Operations & Finance Leadership
Run efficient operations with clean books, strong controls and reporting leaders can act on.
Open to remote opportunitiesUnited Arab Emirates
Mildred S. Cruz
Operations, Finance, Brand Growth & Digital Lead
I turn complex operations into clear, efficient systems—combining financial discipline, AI-powered automation and reporting that helps leaders make confident decisions.
Open to: Operations Lead · Chief of Staff · Executive Assistant to the CEO · Automation & Process Roles · Brand Growth Lead
18+
Years of Experience
9
Organizations Served
34+
Trainings & Certifications
8+
Industries
Staffing · Food · Luxury Retail · Engineering · Pharmaceuticals · Education · Insurance · Banking
Companies I’ve Worked With
Virtual Teammate · Operations & Automations Lead
NMC Green Foods OPC · Remote Consultant
Chalhoub Group · Accountant
Al Habtoor Engineering · Assistant Accountant
Pascual Laboratories Inc. · Internal Audit Supervisor
AMA Computer University · Internal Audit Supervisor
UCPB General Insurance · Internal Audit Assistant
INFOCOM Communications Network · Telecommunicator
United Coconut Planters Bank · General Bank Teller
About
Operations built on clarity and care
I am an operations, finance and compliance leader with more than 18 years of experience across staffing, retail, engineering, pharmaceuticals, education, insurance and banking. An accountant by profession — BS Accountancy, with a Master in Business Administration — I have spent my career making the numbers behind a business clear, honest and useful.
Most recently, as Operations & Automations Lead at Virtual Teammate (Feb–Sep 2026), a US-based virtual staffing company, I worked as a key partner to the CEO. My mission is simple: help companies unlock their full earning potential while keeping strong governance and compliance — now using AI and automation to make operations faster, leaner and smarter.
What I Bring
Financial Discipline
Clean books, tight controls and reporting leaders can act on with confidence.
Process Excellence
Standard workflows, SOPs and QA systems that keep quality steady as teams grow.
AI-Driven Automation
Practical automation that removes manual work and gives hours back to the team.
Roles I'm a fit for
Where I can help your team
My core strength is operations, finance and automation leadership — and the same skills make me effective in executive support and coordination roles.
Automation & Digital Growth
Build AI-powered tools and workflows that save hours and grow the brand's digital reach.
Executive Assistant / Chief of Staff
Partner with the CEO on priorities, reporting, communication and special projects, as I did at Virtual Teammate.
Project & Proposal Coordination
Keep projects, documents and deadlines organized from start to delivery.
Experience
Eighteen years of building order
Feb 2026 – Sep 2026
Operations & Automations Lead
Virtual Teammate
In detail
- Strategic operations & leadership support — acted as key partner to the CEO, delivering data-driven insights, executive dashboards and cross-functional oversight across operations, finance and recruiting.
- Systems, data & reporting optimization — built and managed advanced Power BI models, performance dashboards and internal systems (ATS, CRM, time-tracking, ROI tools) to enable informed decision-making.
- AI-powered internal tools — designed and built 5 AI-powered web apps, including the VT Academy learning platform (in development) and an SBAR issue-reporting tool.
- Automation & process excellence — designed automation frameworks, standardized workflows and implemented SOPs and QA systems to improve efficiency, scalability and team productivity.
- Cost optimization & growth enablement — led vendor rationalization, optimized tech stack investments and supported new service-line launches aligned with AI-driven operations and virtual staffing innovation.
Nov 2025 – Feb 2026
Executive Assistant to the CEO/Founder
Virtual Teammate
In detail
- Sophisticated calendar management for the CEO — prioritizing urgent and important matters and resolving conflicts to keep operations smooth.
- Completed a broad range of administrative work, including preparing reports and presentation decks.
- Served as primary point of contact for internal and external constituencies on all matters pertaining to the CEO, handling sensitive communication with discretion.
- Assisted with special projects and initiatives, ensuring timely completion and alignment with organizational goals.
Aug 2022 – Nov 2025
Remote Consultant
NMC Green Foods OPC
In detail
- Brand & digital growth — designed product packaging and produced short video ads, moving a previously manual process to digital.
- Market expansion — grew the brand's reach from local customers to international audiences through social media and digital presence.
- Oversaw overall operations of the business end to end.
- Evaluated the company's internal and external affairs and formulated systems and procedures.
- Designed the company's marketing and promotional materials.
- Ensured efficient and effective implementation of existing policies and procedures, proposing improvements where necessary.
May 2016 – Jul 2022
Career Break — Family, Small Food Business & Upskilling
Time devoted to family while running a small home baking and food business and completing online courses in data, e-commerce and business.
See training & certificatesApr 2009 – Apr 2016
Accountant
Chalhoub Group, UAE
In detail
- Financial reporting & general ledger — oversaw daily accounting operations, maintained the general ledger and ensured timely, accurate monthly financial reporting.
- Reconciliations, compliance & audit support — led post-close reconciliations, maintained detailed financial records and coordinated year-end audits for full compliance and documentation integrity.
- AR & AP oversight — managed invoicing, collections and supplier payments, ensuring proper documentation, approvals and adherence to credit terms and timelines.
- Analysis, budgeting & cost optimization — supported budgeting and forecasting, performed departmental analysis and drove process improvements for efficiency, accuracy and cost control.
Jul 2008 – Jan 2009
Assistant Accountant
Al Habtoor Engineering, UAE
In detail
- Site financial management — maintained site financial records and monitored project completion, ensuring alignment with head-office reporting.
- Reconciliation & reporting — reconciled site billing, project ledgers and asset registers against head-office records for accuracy and consistency.
- Project cost control — tracked and validated site project cost reports to ensure proper financial oversight and variance management.
- Materials & inventory reporting — prepared summary reports for material requisitions and inter-site transfers to support accurate tracking and accountability.
Nov 2007 – Jul 2008
Internal Audit Supervisor
Pascual Laboratories Inc., Philippines
In detail
- Audit planning & execution — prepared audit schedules, programs, staffing plans and reporting requirements aligned with the Annual Audit Plan.
- Review & reporting — reviewed working papers and audit reports and finalized outputs for submission to Management and the Audit Committee.
- Research & continuous improvement — researched audit best practices, methodologies and emerging strategies to enhance audit effectiveness.
- Team leadership — supervised, monitored and evaluated staff performance, including conducting annual performance reviews.
Feb 2004 – Oct 2007
Internal Audit Supervisor
AMA Computer University, Philippines
In detail
- Audit planning & execution management — led audit planning, scheduling and assignment delegation, ensuring timely completion in line with approved audit plans.
- Review & finalization of audit deliverables — reviewed working papers and audit reports, ensuring quality, accuracy and readiness for submission to the Internal Audit Head.
- Audit program enhancement — maintained and updated audit program guides to align with company policies, procedures and evolving best practices.
- Team supervision & resource planning — oversaw staff performance, conducted evaluations and assessed staffing needs for optimal audit team capacity.
Sep 1998 – May 2003
Internal Audit Assistant
UCPB General Insurance, Philippines
In detail
- Audit execution support — assisted in conducting internal audits in alignment with the annual audit plan.
- Working papers & documentation — prepared and organized audit schedules and working papers to ensure completeness and accuracy.
- Reporting & analysis — summarized audit findings and supported the preparation of audit reports for finalization.
- Findings resolution & closure — tracked, documented and helped finalize the disposition and closure of audit findings.
Projects
Selected Projects
Practical solutions across web applications, reporting, operations, and automation.
Snapshots are anonymized to protect client and company data.
1–2 days saved/week
Executive Power BI Dashboard
Results
- Saves 1–2 working days per week of manual report building
- About 10 key metrics across all 5 departments in one executive view
- Refreshes on demand with one click
Leadership gained a single, current view of performance without the weekly manual report build.
- Power BI
- Power Query
- Excel
~30 SOPs
SOP & QA System for Virtual Teammates
Results
- Around 30 SOPs documented
- Covers about 20 internal admin staff and 60 virtual teammates
- Fewer errors and client complaints, faster onboarding and higher retention
A shared, documented quality standard that teammates and reviewers can work from.
~$4K/month saved
Tech Stack & Vendor Rationalization
Results
- Around 30 subscriptions reviewed
- More than 10 overlapping tools removed
- Around $4,000 saved per month ($48,000 per year)
A leaner, reviewed tech stack with overlapping tools identified and removed.
~2 hrs saved/week
AI-Enabled Virtual Teammate Model
Results
- Automated routine admin tasks, including interview scoring
- Saves about 2 hours per week
- Piloted and used internally by admin staff and virtual teammates
Routine tasks shift to automation so teammates can focus on higher-value client work.
- Claude
- n8n
- Gemini
Web App Solutions
In development
Learning & Development
VT Academy Learning Platform
Training resources, course navigation and progress tracking in one organized workspace.
Results
- Library of 32 courses covering digital marketing, AI tools, automation and data analysis.
Helps virtual team members build practical skills and track their learning at a glance.
- Lovable
Ready for rollout
Reporting & Escalation
SBAR Reporting Tool
Structured issue escalation built around Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendation.
Clear, consistent escalation reports that are easy to prepare and share.
- Lovable
Ready for use
Lead CRM
Lead-to-client funnel tracker.
Results
- Built to track 5,000+ leads across 5 funnel stages
- Presented to the CEO and ready for use
Helps teams organize lead tracking and identify which stage requires attention.
- Lovable
In use
Competitive Intel Desk
Competitor activity tracker for business planning.
Results
- Tracks 12 competitors for the Marketing department
- Live dashboard that refreshes on demand
Helps teams review competitor activity when planning their next actions.
- Claude
- Cloudflare
In use
Project Management
Project Automation Tracker
Management tool for automation projects.
Results
- Tracks 18 automation projects in one place
Provides a dedicated place to organize and review automation projects.
- Lovable
In use · client rollout planned100+ interviews scored
Recruitment Automation
Interview Scoring Cards
Role-specific interview scoring.
Results
- Used across all major roles for 100+ interviews
- Scores are calculated automatically
Provides a tailored format for recording interview evaluations.
- Claude
- Google Sheets
Expertise & Tools
Where I make the biggest difference
Strategic Operations & CEO Support
Data-driven insights, executive dashboards and cross-functional oversight.
Automation & Process Design
Automation frameworks, standardized workflows, SOPs and QA systems.
Data, Dashboards & Reporting
Power BI models, performance dashboards and ATS/CRM/ROI tools.
Finance & Accounting
General ledger, reconciliations, AR/AP, budgeting, forecasting and cost control.
Internal Audit & Compliance
Audit planning, working papers, findings resolution and governance.
Cost Optimization & Growth
Vendor rationalization, tech stack investment and new service-line launches.
Brand Growth & Digital Platforms
Marketing materials, digital platforms and web apps that help a business grow.
Project & Team Coordination
Cross-functional project tracking, team coordination and follow-through aligned with business priorities.
Training & Onboarding
Documented procedures, onboarding workflows and learning resources that help teams work consistently.
Tools
AI & Automation
- Claude
- Codex
- n8n
- Lovable
- Gamma
- Google AI Studio
- Gemini
- HeyGen
- Supabase
- GitHub
- Cloudflare
Data & Finance
- Excel
- Power BI
- Power Query
- SAP
- Oracle
- QuickBooks Online
Productivity & Business
- MS Office
- Google Workspace
- HubSpot
- Helium 10
- Notion
- Trello
- Canva
Working style
- Communication
- Stakeholder Management
- Project Management
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Time Management
- Attention to Detail
- Collaboration
- Teamwork
- Calendar & Email Management
- Administration
- Confidentiality & Discretion
Education
Grounded in accountancy
Master in Business Administration
Baliuag University
2008
BS Accountancy
Philippine School of Business Administration
1998
Certifications
Continuous learning
Courses, training programmes, and participation, with the most relevant first.
AI & Automation
- AI Agents Accelerator · In progress
- AI Generalist Accelerator Program · Outskill · Aug 2026
- Outskill AI Accelerator C13 Hackathon 2026 · Outskill · Aug 20262-Day Innovation Challenge · Participation
- Generative AI Bootcamp · Outskill · May 2026
- Generative AI Mastermind · Outskill · Sep 2025
Data & Power BI
- Power Query Course · Datacense · Oct 2026
- Career Boost with Power BI and AI · Exodus Experts · Nov 2025
- Data Analysis Using Power BI · Datacense · Nov 2025
- Career Boost with Power BI · Exodus Experts · Feb 2024
- Excel Essentials: The Complete Excel Series – Level 1, 2 & 3 · Udemy · Sep 2021
Business & Finance
- E-Commerce Bookkeeping · Surge Marketplace · Sep 2022
- Learn Team and Project Management · Surge Marketplace · Sep 2022
- Mastering QuickBooks Online · Udemy · Oct 2021
- Project Management · International Business Management Institute (IBMI) · Oct 2021
Contact
Let’s discuss your next operational challenge.
Whether you're hiring for operations, finance, brand growth, automation or executive support, I'd welcome a conversation about the role and how I can help.
EmailSend me an emailLinkedInmildred-salisi-cruz
LocationUnited Arab EmiratesTime zone: GST (UTC+4) · Available across US, UK, EU, APAC and Australia hours