Expert in leading interim teams to quickly produce positive results

(919) 599-2296

Gene Kemp

Telephone: (919) 599-2296

Email: genekemp@peregrinellc.us

GENE KEMP, founder and CEO of Peregrine, is an accomplished executive with over 36 years of financial and operational experience in a variety of industries including engineering, construction, energy, hospitality, healthcare, manufacturing and consumer products.

He has executed numerous financial and operational restructurings while serving as the CEO, CFO and Director of both publicly and privately-held multi-national corporations. His experience also includes strategic planning, human resources, supply management, risk management, IT and M&A. His expertise in the international arena extends throughout North and South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

As Chief Restructuring Officer of Environmental Chemical Corporation (ECC), Gene led the formulation and execution of a business plan that increased profitability while retiring all term indebtedness from a commercial bank. The company’s working capital and cash flow improved significantly as fixed operating and overhead expenses were reduced. New surety capacity was achieved.

As CEO of a construction industry subsidiary of Obayashi Corporation, Gene implemented enhanced business processes which resulted in significantly improved cash flow and profitability for the company. He led a significant restructuring of the business, incorporating the closing of unprofitable divisions while successfully completing large public and private construction projects.

As interim CFO of Weeks Marine, a leading marine construction and dredging company, he directed the company’s finance and IT operations while performing a prominent role in strategic planning. Gene’s financial leadership was a key ingredient to enhancing the organization’s business processes during a period in which the company achieved record performance results. Under his guidance the company implemented new and improved ERP systems, cash management techniques, project cost control and enhanced financial reporting.

Personal and professional

Gene attended the University of Texas at Austin where he studied economics. He earned a BBA in finance and accounting at SMU’s Cox School of Business and completed executive education at Duke’s Fuqua school of Business. He was formerly President of the New York Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA), national board member of CFMA, adjunct professor at New York University, a member of the Executive Leadership Institute at the University of Missouri, and the Financial Executive Institute. Frequent speaker at industry gatherings and universities and has proudly served his country as a US Army officer.

Gene’s other major assignments included:

  • Serving as EVP and CFO of Kinetic Systems, Inc.,

    a global mechanical engineering and construction company where Gene was instrumental in turning around the company’s financial position over a thirty-month period. During that time, he implemented changes that enabled the company to reverse a trend of net operating losses and experience substantial growth in net income and a positive cash flow while retiring all term indebtedness. Under his direction, the company secured a new revolving line of credit from a commercial bank, was able to release of all shareholder guarantees, completed the assessment and implementation of a substantially upgraded Oracle ERP system which provided enhanced cost controls, achieved state of the art cash management and significantly reduced the company’s financial reporting cycle.

  • Serving as EVP and Board member of HBE Corporation,

    a privately-held corporation that owned and operated upscale convention hotel properties and is the nation’s largest design-build firm of healthcare facilities. Gene led the divestiture of significant hospitality assets to private equity investors while negotiating revised lender terms eliminating default conditions and extending maturities.

  • Serving as VP Finance of ABB’s Power Generation Group,

    Gene was played a key role in the performance turnaround of the company’s Combustion Engineering Systems division. Under Gene’s guidance, this leading provider of integrated power and automation solutions achieved or exceeded its financial projections for sixteen successive quarters. These accomplishments led to Gene’s increased responsibility in the company, both domestically and internationally. He successfully directed the installation of an ERP management information system, was responsible for risk management, strategic planning and merger and acquisitions.

  • Serving as EVP of LVI Group, Inc., (NYSE),

    Gene met the turnaround and restructuring challenge of this large publicly-held interior construction, asbestos abatement and manufacturing business by facilitating a new issue of common stock on the NYSE that replaced high yield publicly held debt and preferred stock.

  • Gene began his professional career in public accounting

    with Ernst and Young prior to joining PepsiCo where he held several positions of increasing responsibility in financial management.