Sandy LAZARAKI
Athens
Summary
Results-driven senior finance leader with 20 years’ experience in commercial finance, FP&A, and business controlling across FMCG and multinational environments. Proven track record of leading teams and partnering with executives to drive financial performance and support strategic decision-making. Skilled in financial planning, trade investment management, and profitability optimization, with expertise in implementing forecasting tools and reporting processes. Recognized for a collaborative leadership style and the ability to translate financial insights into strategies that deliver sustainable growth.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
Work History
Financial & Planning Analysis Manager
Sarantis Group
09.2023 - Current
- Lead FP&A for five business units with over €180M in annual sales, providing financial leadership and strategic insights to senior stakeholders.
- Manage and mentor a team of three senior analysts, driving capability building and fostering a high-performance culture.
- Provide financial leadership in establishing new affiliate collaborations by developing robust business cases, improving transparency and profitability management.
- Co-led major market transformation projects, including traditional trade route-to-market redesign and adaptation to new pricing laws, delivering greater transparency & improved gross margin performance.
- Co-led the group-wide implementation of a new forecasting tool (SAP Analytics Cloud), partnering with external consultants in weekly design sessions to build sales and A&P planning modules, improving forecasting accuracy and standardization across the business.
Commercial Finance Manager
Sarantis group
01.2022 - 08.2023
- Partner to General Manager, Finance Director, and senior leadership, providing strategic financial insights, ensuring business performance stays on track, and aligning financial direction with overall business strategy.
- Managed and developed a team of 2 commercial finance analysts, providing leadership, coaching, and capability building to strengthen the finance function.
- Directed financial planning and analysis for strategic initiatives, including pricing strategy, risk assessments, new product launches, acquisitions, and long-range (5-year) planning.
- Designed and developed a financial tool and performance dashboard to track key drivers of net sales, margin, and strategic partner performance. Established a centralized, go-to reference for performance management that improved clarity, structured insights, and enabled better tactical control and long-term strategic decision-making.
Business Controller
Elpedison S.A
07.2020 - 12.2021
- Monitored business performance by conducting in-depth variance analysis against budget and forecast, ensuring deviations were fully explained and corrective actions implemented.
- Prepared and analyzed financial budgets and mid-term plans, providing clear insights to senior management for strategic and operational decision-making.
- Supported investment decisions through pre- and post-evaluation of projects, ensuring capital allocation aligned with profitability and strategic objectives.
- Designed and deployed a comprehensive reporting package for multiple business units (Production, Retail, and Energy Services), aligned with the new target operating model, improving transparency and management oversight.
Commercial Senior Financial Analyst
Colgate Palmolive SE Europe
05.2018 - 04.2019
- Owned commercial budgeting and planning processes, ensuring accurate forecasts and alignment with corporate targets.
- Provided valuable insights by leading monthly variance analysis reviews between actual results and budget/forecast expectations.
- Developed annual rebate models incorporating actuals and estimates, improving visibility of trade spend and supporting profitability management.
- Enabled informed decision-making by presenting key findings from complex data sets in clear, concise formats for senior leadership team members.
Hub Finance Manager
Colgate Palmolive SE Europe
09.2015 - 05.2018
- Led financial management across South East Europe, overseeing full spend tracking, variance analysis, and budgeting from net sales through OPEX.
- Provided financial leadership to the Home Care Category, supporting marketing teams with insights that enhanced category strategy and execution.
- Spearheaded the implementation of the global financial planning process and technology in South East Europe, standardizing practices, improving forecasting accuracy, and enabling greater efficiency in planning cycles.
Senior Financial Analyst
Colgate Palmolive SE Europe
10.2009 - 09.2015
- Prepared monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reports, delivering variance analysis and commentary versus historical and budgeted figures to support executive decision-making.
- Contributed to financial planning processes, revising budget assumptions and preparing forecasts (Mid-Year and Annual Budget reviews) to ensure accuracy and alignment with strategic objectives.
- Enhanced finance’s role within marketing and customer development teams, providing insights that strengthened commercial strategy and resource allocation.
- Design of a training program to educate commercial team on the most
important Financial KPIS of the company.
Financial Analyst
Dia Hellas Carrefour Group of Companies
03.2008 - 10.2009
- Prepared monthly P&L statements and conducted EBIT analysis by store, ensuring transparency of financial performance and identifying profitability drivers.
Financial Logistics coordinator
BP Marine Hellas
09.2006 - 10.2007
Education
Master’s Degree - Finance
ALBA Graduate Business School
Greece06.2006
Bachelor’s Degree - Shipping Finance
University Of Piraeus
Greece02.2005
Skills
- Commercial Finance & Business Partnering
- Profitability & P&L Ownership
- Financial Systems & Transformation
- Leadership & Stakeholder Management
Language
English
French
Timeline
Financial & Planning Analysis Manager
Sarantis Group
09.2023 - Current
Commercial Finance Manager
Sarantis group
01.2022 - 08.2023
Business Controller
Elpedison S.A
07.2020 - 12.2021
Commercial Senior Financial Analyst
Colgate Palmolive SE Europe
05.2018 - 04.2019
Hub Finance Manager
Colgate Palmolive SE Europe
09.2015 - 05.2018
Senior Financial Analyst
Colgate Palmolive SE Europe
10.2009 - 09.2015
Financial Analyst
Dia Hellas Carrefour Group of Companies
03.2008 - 10.2009
Financial Logistics coordinator
BP Marine Hellas
09.2006 - 10.2007
Master’s Degree - Finance
ALBA Graduate Business School
Bachelor’s Degree - Shipping Finance
University Of Piraeus
Courses
𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐀𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐲 “6𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫"
Sarantis/Sep 2024-June 2025
RGM and effective Pricing
Pricing One/Jan 2022-Jan 2022
Accelerated Management Program
Yale School of Management Executive Education/ Sep 2019- Dec 2019
Awards
- Distinctive Award – Dr. Beckmann Collaboration (Sarantis): Recognized for leading financial support in establishing a new affiliate partnership.
- Distinctive Award – General Manager of Greece (Sarantis): Awarded for excellent performance and contribution to business success.
- Distinctive Award – Colgate: Honored for outstanding performance and cross-functional collaboration in finance leadership.
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