Following the acquisition of the Terreal group by wienerberger I lead the implementation of the new industrial organisation in France combining both entities (25 plants, >2000 people, 30 quarries and 2 R&D centers)

I have been leading the industrial organisation of Terreal in France/Spain/Italy, with direct responsability of 15 manufacturing plants and >1300 people in France and Spain, the French purchasing organisation incl. energy purchase and the group R&D center of Castelnaudary with a strong focus on decarbonization and industry 4.0 projects, and technical support to the 3 Italian plants.

Ensured the restructuring of the Bedding industrial footprint initially with 11 production locations through:☛ Closure of 4 manufacturing facilities in Western Europe (CH / DE / AU) and transformation of one production location into a regional distribution center for DE.☛ Development of 5 Excellence Production centers including:- Transformation and turnaround of a foaming/converting plant into a fully integrated foam mattress plant with a fully integrated value chain.- Significant growth (x2) of the plant in Poland and Romania for the production of covers and beds with significant efficiency improvements.☛ Implementation of a Supply Chain organization to handle the flow of Information and Physical goods in that new European Footprint.- Development of an ERP template - SAP based - to implement and standardize business processes to further improve the performance and reliability of the business.☛ Managed ad interim the Flexible Foam plants in Nordics and Baltics (5 locations in SWE, NOR, FIN and EST) for 18 months:- Reorganization of the management teams following a significant attrition.- Relaunch of proper HSE and Continuous Improvement roadmaps.- Tight performance and financial control to ensure profitability despite significant loss of volumes.

Oversaw all business operations across France and Belgium, from minerals extraction to distribution centres and dispatch of finished goods in a B2B and B2C environments, including management of 950 employees, five manufacturing plants, three logistics platforms, seven quarries and mines, and central support Ops functions. Initiated a major cultural change in the business from volume driven to cost driven, while restructuring the business to adapt capacity to the economic crisis, ramping-up the largest plasterboard production line in Europe and looking for opportunities to develop value added activities.The following are highlights of the value I brought to Placoplatre Saint-Gobain:☛ I successfully transformed loss-suffering operations to over 30 % net margin by rejuvenating the mortar, industrial plaster, and plaster-block business.☛ I led the production start and ramp-up of a 160M€ capex representing the biggest plasterboard production line in Europe.☛ I reorganised the mineral resource activity, developed, and implemented strategies and lobbying activities, which resulted in securing of long-term access to natural resources.

Throughout my career as a Managing Director | Global Product Manager Container Handling Division in Guima Palfinger, I managed the turnaround of the French operations of the Palfinger group by transforming a low performance entity into a pilot lean and profitable plant, and played an instrumental role in developing value-added products and generating new products for export markets, such as UK, US, South Africa, and China by implementing structured innovation process.It is worth noting that I augmented delivery performance from 5 % to 95 %+ within three months and reduced quality claims by 30 %+ within six months.The following are highlights of the value I brought to Guima Palfinger:☛ I transformed loss-suffering position of the company and achieved a break-even point from -10 % EBIT margin within 18 months of the appointment through implementing turnaround strategies.☛ I implemented Lean manufacturing and transferred production of sub-components to the Bulgarian plant, which resulted in enhancement in EBIT by €4 million within two years.☛ I successfully launched a local assembly unit in China, while obtaining ISO 9001 / 14001 18001 certifications to support key account tenders with NATO, French, Army, and Austrian Army.

In this role, I minimised Lost Time Accident by 50 % within eight months and earned the company a recognition as top improvers at the BPB Group level. I established and implemented focused actions plans and tight follow up through promoting continuous improvement culture. I restructured central EHS team to enhance environmental competencies. I led the launch of a test phase for construction wastes recycling business with external partners. I streamlined QHSE performance by fully reorganising the QHSE approach.

Automotive Gearshift Systems, 400 people, 1 plant in France and functional responsibility of a subsidiary in Slovakia, 77M€ annual turnoverThe following are highlights of the value I brought to Teleflex Automotive:☛Delivery performance improved from 85% up to 98%.☛ Customer returns cut 5 folds within 6 months.☛ 2M€ EBIT improvement in a single year by boosting the internal productivity plan through Lean Manufacturing and production transfer of cables sub-assembly to a Slovakian subsidiary.☛Significant cashflow improvement through optimized inventory management and physical flow optimization.

Worked for 13 years for the Electrical System Branch, Alternators Division1200 people, 210M€ Turnover, European Leader in automotive alternatorsStarted in Valeo in July 1990, following a 6 months internship, as a manufacturing methods engineer (1990 – 1993) and then as production engineer (1993 – 1994).In 1995 took responsibility of all alternator business development activities within the internationalization team of the Electrical System Branch.Managed setup of a production plant, know-how transfer and logistics organization for a joint-ventures in China. Developed investment plans for future plants in Brazil and Mexico, and started a product development project targeted at creating an export dedicated range of products.In 1997 became project leader to setup production capacity for that new range of products in the French site (15M€ investments, project team of 8 engineers, production capacity of 10000SKUs per day).In 1999 became Lean Manufacturing Manager - Valeo Production System – of the Alternators Division restoring credibility and boosting the TPM implementation.In 2001 took full responsibility of a production unit of 230 people, highly automated and with various and complex processes, in a tough social context. Turnaround the operational performances and restored confidence in the management.Eventually, as part of my executive MBA, realized a study for the South Korean division to define a Business Continuity Plan to secure production and give more flexibility to handle local social conflicts.