Recruited to lead turnaround in a crisis management situation following rapid inorganic growth (two acquisitions) and loss of key customer for this closely-held custom plastic injection molding company leveraging some of the broadest and most diverse plastic injection molding capabilities and other value added services.Markets: agricultural, recreational, automotive, new construction and noninvasive medical markets. Charged with leading integrations, stabilizing manufacturing operations and resolving flat/declining revenue through implementing refined processes, infrastructure and systems.Developed and implemented new strategic plan across all business and manufacturing operations in five facilities with 750 staff. Led analysis across all operations and developed a refined, scalable infrastructure and strategic plan for acquisitions. Developed and launched IT enabled business transformation strategies with limited capital requirements to drive performance. Reengaged all leaders and operational staff to focus on driving results and creating a safe, lean and empowered culture. Developed a three to five year value creation plan focused on top and bottom line improvements via new go-to-market strategies, cross-selling, lean principles, consolidations, waste elimination, systems implementation and standardization of best practices. Implemented lean tools and methodologies, as well as balanced score card strategy creating world class results in safety, quality, compliance, delivery and cost: Reduced direct labor, while improving total volume; significantly reduced variances and resolved recurring compliance and quality issues completing ISO 9002 recertification process.

General Manager, Strategic Planning, Continuous Improvement, Lean and Supply Chain Management for this leading recycling/converting, producer and broker of aluminum alloys in the Midwest servicing small to large foundries and die casters regionally with a client base spanning small machining shops to global accounts (Mercury Marine, Caterpillar).Direct P&L and strategic oversight to lead top and bottom line improvements successfully redirecting company from declining revenue and margin to a rebranded, industry leader with new product and service offerings: Delivered EBITDA improvement of $9 million in 18 months. Executive control for all manufacturing operation running continuously with 125 employees: manufacturing, engineering, R&D/new product introductions, compliance, human capital, finance, safety, capital budgeting, quality and asset management; managed sales, business development and customer service for last six months in role. Recreated business, sales and marketing model: reengineered company from a low cost raw material provider into a strategic business partner; deployed new technical and metallurgical capabilities and created a sophisticated interface with customers to position company for long-term, sustained growth.Orchestrated rapid turnaround through leading operational improvements, building a lean culture, reengineering leadership roles and deploying new operational benchmarks, goals and processes to drive behavioral change. Achieved rapid results improving profit delivery from negative to positive and improving equipment uptime by more than 35%.

Charged with leading business, manufacturing and infrastructure turnaround to drive growth and value creation for this privately-held, food and packaging co-manufacturer serving large global CPG food brands (Kraft, Nestle, General Mills, Land-O-Lakes, ConAgra). Created scalable infrastructure and lean culture to drive top and bottom line improvements. Successfully positioned company as a value acquisition target; acquired by Bellisio Foods in 2013.Strategic oversight for all business and manufacturing operations for a 24/7 manufacturing facility and two warehouses with 280 staff. Launched new quality and continuous improvement programs, ISO standards, supply chain, product development stage gate process, warehousing and operational standards to professionalize and standardize organization. Improved revenue by more than $10 million, while improving profit margin by 2 basis points. Repaired strained relationships with two key customers successfully retaining accounts; launched new quality, continuous improvement, compliance and ISO standards: awarded preferred supplier status; completed ISO and NSF audits with minimal findings. Secured Continuous Improvement Partner with General Mills (one of only three partners nationally) to conduct beta test on supplier Continuous Improvement initiatives. Directed reengineering of supply chain, transportation and warehousing: led vertical integration and consolidation of supply chain; negotiated new warehouse agreement and transportation contract.

Recruited to lead strategy and execution of fee-based management consulting practice targeting small to mid-sized, closely-held companies delivering senior advisory across strategic direction, lean, people/culture development, process and value creation. Executive strategic and engagement lead for practice: sales enablement, business development, proposal development, target account planning, customer relationship management, cultivating industry and business relationships, account strategy alignment and services delivery execution. Built advisory practice from startup, while creating scalable infrastructure. Developed top-to-top relationships and trust, integrated and positioned company as a strategic business partner to key accounts. Managed more than 70 engagements working in 120+ different facilities. Led full life cycle engagements partnering with C-suite executives. Practice Areas: Strategic PlanningPolicy Deployment Operations Improvements (Kaizen Events)Cultural TransformationsLean ImplementationsSupply Chain Simplification & OptimizationDue Diligence for Mergers & AcquisitionsRisk AssessmentsPlant Expansions & ConsolidationsRestructuring & Right SizingManagement Team Development

Progressed through senior leadership roles within this leading national manufacturer and marketer of gas and wood-burning consumer and commercial fireplaces with a portfolio of more than 10 brands. Strategic, fiscal and operational oversight for manufacturing, distribution, logistics, transportation, procurement, R&D, engineering and technical services. Managed through historic residential construction market decline, maintaining positive margins, while positioning company for long-term growth during housing market recovery. Built and leveraged a fulfillment model to gain significant strategic competitive advantage in the Hearth industry. Removed more than $20 million in inventory, improved delivery CTP (Complete to Promise) from 94.5% to 98.7% and shortened lead times from 12 days to five for owned and aligned installing distribution partners.Managed the SCM group. Reduced lead times on raw materials, implemented supplier management metrics and program, consolidated the supply base and built a world class supply chain that resulted in raw material turns of 44 / year and finished goods turns of 77 times or more. Cut out $20 million of inventory in the network and eliminated 4 RDCs.Led network analysis and launched an efficient business model to optimize order to delivery processes.Mt. Pleasant, Iowa facility received Shingo Prize (Excellence in Manufacturing), 2007.Member of due diligence team and supported acquisition of 33 independent distributors in 13 states; directed consolidation and integration; developing standardized best practices, systems, metrics, operational reviews and KPIs.

Executive control for six operating companies and nine locations representing $600 million in annual revenue. Managed all areas of operations, IT, safety, continuous improvement, finance and HR. Assembled, led and managed a senior leadership team with indirect oversight for more than 700 staff nationally. Developed a scalable business model and business system that resulted in a regional service network through owned and contracted service providers to serve the United States office furniture industry. Led analysis and right-sizing of business segment; drove divestiture of three of six operating companies.Conceptualized, developed and implemented best practices across regional service network of company-owned and contracted providers serving national office furniture industry to expand national sales channels (service offerings: move, add, change, new product install, asset management and light construction): delivered gross profit improvement of 3.2 percentage points.

Planned and directed aggressive, enterprise-wide lean, continuous improvement and cost savings initiatives across all core lines of business and manufacturing operations for a $590 million subsidiary of HON Industries comprised of four manufacturing plants, five distribution centers, 1200+ staff and an operating budget exceeding $250 million. Developed business, sales, manufacturing and supply chain strategies to gain industry leverage and recapture dwindling market share. Led analysis and rationalization of installing distributors to reduce exposure and build a cost effective national value chain strategy. Built one of the most streamlined, cost effective supply chain management programs in the industry. Launched ERP system replacing nine platforms integrated with a single point of sale program. Lake City, MN facility received Shingo Prize (Excellence in Manufacturing), 2004.

Managed startup of a wholly-owned subsidiary for a new product introduction. Assembled and led a team of six senior leaders across sales, marketing engineering, legal and procurement. Built business and marketing plans, negotiated and established all sales and supply agreements and developed distribution and indirect sales channels. Managed a $750,000 startup budget and delivered $2.1 million in revenue in first year.

Full executive P&L, operational, budgetary, business development and strategic steering responsibility for two US manufacturing facilities and a joint venture manufacturing facility in Canada with more than 350 dealers nationally. Managed more than 530 total staff members across three facilities. Executive control for all areas of manufacturing, engineering, R&D/NPI, compliance, human capital, finance, global sourcing, budgeting, EHS&S, risk management, compliance, quality and asset management. Managed a $12 million capital budget.

Built quality systems, standards, processes and S&OP across one manufacturing and six distribution centers in Midwest and West US regions. Led due diligence and M&As. Built scalable infrastructure with standardized operational, manufacturing, quality and ISO standards across facilities.

Managed Lake City facility start up, including integrating two plants and continued to add capacity, space and headcount year over year to support increased volume, which grew to more than 450 employees, supporting more than $120 million in annual revenue. Managed a $5 million operating and $4.2 million capital budget.

Closely-held, startup innovator and manufacturer of consumer fireplace technologies. Began employment as a buyer in 1989 with company sales of $10 million; key member of senior leadership team driving 20%+ growth year over year.