← huan zhu

Work

Strategic finance & FP&A, over 12 years of experience.

I've supported multi-billion-dollar businesses across real estate, asset management and financial services, at two banks, a manufacturer, BlackRock, and now Newmark, where I lead strategic finance for the global brokerage business.

I own the FP&A process end to end, from budgeting and forecasting to board-level reporting. The part I enjoy most is fixing the plumbing: building AI-enabled forecasting and reporting systems that give executives live visibility instead of static decks.

Some things I've built

(each one has a little sketch you can play with; all the numbers are made up)

at Newmark · revenue forecasting

Getting brokers out of their inboxes

An AI-assisted forecasting platform on top of the ERP that pulls in live pipeline updates. It replaced 30 emailed submissions and static decks, rolled out to 30 operations managers covering ~1,500 brokers, and became the C-suite's single source of truth. Forecast miss went from ~10% to ~2%.

see the sketch → at Newmark · month-end reporting

From a two-week close to real-time reporting

Replaced a two-week manual month-end cycle with real-time AI reporting that turns fragmented data into prioritized action lists for business and senior leaders. Finance moved from reporting results to recommending actions.

see the sketch → at BlackRock · workforce planning

A headcount model that ties out

Headcount and compensation planning models covering hiring capacity, payroll taxes, bonus structures and workforce analytics, so long-range plans finally added up.

see the sketch →

How I usually do it

  1. Follow the number around. Who sends what to whom, and when. Most of the error happens in the hand-offs.

  2. Pull from the source. Get pipeline and actuals straight from the ERP, so nobody re-types anything.

  3. Give AI the boring parts. Checking data, flagging weird stuff, writing first drafts, ranking what needs attention. People still make the calls.

  4. Make it the only version. Roll it out with the business, switch off the old process, and keep score on accuracy every month.

Background

2022 – now

Newmark

Finance Director, Head of Strategic Finance & FP&A, Global Brokerage · New York
  • Lead strategic finance, forecasting, budgeting and executive reporting for a 3,000+ person, $2B global brokerage. Partner directly with the CFO, COO and senior leaders on strategic decisions, organizational planning and acquisition analyses.
  • Built the AI-assisted forecasting platform and real-time AI reporting described above.
  • Supported international expansion across Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany, France and Italy, working with local leaders on business plans, forecasting, budgeting and reporting.
  • Built financial models to evaluate hiring strategies, office expansion, technology investments and cost optimization, supporting margin improvement across global business lines.
  • Prepare quarterly business reviews, board materials, annual operating plans and executive presentations.
2018 – 2022

BlackRock

Associate → Vice President, Financial Planning & Analysis · New York
  • Led strategic finance and FP&A for the US & Canada region, a 1,000+ person, $6B revenue organization, and managed a team supporting the USCA Institutional Client Business.
  • Led revenue and AUM forecasting with product teams and business leaders, using pipeline analytics and trend-based modeling.
  • Designed headcount and compensation planning models for long-range planning.
  • Modernized sales and performance metrics for the firm's alternatives growth strategy, improving consistency across investment teams and regions.
  • Partnered with the COO to find operational efficiencies and optimize resource allocation.
2016 – 2018

Polytex Environmental Inks

Financial Analyst → Senior Financial Analyst, FP&A · New York
  • Led budgeting, forecasting and consolidation across four subsidiaries in the US, Europe and Asia, producing board-level reporting packages.
  • Improved gross margins by 5% through cost optimization and production strategy, and improved working capital through inventory and operating cycle changes.
  • Built and scaled the finance function for Polytex China, cutting finance-related costs by 45%.
2015 – 2016

Bank of China

Financial Analyst · New York

Financial performance and expense analysis supporting budgeting, forecasting and strategic decisions for the New York office.

2011 – 2013

China Construction Bank

Analyst · Beijing

Financial reporting and variance analysis for retail banking operations and budget management. Where it all started.

Toolbox

what I do

Strategic finance · FP&A · revenue forecasting · scenario planning · financial modeling · headcount planning · KPI & dashboard development · finance transformation · AI-enabled finance automation · executive & board reporting · capital allocation · cross-functional leadership

what I use

Claude · Perplexity · Power BI · Oracle Hyperion · IBM Cognos TM1 / Analytics · SAP Business One

school

CFA charterholder · MS Finance, Simon Business School, University of Rochester (2014) · BA Economics, Xiamen University (2011) · exchange program, Georgetown University (2010)

languages

English (fluent) · Mandarin (native)

Every chart here uses made-up numbers. Nothing confidential from any employer.