resourceful and adaptable leader to introduce and establish their presence, image and product in a new territory. I am an accomplished “door-opener” skilled at helping companies achieve increased sales levels, customer service and satisfaction and improved market identity and performance especially in the more demanding of locations or countries.

Objective I am especially keen to employ my abilities, background and experience by joining a forward thinking progressive organisation that wants to extend their field of operations, maximise their exposure and expand their market image on a national or international level. Having created and managed companies on four continents, the proficiency I have obtained in various disciplines will be central to an employer seeking to increase upon their coverage or to enter a virgin territory or developing market economy.

Career Summary 2013 – To date Business Consultant and Introducer Representing the interests and needs of start-up companies in

various sectors 2012 – 2013 Director and General Manager, David’s Pretzel Factory

Themed Restaurant and Concept Coffee Bar (start-up) 2011 – 2012 Interim Director of Development, Gabby1 Recruitment Ltd Specialist Recruitment Agency (Start-Up) 2009 – on-going (voluntary) Country Director & Consultant, Astec Global LLC Anti-Malarial & Agro Products, Manufacturing & Distribution 2007 – 2010 Sales & Marketing Director, Synergy Plus Investment Srl International Business Consultancy & Management Services 2005 – 2007 Managing Partner, Premier Global Srl International Recruitment 1995 – 2005 Director of Operations, Montague First Global Ltd Financial Investment Services 1982 – 1995 Worked in several sectors at increasingly senior levels

covering a range of industries including restaurant, bar & club ownership/management, commercial cleaning, mining, financial services, recruitment, manufacturing, company start-up & consultancy and business management services in countries including Russia, Ghana, Dubai,

Hungary, Singapore, Brazil, Sierra Leone, Thailand and Romania.

Career History in Detail

Business Start-Up and Management Consultant, London Currently providing advice and mentoring to new companies, start-ups and entrepreneurs seeking to establish their business and expand their scope of operation; representing companies requiring finance and capital funding; exploiting my international database of contacts and effecting business introductions.

David’s Pretzel Factory Ltd T/A “D Food Factory”, UK – Director

Devised a concept and duly created a business plan that successfully resulted in the opening of an Anglo-Romanian Coffee Shop and Restaurant at the entrance to a major shopping centre on the outskirts of London. Originally envisaged to specialise in traditional Romanian-style pretzels, I quickly evolved the business into an establishment that offered an extensive and popular international menu to a growing and appreciative local and foreign clientele. Position Held: Director and General Manager Due to my prior experience in the restaurant/bar/club sector, my understanding of opening businesses from inception and my better familiarity of the UK environment than that of my Romanian business partners, I assumed full responsibility for the creation both of the company and the business plan, the marketing plan and establishment of the restaurant, its preparation, launch and ongoing general management. Achievements:

The methods I employed in its initial set-up and the style of management that I imposed from day one, enabled the company to break-even after just a month of its opening

Strict attention to budget control and spending, extensive marketing (especially through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, local press and centre media etc)

Rigidly negotiated terms of business with the landlords, various providers and product suppliers

Fully designed and introduced the menu and service offering

Maximised the direct hands-on input of the owners

Personally recruited, trained and managed all staff

Careful attention to the direct needs of the local community contributed to the success and swift growth of the business and its sales output

The experience gained from my long association with Romania and her people was instrumental in the decisions I made regarding the positioning of the business, the service and products it offered and the increasingly positive image that the restaurant projected

Drawing upon my previous successes of owning one of Romania’s most popular venues, the bar and restaurant I opened in West Africa and others that I have been involved with in the UK and elsewhere, I was able to both manage the front of house activities as well as the administration of the company

Responsible for Food & Hygiene, Health & Safety and ensuring staff were fully compliant

Gabby1 Ltd – Specialist Construction Recruitment Consultancy – Development Director Headhunted by a start-up recruitment company in West London, I was asked to take responsibility for its establishment and development. Their remit was to cater to the construction sector within the Greater London area and respond to the growing need for a niche provider with direct experience in this specialist market. Position Held: Interim Director of Development I also took control of recruiting new consultants and their induction, all marketing and promotion activity, new business generation and internal policy. This was a demanding role made particularly challenging by the economic climate that existed at the time, the dramatic downturn in the UK construction sector and a limited budget on which to operate and expand the business. I concluded my six month contract with complete client satisfaction and achieved 100% of my target. Achievements:

Implementation of a recruitment process that reflected the current market trends and that addressed the weaknesses that clients in the sector were most concerned about

Introduced, designed and produced a professional company corporate brochure

Conceived, developed and launched the “Platinum Client Reward Card” – a unique concept in the recruitment industry and which helped to create an equally unique image of the company

Advertised for and recruited four new consultants and one resourcer

Introduced and fully developed the online image of the company including the launch of a fully integrated and optimized website

Active membership to and constant use of LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter etc

Engaged with external SEO expertise to manage and increase internet traffic and our online presence

Hunted for, acquired and developed over 80% of the total client base through active business networking and traditional methods of new business development (including email marketing and mail shots, membership to online forums and business groups, submission of articles to publications and my membership of the Institute of Directors)

Fostered a good working environment and offered advice and sales training to the staff that lead to them regarding me as the de facto Managing Director

Astec Global LLC – Consultant and Country Director An American manufacturing company that specialises in 100% bio-friendly (green) products, in particular Anti-Mosquito Soap, larvicides, detergents, crop fertilisers, pollution remediation and water treatment systems all geared toward the African, Asian, Middle & Far Eastern and South American markets where Malaria and other vector transmitted and water borne diseases are prevalent. Position Held: Consultant and Director

I took up this position whilst still based in Romania, but continued it after returning to The United Kingdom to work in a voluntary capacity and actively market Astec Global’s products especially to Africa. Achievements:

Designed all marketing materials and adapted them to include French, Spanish and Arabic translations

Introduced a new concept to the marketing initiative and created a new framework for publicity

Redesigned packaging and consignment requirements

Identified initial target regions in Sierra Leone, Ghana, Sudan, Congo, UAE and Nigeria and exploited existing contacts in those countries

Handled all aspects of the legal and administrative in-country requirements prior to contractual licensing terms with the end-buyer/s

Created long-term sales and marketing plan for Africa

Synergy Plus Investment Srl – Sales and Marketing Director A consultancy company specialising in the provision of business development, start-up, investment and management advice for new and existing businesses wishing to expand nationally or regionally via either direct investment or public listing (AIMS, PLUS, NASDAQ and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges); property investment; accountancy and business services; liaison, B2B referrals, introductions; recruitment and training services. Position Held: Founding Partner and Director of Marketing, Sales and Development Synergy Plus Investment was created in reaction to the business climate which existed at that time in Romania and the surrounding region and was designed to take advantage of and cater to the need for resident expertise in booming property investment opportunities that were apparent from 2005 (following Romania’s acceptance into the European Union). To compliment the growing need for external investment and entrepreneurial input, I expanded the company’s remit to include consultancy to individuals and companies that wished to exploit the economic circumstances that EU membership offered. I further incorporated available skills and resources by introducing recruitment and other management services designed to accommodate and assist the client base. Latterly, I devoted much effort toward international commodity trading i.e. cement, gas and oil, metals, palm oil, food items and other products. Achievements:

Developed an outstanding database of businesses and businesspeople

Successfully oversaw the set-up, opening and development of several new businesses in Romania including 2 bars and 1 nightclub, an international specialist recruitment company, a major UK accountancy and audit firm, a recognised USA based construction company, an Irish scaffolding company, various local technology start-ups and several private international property investment funds

Generated a substantial turnover through fee-only services, outsourcing and consultancy (€300k+ pa)

Enjoyed a high profile reputation within the business community and as a valuable and contributing member of The British Chamber of Commerce and other business forums

Cemented long-term contacts internationally for potential future interaction and/or cooperation

Premier Global Recruitment Srl – Managing Partner A “British Style” recruitment agency created in direct response to the sudden need for a professional, dynamic, efficient and bespoke service-provider capable of responding to the enormous requirement for competent employees demanded by the multi nationals especially in the advent of Romania’s EU accession. Position Held: Founder and Managing Partner Responsible for the initial idea in reaction to the dramatically changing economic climate in Romania at that time and the positive effect it was likely to have on shaping the long-term employment market. Creating a recruitment company based on the British “model” was a timely and important one. It coincided perfectly with the increase in demand from existing industry as well as both new enterprises from overseas and the major international conglomerates, all of whom were in immediate need of suitable staff and a proficient and knowledgeable provider that they could communicate and work with resourcefully. The majority of placements were within the financial, management, sales, IT&C and FMCG sectors. With the demand from overseas for mass labour, I spearheaded a new direction for the company in year 2 by switching a proportion of time and resources to providing staff to major international clients especially in the gas and petrochemical sector and construction workers for the Vancouver Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Achievements:

Opened Romania’s first truly professional independent recruitment company

Worked closely with, and satisfied, all client requirements (e.g. ABN Amro Bank, Deloitte and Touche, PwC, Ernst & Young, Siemens, Citibank, Zapp Mobile, The Hilton Hotel, The Marriott Hotel, QP (Qatar Petroleum), Hudson Recruitment (as partners for overseas gas and petrochemical projects), Vancouver Winter Olympics (via partner recruitment company in Canada)

Managed all aspects of the company’s growth from inception through to a second year’s turnover in excess of Euro 250,000

Recruited, trained and managed a staff of 8 consultants

Sourced, negotiated and finalised a joint venture with a Canadian company for the Winter Olympics recruitment project

Initiated and oversaw the recruitment and placement of a CEO for the company

Introduced a comprehensive package of psychometric analysis, team-building and staff motivation programs for clients – the first to introduce such products to the Romanian market

Solely responsible for all marketing and sales, promotion and publicity and acquiring new clients

Regular participant/commentator to a series of British television, radio and newspaper interviews throughout Romania’s transition and membership to the European Union prior to 2005, in particular to BBC London, Radio 5-Live, The BBC World Service, ITN and ITV News, The Times, Daily Telegraph and The Daily Mail

Montague First Global Ltd – Director of Operations

An independent offshore financial services brokerage registered in the British Virgin Islands and specialising in the provision of personal financial consultancy primarily to English speaking expatriates internationally. In 1995, I was headhunted by the then world’s largest offshore brokerage, Britex International, to open a new office in Sao Paolo, Brazil and develop their company’s presence in South America. Two years later, I was transferred to take over the development of their base in Budapest, Hungary and expand their presence in south eastern and central Europe. In 1998, I launched my own brokerage, negotiated and entered into partnership with a similar company and then oversaw a 5 year plan of international expansion that was to include another company merger, the opening of 12 offices globally and ultimately the formation of head quarters in Bucharest, Romania. Position/s Held: In Brazil, as Regional Coordinator which was a position carried through to Hungary. Founder of OIS Ltd in 1998 and in partnership with two others, assumed the position of Director of Sales and Marketing. A merger in 2002 led to further developing that role until in 2003 overseeing the re-launch of the company as Montague First Global and taking up the post of Managing Director and Director of Operations. Achievements:

Developed from scratch a sales team and base of operation in Brazil. As a “virgin” territory at that time in the overseas financial services industry, was responsible for all research, analysis, promotion and prerequisite registration for a new enterprise in Brazil

Responsible for ensuring the smooth running and day to day activities of a team of 5 consultants in Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro and their general welfare, performance and advancement

Restructured the management and operation in Hungary and repeated the success and results achieved in Brazil. Adapted accordingly for the south eastern and central European market, Britex enjoyed substantial growth as a consequence of my new sales strategies

Identified the opportunity, acted upon it and duly initialised the opening of a new brokerage and subsequent takeover of another that laid the foundation for an ambitious expansion plan internationally

Radically reformed the entire approach of the sales drive and methodology of independent personal financial consultancy by careful recruitment, induction and training of new consultants and the introduction of a whole new commission payment structure, which was unique in the sector at that time

Oversaw and managed the opening of bases in Russia, Ghana, UAE, India, Singapore, Spain, Portugal, Romania, America (sub-office), UK (administrative office), Egypt, Thailand and Brazil

Created, continually developed and fine-tuned the telesales and marketing side to international financial sales and authored the book “The Coordinator’s Manual” (an introduction to life offshore and how to be a successful telesales person in the independent financial services industry abroad)

Held full signatory responsibilities and accountability to major providers of financial services globally, including Royal Skandia, Generali, Friend’s Provident, Zurich Life and MBC etc as Approved Master Agent

Kept abreast of changes in compliance issues and product provider’s changes to terms and conditions: duly informed all consultants and staff of such changes and ensured their attention to regulations and governance at all times

Responsible for all client’s privacy and confidentiality and in particular their financial data and circumstances

Developed personal commission-derived incomes for all my consultants circa £175,000 - £500,000 per annum and increased company profits year on year

Solely responsible for all publicity, marketing and development, membership to appropriate regulatory bodies and local business forums

As one of the first members of LinkedIn when it was launched in 2003, I became a leading internet based networker and subsequently generated over 80% of all new clients and revenue through on-line marketing

Recruited, vetted and trained all new consultants and telesales personnel

1982 – 1995 Upon leaving school, immediately entered the private sector and opened a carpet cleaning business in South London. I developed this to include commercial and contract cleaning and created a telesales department – which in the early 80’s was a new concept and something that I had never actually heard of before or knew anything about. Later, and for a period of a couple of years, I worked for local government at a particularly high profile and emotive time politically. I developed an interest in sales and marketing as a natural consequence of abilities and exposure to industries especially overseas. Before being appointed to Brazil, I founded and was managing a chain of recruitment agencies in the south west of England, with branches in Salisbury, Southampton, Reading, Oxford and London. However, my business life started in 1986 when, after selling the cleaning business that by then was the second largest of its sort in the south of England, relocated to Sierra Leone, West Africa, where I became involved with the gold and diamond mining business before opening a restaurant, bar and club in the capital, Freetown. This bar, called Aphrodite’s, was featured in Lonely Planet and was described as “...the best little bar and club in Africa...owned and managed by an inspired young Englishman with a natural flair and ability....if you are in Freetown be sure to call in and ask for Dominic....”

1986 – 1991 Business Owner; Sierra Leone, West Africa An intended two week holiday to visit my father who was based in Freetown at the time, resulted in my staying in Sierra Leone for the long term and so started the relationship with Africa that I maintain to this day. As an immature 21 year old, I am fond of saying that I very much “grew up” in Africa. Certainly, almost 30 years later, the ongoing devotion I have to the continent, its people and culture, its development and, in particular, my involvement with the fight to eradicate malaria, leave my heart and soul solidly grounded there. During my time in Sierra Leone I managed the famous Hill Station Club for a while – the only real 5* restaurant, bar and leisure club on the west coast and popular with the expatriate and business populations in Sierra Leone. I learned the basics of commerce and trade, opened and ran my own restaurant, bar and nightclub (Aphrodite’s) and ultimately became intimately involved in the gold and diamond mining business. I travelled extensively and was fortunate enough to live life at both ends of the spectrum; I saw life from the shielded safety of the embassy compound and lived life in the rural villages. In so doing, I learned at an early age that electricity, fresh water, medicine and the other essentials that we often take for granted are not necessarily the most vital tools required to survive.

Key Strengths

Throughout my professional career I have been responsible for setting up, opening, establishing and developing companies and businesses in the UK and, for over 25 years, around the world

Marketing and sales, new business development and market expansion, client acquisition and relationship building

My previous activity of founding and building businesses has given me extensive international exposure: I have opened offices or businesses and/or registered companies in West Africa (Sierra Leone and Ghana), South America (Brazil), Asia (India, Singapore, Thailand). Middle East (Dubai) and Europe (UK, Hungary, Bulgaria, Russia, Romania, Spain, Portugal) and, briefly, in America

Such activities have always required that I understand the local business methods and the "culture" in order to be able to operate successfully and legitimately in each location

I have a great deal of expertise in finding, meeting and negotiating with appropriate institutions, companies, sectors and government bodies for appropriate approvals, licenses, permits to trade etc

I am completely at home when “away from home” and am used to international travel, reacting to unexpected situations and adapting the occasion to gain maximum results

I posses an entrepreneurial approach to all that I do and this has always achieved an exceptional outcome and successful completion of whatever project I have undertaken or job I have been given

Due to my prior involvement with a large cross section of industry at all levels, I am entirely comfortable in all situations, but especially so at a hands-on management level when the role requires a high degree of innovative input, imagination, forward thinking, negotiation and the marketing of an idea or concept through to its ultimate inception and launch

For over 25 years I have worked in a variety of sectors and this has put me in direct contact with major financial institutions and product providers, clients from the entire cross section of international business (especially expatriates and heads of industry) and companies/organisations representing local as well as global interests

My background has provided me with solid and valuable skills when it comes to communication, sales, marketing, intervention, building cross border and internal relationships, situation handling, people management and customer care

I am "contact rich" and have a very substantial database of connections internationally. I am an accomplished international business networker and contribute regularly to numerous online business forums as well as offering wherever I can whatever advice I am able to, especially to those starting out in business or setting up their first company

I am particularly intent on exploiting and utilising my career of identifying, sourcing and developing new businesses, opportunities, products and services; the broad experience I have in new business start-up and development, marketing, sales and company/product expansion should appeal to a young, progressive and visionary company that has both a target to achieve and the means to do so

Attributes Conscientious, industrious, practical and resolute, I am a dynamic and unorthodox leader that inspires loyalty and commitment in others. I have a long history as an active networker and have played important roles in developing business networking groups and forums internationally. I have set-up and developed from scratch two telesales departments in two very diverse environments and both with outstanding results. I have formed companies and overseen their establishment and registration in more than a dozen countries. My personal databases of contacts exceed five million

businesspeople globally and I enjoy a good reputation as an introducer of business opportunities and projects internationally. An entrepreneur with a down-to-earth approach, I am also especially competent and successful when it comes to communication and the development of relationships, ideas and projects.

Memberships and Publications

The Romanian British Chamber of Commerce

The Hungarian British Chamber of Commerce

The Russian British Chamber of Commerce (Moscow Office)

The Brazilian British Chamber of Commerce (Sao Paolo Office)

The Indian British Chamber of Commerce (Mumbai and New Delhi Offices)

The Canadian Business Association (Romania)

Founding Member and first Vice President of The International Roundtable in Russia (Moscow 1 Branch)

The Brazilian International Roundtable (Sao Paulo 2 Branch)

Over 120 business recommendations and personal endorsements on LinkedIn

Member of The Institute of Directors (MIoD)

Author of “The Coordinator’s Manual”

Contributor to “Expat Life Magazine”

Interests

Foreign travel, culture and cuisine - especially relating to Africa, The Middle & Far East and South East Asia

Reading and correspondence

Theatre and jazz

Good food and wine from around the world

Business Networking and Local Community Awareness References are available upon request