Manager Opérations International

Phygital equipment, French group – Approx. Euro 150 million, 800 people

Self-ordering terminals for restaurants, airports and supermarkets

Industrial Operations and Quality - Revenue EUR 12 M, 40 pax.

Responsibilities :

• Start operations at a new site in one month: integration of the Chinese partner's production, transfer of a part of the production from France to China (the French site focusing on new products and the European market)
• Increase capacity and set up organisation to achieve a level of quality, performance and safety close to that of the site in France
• Reduce customer complaints and improve the quality of sheet metal suppliers (compared to the existing situation: subcontracted production to a partner)
• Obtain ISO 9001 certification

Actions :

• Organise and manage the workshop and storage areas (1,500 m2): implementation, flows, procedures, traceability, deployment of the ERP group, improvement of supply chain
• Adapt group procedures to the local context (legislation, skills, clients)
• Implement the Quality Management System, preparation for ISO9001
• Recruit, train, coach staff to support growth of the business
• Set up of continuous improvement spirit and project management
• Technical and quality support to key suppliers (metal frames, PCs, screens)

Achievements :

• Start-up of operations on time, then launch 6 product families within weeks; all goals and commitments delivered
• ISO9001 Certification passed
• Health & Safety: 0 accidents after 16 months of operation
• Quality: customer claims reduced by 50% and suppliers' quality levels increased from 80% to 95% compared to their previous performance
• Set up an effective organisation from the first year, managing at the right pace of development not to demobilize but to integrate and obtain the commitment of all the teams (100% Chinese staff, very volatile in China)
• Staff turnover: 0 resignation for professional reasons
• Set up very compact and optimized workshops (product and operator flows, component storage line-to-line, procedures) according to principles of Lean Management, 5S
• ACRELEC China site considered a benchmark site by the Group's General Management and customers

Medical equipment for hospitals – EUR 120 million, 300 pax.

Responsibilities :

• Support business development, and identify improvement/corrective opportunities

Actions :

• Financial audit and budget preparation
• Support start-up of assembly operations in China (set up workshop, audit and certification)
• Team recruitment

Achievements :

• Recommendations to simplify financial and logistical flows between group and subsidiary
• Recovery of bad debt (Euro 2 million), and proposals to improve cash flow
• Improve after-sales follow-up
• Support for set up of partnership agreements (lawyer, doctors, opinion leaders)

Family-owned company, Plastics and Packaging – EUR 35 M, 350 pax.

Packaging manufactured in clean room for medical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics

Responsibilities :

• Turnaround the company back to profitability, which was in loss (loss = 11% of turnover) and increase revenues (which were down -10%)

Actions taken :

• Development and presentation to CEO of new business plan, budget and implementation plan
• Set up new system of operations to increase efficiency of the organisation, to increase revenue and profitability in the short term :
  • high delegation of responsibilities and interaction engendering a participatory mindset
  • clear objectives on all projects and continuous improvement
• Cost control: implementation of new purchasing strategy, savings plan
• IS013485 certification (necessary to offer new services with higher value added)
• Implementation of plan to improve technical expertise, product development with new materials, and improve productivity of both product and processes
• Development of a new business strategy, improvement of customer relationships, optimizing trade show participation and increasing number of deals generated
• Setting up new management dashboards by department and across the organisation

Achievements :

• Profitability: up 9% of revenue (vs. losses in 2015)
• Revenue: up 15% (highest since subsidiary's inception in 2006).
• Sales: Q1 2017 sales up 30% compared to Q1 2016
• Reduce the number of customer complaints to just 5 for the year (for 250 active customers)
• Customer satisfaction rate: 88% compared to 70% for our top competitor
• Success on 10 customer audits (no major issues) / audits certifications ISO9001 and ISO13485
• Strengthen revenue with major accounts, including foreign groups (reconquest, loyalty, acquisition)
• Improve technical expertise of the organisation and work environment (product design, moulds, machine settings, etc.)
• Widen managers' scope of work through delegation of responsibilities and accountability for results, which led to a higher commitment from each employee to face the challenge of turning around the company and adopting a new way of working
• Secure raw material by setting up supplier warehouses in China mainland

Design and Manufacture of automated production lines – EUR 10 M, 80 pax.

Responsibilities :

• Introduce the Chinese company to international automotive suppliers

Actions and results:

• Strategy : strategic advice to the Chinese 2 co-founders-owners on strategy and development of relationships with foreign contractors
• Communications : preparation and improvement of commercial presentations and leading the company's participation at AMTS Shanghai (trade show)
• Prospecting: contact with 30 international groups, support preparation of offers, and implementation of a more strategic approach to answer consultations, in line with the bidding processes from customers and partners

and 2006 - 2009

International Development Consulting

Consultancy : Strategy, Commercial, International Development, Partnerships, Low-cost Outsourcing

Transition Manager :

• Managing Director SME, composites (spatial, military, aeronautics)
• Sales Director, U.S. Auto Equipment

Expert for EU-funded programmes, USAID, WORLD BANK, and OECD conference speaker

Consultant to industrial groups and SMEs ( ALCOA, SEGULA, TECHMA ), organisations and large consulting firms (BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON SERBIE, UCOTRA )

Sectors : automotive, aeronautics, machining, industrial equipment, etc.
Co-investment with a French client in Morocco in R&D office and machining workshop

Project examples :

• USAID/BAH : industrial upgrade and business development mission, extended several times, on behalf of a panel of 10 Serbian SMEs and international automotive equipment manufacturers
• TECHMA : sales of SME increased by 30% in a few months thanks to well-prepared prospecting plan, improved communications and customer relations, which led to the creation of two subsidiaries in Morocco
• ALCOA : prospecting for low-cost subcontractors (precision cutting for aeronautics), starting a partnership with an SME in Morocco then buying out the partner
• JOHNSON CONTROLS consulting mission and then integration of this group in 2009

U.S. automotive equipment manufacturer – EUR 30 Bn, 160,000 pax.

SALES DIRECTOR, RUSSIA - Seats, components - FRANCE and later St-Petersburg, RUSSIA

• Commercial development of the Russian market
• Set up a local sales team (3 pax.) Revenue: EUR 120 million
• Support French and German teams to prepare offers, with a strong emphasis on cost-cutting (product design, opex, capex, partnerships with Russian companies)
• Key Results:
  • Acquisition of targeted markets for Renault and GM
  • Strengthening group's reputation in Russia
  • Recovering bad debt (equivalent to Euros 2 million when I arrived)

MARKETING DIRECTOR - Textiles automobiles (MICHEL THIERRY GROUP) - Paris, FRANCE

• ​​​​​​​Definition and implementation of Marketing Plan, guidelines for new product development, eco-design (later took new function following acquisition by Johnson Controls, refer to above position)

Austrian automotive equipment manufacturer – EUR 350 million, 3,800 Pax.

Subsidiaries FRANCE and MORROCO - EUR 35 M, 85 pax.

Responsibilities :

• Upon instructions of new CEO, to diversify and conquer new markets in Europe via a subsidiary in France, due to the group only being present in the German market up to that time

Business Development :

• Presentation to CEO of a short- to medium-term sales strategy, highlighting differences between Germany and rest of Europe (decision-making process, market trends, organisational requirements to be implemented): how to differentiate and innovate to enter into highly competitive saturated markets
• Implementation of action plan: recruitment of a team of 20 people (sales, project managers, designers, etc.), intensive prospecting, preparation and negotiation of offers for French, Spanish and UK markets, development of customer relationships, proactive business management.
• Diversification of products for vehicle interiors

Industrial development :

• Proposal to CEO to set up production in North Africa in order to develop a low-cost offering to our customers and geographically diversify production (leather and/or fabric seat covers)
• Setting up the project: partnering with a company in Morocco, recruiting and mentoring a local team in a few weeks, in order to secure the client FAURECIA which was urgently looking for a new low-cost supplier
• Integrate production in a new a subsidiary (75 pax.)

Key Results :

• Revenues quadrupled to EUR 45 M in 2 years
• 3 car manufacturers won through contracts with new OEMs
• Rapid acquisition of a large market share, which allowed the company to retain 300 workers in the Romanian factory who were in partial unemployed following the termination of another contract
• First market won for the group in product diversification

Automotive equipment manufacturer – EUR 10 Bn, 70,000 pax. Seats Division

HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (1999-2002) - FRANCE

• Responsibilities: win the international markets of PEUGEOT-CITROËN, the group's main customer, and ensure follow up of serial projects
• Key Results:
  • Acquisition of all targeted markets (including a project in Brazil and Argentina worth EUR 100 M over 5 years)
  • Implementation of new reporting dashboards, which were applied to the whole group after presentation to the Managing Director

GENERAL MANAGER CHINA (1996-1998) - Beijing, Wuhan, CHINA

• Set up of Faurecia's first operations in China, which formed the basis of further development:
• creation and management of the Rep. Office (10 pax.)
• co-leading operations at previously acquired projects (2 factories in partnership in Wuhan for ZX seats)
• partnership negotiations (JVs, licences) for local production of seats and components - Introduction of the company to stakeholders and decision-makers in China
• Participation in automotive trade shows

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ENGINEER (1991-1995) - FRANCE, CHINA

• Project manager of seats production for the CITROËN ZX in China
  • Coordination of technical teams (spread over several sites in France) on product and process engineering, preparation of equipment and technical files, training of Chinese partners
  • Business negotiations with Chinese partners and CITROËN
  • Acquisition of the market (Euros 10 million) thanks to a very complete industrial and commercial offer, successfully combining equipment suppliers (automated welding line, textile cutting, etc.) to secure a seamless start-up in China

HEAD OF WORKSHOP REORGANIZATION, Subsidiary Porto, (1990-1991) - PORTUGAL

• Responsibilities: upgrade company's 2 plants following takeover (1 200 pax),
• Key Actions:
  • Setting up the first fully automated site (welding) designed in France (previous job)
  • Coordination, facilitator of the reorganization of production (implantation, flow, identification, traceability, ERP)
  • Leadership on implementation of Quality Management System and Group Procedures
• Key Results:
  • Success of group audits by RENAULT and FORD, which resulted in the first major orders, which were decisive for the future site

METHODS ENGINEER, Pierrepont Workshop, Meurthe et Moselle (1989-1990) - FRANCE

• Design and development of automated sites for subsidiaries
• Process productivity on automated welding