Dan Leatherwood

Dan Leatherwood has been the Credit Manager for seven years and has done an exceptional job. Dan and the Credit department can get caught in the middle of negotiations between Valin and its customers. Customers desire to buy products from us, and we are in business to sell to them. Dan and his staff ensure that Valin receives full payment for every sale. Dan represents Valin very well. He is firm and fair, within his team, the whole of Valin and with customers. Dan has also worked to improve the credit relationship with the Business Unit Managers to ensure the customer’s and Valin’s credit objectives are properly aligned.

Dan is an amazing supervisor that supports his staff in their daily duties and is always available for guidance when needed and to help with difficult or uncooperative customers. On occasion, he will make the hard decision to put an account on hold so that Valin does not continue to distribute products or provide service without receiving payment in return. Dan has the tact and personal skill to avoid that measure in most situations which maintains revenue. He can also detect fraudulent customer accounts and prevent them from being set up in the system. When errors do occur, Dan uses the opportunity to demonstrate better solutions and provide resources so others can do their jobs to the best of their abilities. He allows his staff the flexibility to collect on their assigned accounts based on individual strengths and personalities.

Where Dan goes above and beyond is how he works with several Valin accounts to develop a process where the customer and Valin both benefit. Customers demand that their suppliers are easy to do business with which includes being able to process payments to Valin. Dan problem solves with customers to ensure that Valin and the customer’s systems are in sync with each other, making it easier for customers to remit payments and for Valin to apply the payment receipts quickly and easily.

The Credit department must meet goals and expectations like other divisions within Valin. Dan ensures that the credit department meets and exceeds the set objectives. For example, Credit has maintained a low Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) at near 32 days throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Dan helps maintain the low DSO by managing high risk, hard to work with, and slow-paying accounts.

Dan's experience and management style help maintain positive morale in a frequently difficult job.