bergawi's CV
bergawi meher
Credit & Collections Manager | Senior Credit Controller | Regional Credit Controller | Receivable Accounts Manager
Profile summary
Results-driven Credit and Collections Manager with 14+ years of progressive experience managing high-value receivables portfolios, designing credit risk frameworks, and leading collections operations across Qatar and the GCC (Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia). Specializes in credit risk assessment, DSO reduction, collections strategy design, and working capital optimization for complex multi-entity environments. Proven ability to build credit control infrastructures from the ground up — including SOP suites, credit limit calculation engines, risk-tiered approval workflows, QTN evaluation processes, and executive reporting systems covering a high-volume AR portfolio. Experienced in leading regional collections teams, managing high-risk account escalations, coordinating with legal counsel on debt recovery, and presenting board-level performance dashboards to Finance Directors and Senior Management. Adept in SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, and Advanced Excel. Bilingual in Arabic and English with immediate availability and active Qatar residency.
Career highlights
Credit Risk Management: Conducts credit risk assessments and approves credit limits for key clients using a structured tiered methodology incorporating bureau data, financial ratios, and cash flow analysis.
Infrastructure Development: Built a complete Credit and Collections infrastructure from the ground up, including an SOP suite, credit limit calculation engine, and payment terms approval workflow.
Reporting and Forecasting: Presents monthly executive reports and board-level dashboards covering KPIs, aging schedules, DSO performance, overdue trends, and cash flow forecasts.
Career Progression: Advanced through 9 distinct roles across multiple organizations, steady professional growth from billing recovery to regional credit control.
Key skills
Professional experience
Lead the regional credit control and AR management function across four GCC markets, overseeing multi-entity receivables portfolios, ensuring strong cash flow, minimal bad debt exposure, and alignment with corporate financial policies.
- Conduct high-level credit risk assessments and approve credit limits for key clients using a structured tiered risk methodology incorporating Credit Bureau outcomes, financial ratio analysis, and DSCR-based cash flow assessment.
- Prepare and present monthly executive reports and board-level dashboards covering KPIs, AR aging, DSO performance, overdue trends, cash flow forecasts, and working capital analysis for Finance Director and Senior Management.
- Spearhead legal escalations and settlement negotiations with delinquent accounts, coordinating with local legal advisors and external lawyers on debt recovery actions, legal notices, and litigation across the region.
- Manage multi-regional banking operations including fund flows, PDC processing, KYC compliance, and payment settlement coordination across all group entities in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and KSA.
- Supervise and mentor Senior Credit Controllers across multiple countries, monitoring collection targets, compliance with regional credit policies, and implementation of corrective action plans.
- Prepare short- and medium-term cash flow forecasts identifying liquidity gaps and recommending corrective measures to optimize working capital across all four GCC markets.
Engaged by senior management to assess operational workflows and recommend process improvements across the Rent-a-Car and Limousine business units.
- Engaged by senior management to assess operational workflows and recommend process improvements across the Rent-a-Car and Limousine business units.
- Reviewed existing operational procedures and developed comprehensive Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Sales, Fleet Operations, Procurement, Yard Management, and administrative functions.
- Evaluated organizational structure, roles, and reporting lines, introducing recommendations to improve accountability and cross-functional collaboration.
- Designed operational KPIs, reporting frameworks, and performance monitoring tools to support management decision-making.
- Provided strategic guidance on fleet utilization, operational planning, customer service standards, and process optimization.
- Assisted in establishing governance controls, approval matrices, and standardized business processes to improve operational efficiency.
Managed accounts receivable portfolio across all companies, overseeing aging analysis, risk classification, collections targeting, and executive-level reporting on daily, weekly, and monthly cadence.
- Managed accounts receivable portfolio across all companies, overseeing aging analysis, risk classification, collections targeting, and executive-level reporting on daily, weekly, and monthly cadence.
- Built a complete Credit and Collections infrastructure from the ground up, including a full SOP suite, credit limit calculation engine, QTN evaluation and payment terms approval workflow, and a four-stage escalation framework with 11 forms and templates.
- Designed and delivered a three-tier reporting framework covering Daily Ops View, Weekly Summary, and Monthly Executive Report tracking DSO, collections efficiency, PDC coverage, risk tier breakdown, and trend analysis.
- Managed property management financial accounts, overseeing rent collections, lease payment tracking, tenant account reconciliation, and move-in/move-out financial clearances across a multi-unit portfolio.
- Conducted credit risk assessments for new and existing corporate clients using Credit Bureau outcomes, liquidity, leverage and profitability ratios, DSCR analysis, and project cash flow forecasts.
- Reviewed and approved credit applications, setting credit limits and payment terms ranging from Net 30 to Net 90 in line with the approved authority matrix and customer risk tier classification.
- Conducted weekly 8-week rolling cash flow forecasts for Finance leadership, providing detailed variance analysis and working capital insights to support business planning and liquidity management.
- Liaised with Sales teams on overdue and disputed accounts, issued 7-day and final demand notices, and managed the full collections lifecycle through to legal escalation where required.
- Processed and reconciled PDCs and payment instruments in SAP and Microsoft Dynamics, coordinating with banking teams on fund allocations, PDC recalls, and payment confirmations.
Monitored customer accounts to identify credit risk signals and implemented targeted recovery strategies for retail and corporate debtors.
- Monitored customer accounts to identify credit risk signals including missed payments, credit deterioration, and returned cheques, implementing targeted recovery strategies for retail and corporate debtors.
- Prepared weekly collections performance reports for CFO and MD covering overdue trends, payment status, and recovery progress.
- Conducted weekly field visits to doubtful accounts and managed collections approvals for new credit sales orders.
Generated customer aging reports, negotiated payment plans for overdue accounts, and managed PDC reconciliations.
- Generated customer aging reports, composed daily client payment status reports, and negotiated structured payment plans for high-value overdue accounts.
- Processed and reconciled PDCs and payment instruments in SAP and Microsoft Dynamics, coordinating with banking teams on fund allocations, PDC recalls, and payment confirmations.
- Analyzed sales and profitability data for Used Car Sales division and managed full invoicing and overdue recovery cycle.
Managed outstanding debt collection and debtor records to minimize bad debt risk.
- Managed outstanding debt collection, meeting monthly targets through proactive customer engagement, payment scheduling, and returned cheque resolution.
- Reviewed daily bank receipts, allocated funds to invoices, and maintained accurate debtor records to minimize bad debt risk and maximize AR collections.
Processed passenger tickets and handled customer service inquiries at Hamad International Airport.
- Processed passenger tickets and checked luggage according to airline standards, ensuring smooth passenger processing and security compliance.
- Resolved customer service inquiries and managed flight boarding procedures efficiently in a fast-paced international airport environment.
Processed customer rental agreements and conducted vehicle return inspections.
- Processed customer rental agreements and managed professional counter greetings.
- Executed vehicle return inspections and performed thorough damage checks.
Executed recovery strategies for overdue accounts and coordinated billing discrepancy resolutions.
- Executed recovery strategies for overdue accounts according to established financial protocols.
- Coordinated administrative tasks related to billing discrepancies and customer payment tracking.
Education
Business Administration (Business Management)
English Business Management
CERTIFICATION Professional Development (In Progress): Pursuing certification in Credit Management (CICM).
Languages
Arabic · Native
French · Native
English · Professional