Five Questions With: Michael F. Killoran

"Having spent 32 years in the transportation industry, 20 of those years working directly with Ed Braks, has provided me with the experience that I need to continue to guide our success."

Michael F. Killoran earlier this month was promoted to chief financial officer of Arpin Group, replacing Edward Braks who’s retired after 20 years of service with the international moving and storage company.
The family-owned company is headquartered in West Warwick and operates locally, nationally and internationally. Killoran joined Arpin Van Lines, a subsidiary of Aprin Group, in 1983 as a controller. He raised through the company ranks after the accounting functions of Arpin Van Lines and Arpin International Group were consolidated.
A Warwick resident, Killoran received a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Providence College. He will be responsible for all accounting, financial and tax-related matters for Arpin Group and all of its affiliates and subsidiaries.
Killoran talks with the Providence Business News about some of the challenges of keeping track of finances throughout the globe and how Arpin Group has remained successful for more than a century.

PBN: Former CFO Edward Braks has worked with the company for 20 years. What can you say about his tenure with the company and what strengths do you bring to the table?
KILLORAN:
Ed Braks was a major player in helping the Arpin Group expand both its domestic and international business while maintaining profitability during some very trying economic times. His leadership and mentoring skills were second to none; we are very fortunate that he is staying on as a member of our Board of Directors.
Having spent 32 years in the transportation industry, 20 of those years working directly with Ed Braks, has provided me with the experience that I need to continue to guide our success. Working in conjunction with the other members of our Management Committee my goal is to provide leadership towards improving our quality of service, streamlining our business processes and, expanding both our domestic and international business lines.

PBN: Arpin does business in Rhode Island, throughout the country and even around the world, what strategies do you use to keep track – and on top – of financial operations in different parts of the world?
KILLORAN:
Obviously there are many potential risks when you are involved with international business, such as compliance with import/export and customs laws, tariffs and other trade barriers, political risks, etc. Each of our foreign offices has been staffed with extremely qualified individuals, most of whom are citizens of the respective countries. Both their sales and accounting teams report directly to our headquarters here in RI on a regular basis along with periodic visits to each site. To strengthen our worldwide partner network and stay up with issues in each foreign country we have become a participating member of the Household Goods Forwarder’s Association, FIDI (Federation Internationale des Demenageurs Internationaux) and LACMA (Latin American & Caribbean Movers Association).

PBN: How has Arpin been able to expand its reach and presence over the years, what’s working?
KILLORAN:
Our growth, both domestically and internationally, has been primarily attributed to two factors. First is our ability to sell a full line of services such as: domestic and international moving, containerization, logistics services, warehousing, specialized fleet management of high volume items and relocation services. Second is our commitment to quality control. Our quality control program is based on a centralized relocation program, which assures that a single point of contact is made available to place all orders for services and to inquire on the status of a move.

- Advertisement -

PBN: What are some of the different currency issues, international regulations, timing and even cultural challenges you face when dealing in different parts of the world and how are they accommodated?
KILLORAN:
As mentioned earlier we have set up sales offices in key countries around the world, primarily based in areas where our major accounts are located. The sales and customer service staff in those offices are citizens of those respective countries and therefore are familiar with the currency issues, international regulations and cultural challenges. A portion of our revenues and expenses from our foreign operations are incurred in the local currency, however most of our accounts are US companies that will do business with us in U.S. funds. We also utilize foreign currency forward contracts hoping to manage our exposure to foreign currency fluctuations.

PBN: Where would you like to see the company go from here, what would you like to accomplish during your time in this new role?
KILLORAN:
My goal for the company is continued growth worldwide while maintaining consistent profitability for the shareholders and employees. We hope to attain that through our ongoing efforts to streamline and automate all internal processes, continued improvement and monitoring of our quality of service program and, an expanded sales effort globally by our sales team.

No posts to display