Dive

Fishing

Music

Outdoor

Snow

Surf

Swim

Triathlon

Finance

Sustainability

Strategy

•	Responsible for creation of Chief Financial Officer’s direct report to company VP’s, President, and Ownership, consisting of A/R and A/P tracking, company-specific and industry-wide KPI’s, financial statement reporting & turnaround-to-publish timelines, trust and internal ticket reporting

•	Creator of the Group’s cash flow forecast and responsible for updating cash flow (weekly), payroll (bi-monthly, 300 employees), and EBITDA (monthly) forecasts

•	Developer of commission reports for Sales, Collector, and Attorney teams, following company-wide systems conversion, as well as budget creation for each of the six companies within The Group's portfolio

•      Manager of The Group's credit card and expense reporting processes during system conversion; charged with A/R and A/P maintenance of the General Ledger through importing/exporting, adjusting, and   journal entries of both vendor and inter-company transactions 

Financial Analyst (Contract)

•	Managed a $2B processing volume portfolio with a loss rate 70% below industry average by employing risk models and portfolio analytics to detect fraud patterns and loss scenarios

•	Pioneered company arbitration platform with partner, First National Bank of Omaha, by implementing the use of customer Credit Bureau reports into comprehensive client viability evaluation leading to a 300% increase in annualized processing volume from 2013 to 2015

•	Strategized with partner bank representatives to hedge against company losses, culminating in a 4% decrease in company-wide write-off percentage 

•	Negotiated contracts, with partner lenders, based on customer financial/credit position; conducted verification and client cancellation calls that improved customer retention rate 17%


Senior Risk Analyst

• Vessel operations

• Sailing charters

First Mate

• Deckhand

• Surf and Diving trips and classes

Deckhand | Surf & Scuba Instructor

• Guided diving trips to Great Barrier Reef

• Taught Open Water and Advanced scuba courses

First Mate | Instructor

•	Increased company sales 150% through streamlining inventory for higher profitability, diversifying available scuba courses, and improving business practices

•	Developed policy regarding short and long-range product forecasts resulting in increased ITO 

•	Maintained lean inventory schedule through diligent tracking of cross-category metrics 


Manager | Instructor

Find out detailed information about Bret Merchant,  in Portland, OR

Bret Merchant: in Portland, OR

Bret Merchant

UC Santa Barbara

University of Oregon