Welcome to my blog. I’m excited to get started providing insight and guidance on all things financial from budgeting to retirement planning, to savings and building a nest egg. I’ll do this by posting frequently about those topics and much more. I’ll also touch on business management and technology, especially technology that involves investing, financial calculators, and budget spreadsheets. I’ll teach you how to create and manage a budget, identify how much money you should be saving for retirement, how much you should have set aside for emergencies and help you with a disciplined approach to saving for your future no matter how late in the game you are coming to plan for your retirement. You’ll learn these concepts from me, so you don’t have to bootstrap your retirement so that it isn’t a lean one.
A little about James
James is the CFO for a leading non-profit in San Diego, California. He manages all things financial, including budgeting, the company retirement plan, strategic planning, and financial planning and analysis.
James has managed over $4 billion in combined assets during his career, raised over $300 million in capital, and analyzed thousands of financial statements. He has also managed finance & technology teams across multiple states like Colorado, Washington, New Mexico, Virginia, and internationally; Manila, Chennai, and Bangalore.
At this time in my career, I want to share the knowledge that I’ve learned over the years for companies and apply those skills to individuals and families. By providing my expertise in financial management topics that include budgeting, retirement planning, cash flow management, time value of money concepts, investment planning, eliminating debt, increasing your rate of savings, managing your credit cards, insurance, calculating your net worth, banking tips, and overall money management.
James has become a financial expert in several sectors that include Start-Ups, Technology, Telecommunications, Investment Banking, Non-Profit, Government, and K-12 Education.
As the CFO of one of the largest public-school systems in California, he successfully managed the school system’s $2 billion financial plan during the 2008/09 recession, eliminating over $200 million dollars of operating expenses. During that time, he financed over $150 million dollars of public financing that stabilized the organization’s cash needs. He worked directly with Goldman Sachs to structure a successful sale of the first $170 million-dollar tranche of a $2 billion-dollar bond program. He was the recipient of the Far West Deal of the Year Award, by Bond Buyer Magazine.
James was the Director of Finance at Qwest Information Technologies, at the time a wholly owned subsidiary of Qwest Communications. He helped manage the over $1 billion financial plan, instituting a 4-day month-end close process, and managing a finance team across multi-states. He also built and managed the technology investment team, which approved all technology projects corporate-wide.
James has also been active in the community by serving on the Alumni Board of Directors’ at the University of Colorado and Regis University. He was also the President of the San Diego Chapter of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs and the Vice President of Education for the Denver Chapter. He is also very passionate about lacrosse, serving as the Head Coach for a varsity girls’ lacrosse team at a local area San Diego High School.
He received his BSBA (finance) and MBA from the Anderson College of Business at Regis University and his MPA from the School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado.