Wayne Du Toit, Mba Email & Phone Number

No easy feat to establish, build out, and equip a fully automated, U.S.-based PPE manufacturing operation during the global pandemic—exacerbated by severe supply chain disruptions and labor shortages. I was sought out by several healthcare investors to evolve this new venture so that we could meet skyrocketing PPE demand at national level. Capitalizing on my well-established industry reputation and relationships, I sourced and procured critical PPE equipment and raw materials to establish essential domestic manufacturing capabilities for PPE products and de-risk the USA dependency from Asia supply chain during the pandemic. Focused on bringing essential healthcare industry manufacturing back to the U.S., I conducted deep category research and due diligence, and subsequently secured $1.3M in additional funding after presenting a compelling business case, operational plan, and timeline to investors.While joining the CEO on sales and strategic planning, I serve as the resident sales linchpin during customer presentations and personally field customer inquiries and requests by focusing conversations on value and not price.Another key success factor was obtaining our Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) certification from the FDA within 3 months of launch and expediting our applications to gain quicker in-process approval of FDA 510(k), ISO, and NIOSH certifications with the “gold standard” quality framework.On the operations side, I implemented a fully automated manufacturing process, oversaw the logistics process, and installed organizational processes, workflows, and systems to support the business (ERP, WMS, QMS). In addition, directly sourced, negotiated, and procured equipment/raw materials from Asian manufacturers, expedited freight shipments from Asia, sourced and onboarded key employees, headed and led all regulatory, legal mandates, and CBP requirements for applicable duties and taxes.[About the company: U.S. manufacturer of PPE products].

Dallas, Texas, Us

I was brought onboard by TLC’s CEO and PE ownership to reposition the company’s distressed hospitality division into a high-value asset and prep for a successful PE sale within 2 years. With no time to waste, I reversed 3 years of stagnation by traveling between the U.S. and Asia for 14 months to build a top-performing team, operations, and relationships with suppliers and customers. Presiding over the entire sales cycle led my team to seize countless untapped opportunities.Driven by the excitement to find creative and innovative solutions to business challenges, I positioned the business to sell at a higher multiple than originally targeted to Lee Equity Partners within 16 months—results unachievable by several predecessors—by helming a full-scale supply chain and process restructuring. From operationalizing an 8%-10% drop in overall cost of goods and realizing a $20M+ boost in manufacturing capacity, to ramping up our on-time delivery rate to 95%+ and curtailing the defective rate from 18% to less than 5%, which resulted in overall division revenue growth by more than 200% that translated into an optimal business valuation.[About the company: Global furniture design and manufacturing company. Owned by 2 Private Equity firms, TZP Group and Platform Ventures, with TZP selling majority stake to Lee Equity Partners in 2019.]

Lewisville, Texas, Us

Of the belief that failures sculpt the path to future successes, I was recruited to overcome operational barriers to business growth. Serving as a member of VIRA’s Board of Directors, I advised the CEO on sales strategy and infrastructure, systems, and processes to surpass VIRA’s existing revenue threshold while personally directing global operations, the full development lifecycle, logistics, warehousing, and distribution in TX, NJ, Mexico, the U.K., and China. After realizing $1.7M savings in operational expenses in my first 12 months, I focused efforts on establishing operations in Asia, the U.K. and Latin America, which propelled VIRA’s revenues from $64M to $89M and EBITDA from 7% to 12.5%, with a 36%+ average gross margin. Adept at cultivating relationships with key decision makers, we added Apple, Sprint, Samsung, Walgreens, TJ Maxx, JC Penny, and Kohls to our base of major customers.Not only did we raise our quality rating to >97%, achieve 99% on-time product delivery rate, and decrease inventory by more than 30% with a forecasting & demand planning overhaul, but also a 180-degree culture transformation turned a dysfunctional global organization with a silo mindset into a unified, highly efficient team focused on cross-collaboration and performance improvements. By creating an inclusive work environment where everybody’s voice can be heard, I allowed my people to grow as individuals and contribute to the team to achieve bigger goals. [About the company: PE-owned industry leader in design, fabrication, and installation of retail store environments.]

Dallas, Texas, Us

My daily commitments included building the company as the industry leader by delivering executive leadership to within assigned product categories to increase revenue and improve EBITDA. I utilized new sourcing and development strategies to drive global product development operations. One of the highlights of my tenure was reforming the development group to establish alliances with China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam manufacturers to procure most cost-effective products. I liaised with suppliers on new technologies to enhance design, development, and manufacturing processes, while simultaneously improving EBITDA. This led to profound operational improvements, and diversity in product lines. My most notable achievements in this role include:• Reduced go-to-market lead times by 24% and lowered product delivery time to within 180 days.• Directed development and roll out of 88 new items in year one and delivered 175 new items in year two within nine new product categories outside company's core competency.• Attained 97% success rate for on-time delivery of designs for two consecutive years.• Shrunk packaging costs by 4% via global packaging initiatives and existing product by 3% doing full review for design and renegotiations with suppliers and identify opportunities for efficiencies in manufacturing process.• Reduce design and development team headcount from 43 to 29 by implementing proper workflows and process to crate synergies and eliminate waste in resources.• Drove product development efforts through diversifying product line and creating additional revenue stream to add to EBITDA and allow sale at 12x multiple.

Dallas, Texas, Us

Led all aspects of supply chain, engineering, merchandising, logistics, compliance, accounting, and quality control. Recruited and empowered new talent to integrate into existing teams and exceed expectations. Rolled out quality management system for Asia suppliers and attained ongoing quality level growth. Developed sourcing platform to integrate new suppliers and expand existing suppliers. Migrated manufacturing resources outside of China's borders to Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Established local office in Asia from the ground up to support aggressive sourcing strategy of entire organization. Improved manufacturing process in China, while driving business improvement strategies. Complied with shipment schedules by coordinating capacity planning and production schedules. Delivered products on time to global distribution centers and customers.• Ensured process and performance improvement by hiring and training new talent.• Enabled accommodation of larger infrastructure by reallocating Asia office to Shenzhen, China.• Achieved zero safety recalls and customer complaints during time of heightened awareness in toy industry.• Spearheaded 64-member team, managing 45 suppliers to grow Asian operations bandwidth and support corporate expansion.• Drove +$150M in revenue by sourcing +$80M in supplier cost in Asia (China, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia).• Managed corporate annual growth of ~19.6% in gross sales by sourcing for new suppliers.• Served as chief contact, facilitating active communication and collaboration between US & Asia.

Dallas, Texas, Us

During This time, I drove the smooth transition of functions from US to China office. This included developing efficiencies in the US while improving manufacturing process in China. Additionally I adhered to shipment schedules by coordinating capacity planning and production schedules. Highlights include improvements in logistics, warehousing, and distribution - delivering product on time to global distribution centers and customers. By driving change management initiatives, I solely responsible for relocating our Asia office from Guangzhou to Shenzhen, China, which enabled the implementation of larger infrastructure.

Dallas, Texas, Us

Dallas, Texas, Us

Dallas, Texas, Us