Francois Van Der Walt Email and Phone Number

Currently my role focusses on strategically driving the organization to grow by identifying and developing new business opportunities. Duties include searching for new clients, finding new potential services to offer, and helping the company expand to new markets. I work closely with company executives and top management, meeting with potential business partners and maintaining existing client relationships and monitoring market trends to come up with new business ventures. Furthermore, I am also tasked to grow revenue and profits by developing strategic partners for dealer own brands in the retail and wholesale environment. Driving all commercial activities from prospecting, to conducting competitive analysis to craft commercial solutions/commercial terms negotiations, to presenting pricing scenarios and proposals until final execution & implementation. Also lead and direct new product development and its related technologies through a robust market orientation and technical development process which advance and accelerate the future growth strategies. Lastly, I also assess & propose strategic merger and acquisitions. Investigating the strategic fit of a business by analyzing all aspects of a transaction, assessing the projected synergies, project managing the deal cycle, assisting in negotiations, and conducting financial modelling. plans, and directs all aspects of an organization's efforts to achieve growth through mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. Identifies, analyses, and determines feasibility of possible mergers and evaluates their potential impact on the corporation's growth and profitability.

My responsibility in this role was to direct and lead Marketing & Product development and its related technologies through a robust market orientation and technical development process which advance and accelerate the Dairy Group’s future growth strategies. Strategically drive & execute Operational activities and related Production Services across the whole business. Lastly, contribute new ideas for company growth and use knowledge of the company, its products and services to look for new ways to improve product quality and build off existing offerings.  Lead & direct Marketing, Product Development, New Business Development, Production & Production Logistics, Supply chain planning, Procurement, Maintenance, CI/Lean, SHE and Quality departments. Establish and maintain appropriate systems for operational management and measurement of financial activities Direct & Lead execution & approval of capital expenditure plans Develop and align business plans to financial strategy for business units Strategic review of all improvement processes & Drive implementation on continuous improvement targets for the operational areas Manage and review all financial reporting, providing fast an accurate financial analysis & advice to CEO. Advise and co-ordinate the strategy for all operational aspects of product costs & setup of business P&L’s for all strategic business decisions and standard business cases Prepare Commercial Evaluations for specific scenarios (Re-alignments/Cost Analysis/Benchmarking analysis) Lead & direct financial analysis and new business development opportunities for additional revenue Ensure consistency of costing procedures, methodologies and philosophies used Preparation of Forecasts on a quarterly basis (Margin, Rebates, Price Variances) Analyze specific Costing Exercises .e.g. Benchmarking Standard costs across facilities

To direct and lead product development and its related technologies through a robust market orientation and technical development process which advance and accelerate the Dairy Group’s future growth strategies. Some specific focus areas are to Drive the business marketing strategy to Innovate and identify new product projects that are financially viable, Advance and secure committed consumer relationships & Conceiving and developing efficient and intuitive marketing strategies and finally setup, drive and sustain a performance-based culture that resonates with the values of the Company.

Same overall focus as previous position but the added packaging development from concept to launch.

The areas of focus: Financial perspective. Objectives relating to Product and Packaginga) Profitability, b) Cost, Budget, c) Sales volume/revenue, d) Return on investment Customer perspective. Objectives relating to Product and Packaging a) Customer satisfaction, b) Customer relations, c) Market share, d) Brand strength/ positioning, e) Product development/ improvement, f) Deliveries against orders.  Business process and management perspective. Objective relating to Product and Packaginga) Business Integration/ optimization, b) Process development/ improvement, c) Efficiency/productivity improvement, d) Quality control systems, e) Business systems/ analytics, f) New sales channels/ root to market, g) Risk management, h) SHE, i) Business processes (SCP, Production, Inventory, Order taking, Pricing, Deliveries, Sales execution). People perspective. Objectives relating to eg. a) Morale, b) Skills, Development, c) Teams, d) Diversity, e) Hire/retain talent. Sensory analysis:a) Sensory panel management and descriptive analysis, b) Sensory bench marking, evaluations and approval, c) Benchtops with marketing focusing on descriptive results, d) Functional testing and approval cycle Printing and Design Food Law covering from drafting, preparing, compiling, coordinating, and filing regulatory submissions in accordance to various governmental agency procedures and requirements & coordinating responses from regulatory authorities to obtain regulatory approvals in support of product launches in key markets. Project management from concept to launch Variable cost and Bill of material costing principles and management.

Responsibilities ranged from:1. Developing and implement procedures, tools & techniques to ensure that quality (consumer requirements) forms part of the design of new concepts / products2. Lead the process of fault finding (including corrective actions), in co-operation with Supply Chain and development teams, for existing products with continuous specification deviations3. Lead the internal technical plant audit process to ensure that products are manufactured according to specifications (block flow diagram)4. Lead the modification control process in order to ensure that all changes to formulation, packaging or processing / filling are well documented and mandated prior to implementation.5. In cooperation with the relevant specification owners (formulation, packaging and block flow diagrams) ensure that potential product, packaging and processing / filling optimization opportunities (cost savings consumer requirement adherence etc.) are identified and implemented effectively.6. Compile, implement & maintain final product specifications7. Development, implementation and continuous revision of an Advanced Dairy & Beverage Technology training course for Clover8. Responsible for the compilation & management of a Technology Knowledge database9. Oversee and manage regulatory affairs related to product development, specification, packaging and labelling.

Introduced continuous improvement concepts and lean manufacturing into operation environment. Broad overview of main responsibilities:1. Managing & ensuring financial savings on fixed and variable cost (incl. all losses) 2. Plant optimization strategies3. Very strong focus on lean manufacturing, thinking and functioning based on these principles like innovations systems, kaizen, kanbans, problem solving techniques, poke yokes and other principles.4. Plant service levels (planning, strike rates, capacity ect.)5. Branch communication6. Overall cost reduction projects ranging from production related projects, logistics, procurement and waste handling

I was responsible for:1. Financial/ Operational and functional outputs consisting of: Fixed cost, variable cost, c/kg relating to budgeting and execution Quality control and assurance Productivity activities and execution Market supply 2. Customer and relations results3. Process and general management activities such as Safety practices, HACCP, ISO, Modification control, Manufacturing control points, Project management etc.4. People management regarding training, employment equity, disciplinary actions and chairing, succession planning and talent identification.