Robert Coale

Advance Paper Box Company · century-old packaging manufacturer, 500,000 sq ft · Los Angeles, CA

• Lifted return on sales from 3.1% to 11.7% while directing a $30M annual budget across finance, accounting, HR, ERP, IT security, and regulatory compliance.
• Grew revenue from $25M to $35M by expanding the client base and capitalizing on growth in the beauty industry vertical.
• Directing an ongoing $20M capital program, funded entirely internally with no outside debt or equity: a KBA 9-color 40 inch printing press, three Bobst die-cutting machines, and a Bobst Masterfoil stamping machine.
• Automated the monthly close from 3 days to 2 hours; secured $6.5M in PPP funding as crisis liquidity at the onset of COVID-19.
• Expanded recycling into a waste diversion program generating $500K annually, supporting ISO 14001, zero-waste, and Sedex positioning.
• Lead a 5-person finance and accounting team; own the external audit, tax planning with outside CPA, and all banking compliance reporting; developed the capital and process plan for ownership transition.

CFS Capital Group · independent advisory practice · Westlake Village, CA

• Took a stagnant youth sports training company, founded by a former NBA player, to a Nike royalty licensing agreement for NBA China and Asia distribution within 90 days, underwritten by $5M in new capital that fully closed and funded.
• Advised private equity, investment, and joint venture clients across telecommunications, banking, nonprofit, entertainment, licensing, merchant processing, and real estate development.
• Led IPO readiness preparation and investor relations for emerging companies across multiple sectors.

Coale Financial Services · bridge, title, and subprime auto lending · Downey, CA

• Founded and built the firm to a peak $6M portfolio across 500 serviced contracts, with an 8-person team over underwriting, servicing, collections, and operations.
• Pioneered GPS tracking as standard practice in subprime auto lending, a risk control later copied across the California Financial Services Association membership.
• Sold the business to CFS Acceptance LLC in 2014.

Multi-Brand Auto Dealership Franchise · Dodge, Chrysler, Kia, Mitsubishi, Jeep · Whittier, CA

• Owned and operated a multi-brand automotive dealership, managing vehicle sales, inventory, and staff across five franchised nameplates.
• Built the retail automotive and challenged-credit operating experience that preceded the launch of Coale Financial Services.

Mrs. Cubbison’s Foods, Inc. · Marie Callender’s joint venture, 80%-owned IBC subsidiary (NYSE) · Montebello, CA

• Delivered the reporting, cost accounting, and controls behind revenue growth from $7M to $80M and profit growth from $700K to $12M, converting a single-season regional brand into a year-round national and international business.
• Monetized 100,000 sq ft of warehouse space idle 75% of the year, cutting the overhead allocation rate from 65% to 25% of production cost; cut core raw material costs 34% through competitive bidding and vendor-managed, just-in-time inventory.
• Prepared business unit financials, due diligence, and compliance materials supporting parent IBC’s LBO, MBO, and 1991 NYSE offering that generated $250M to retire leveraged-buyout debt (10-K, 10-Q, 8-K).
• Built an employee-owned safety culture that achieved the #1 workers’ compensation result among the company’s 65 U.S. facilities.