Interim Manager / Consultant

Market leader in automated buy-back of small electronic devices (smartphones, etc.). Group: 480 employees, revenue: 65mUSD; business model based on AI and e-commerce.

• Majority-owned by Apollo Global; after financing rounds, internationalization and market entry into Europe and Japan; decision to fully exit all international markets by Q4 2022.
• Market entry, advisory, marketing and business development for Germany/Austria/Switzerland and Benelux.
• Secured partners through test and scaling rounds: retail electronics (MediaMarkt/Saturn); malls (ECE, MEC, ILG); grocery/DIY retail (Globus, Rewe); banks and savings banks.

Restructuring & strategy development of new business and customer segments for a leading provider in the big data field; company focus on loyalty, analytics and campaigns.

• Further development of the Insight Navigator product based on the Tableau platform.
• New customers in new segments and support (Rewe Austria, Aldi South).

Market-leading manufacturer of long-range and targeting optics + optoelectronics. Manufacturer, Germany: 155 employees, revenue EUR 40m, group: 3,000 employees, revenue EUR 700m.

• Restructuring and complete realignment of sales in the DACH region.
• The national market in Germany represents half of the commercial revenue.
• Reorganization of the customer structure and intensification of collaboration with key accounts.
• Development and introduction of a new pricing and sales model.
• Driving e-commerce internally (own webshop) and externally (Amazon, eBay), while balancing with brick-and-mortar sales.
• Reversing a revenue decline of -24% into a revenue increase of +2% within 12 months.

Sports goods manufacturer, 18 employees, sales volume: 1.5m pairs, revenue USD 16m.

• US market leader for high-performance sports socks looking for a new German distribution partner.
• Dissatisfied with the current partner's performance.
• Active search and mediation on a minimal budget.
• Presentation of two new partners after six weeks.

Sports goods and optics / trading, 28 employees, revenue USD 24m.

• Taiwanese trading company has an ongoing need to place new products in the European market, especially the UK.
• Matching products with potential buyers.
• Active search at trade shows, e-commerce platforms, distribution companies.
• Sales successes with UK buyers >GBP 1.5m p.a.

Electronics and consumer goods, employees: 1,100, sales: EUR 1,750m / personally responsible: EUR 158m / group employees: >60,000, sales: USD 44,000m. Reporting directly to CEO Gerd Brachmann.

• Development of processes from sourcing in Asia to a B2C service provider for all new business and product areas.
• Integration and build-up of new business areas: sports electronics, fitness, medical care, mobile computing, navigation, PNA/PDA and home appliances.
• Together with the Head of Notebooks, development/structuring of the new Frankfurt location from 12 to 28 employees and integration of all new investments and company acquisitions.
• Coordinating project, product, logistics, aftersales, technical and quality management at the main sites in Essen/Mülheim with the project/product teams in Frankfurt.
• After taking over sole sales responsibility for Aldi Süd & International from the CEO, increased direct sales volume from EUR 31m to 74m in 12 months and the accompanying international country sales from EUR 28m to 84m.
• Successful coordination of existing and new customers in different areas; discount/high-volume (Aldi, Tchibo, McD,...) versus specialty retail chains/specialist providers (Media/Saturn, Karstadt, Decathlon,...) and launch of e-commerce platforms.
• From July 1998 to February 2003, also served as Managing Director of PHASE GmbH (Frankfurt and Hong Kong): manufacturer and trader / sports electronics and medical technology, employees: 9, sales: EUR 28m.
• Realignment and restructuring of a pure patent technology company into an operating company, achieving profitability after 12 months.
• Transfer of the planned production site from Germany to Hong Kong; later to Shenzhen/China.
• Medical technology customers (Siemens, Dräger), components sensor technology (patient monitoring).
• First and at that time only competitor to Polar heart rate watches in sports retail; key accounts national brand Sport Scheck, Intersport, Karstadt, Lex Group.
• OEM/ODM production of heart rate watches for various private labels and large buyers (Tchibo, Aral).
• Very successful growth from EUR 0.5m to EUR 28m; initiation, negotiation and successful completion of the M&A process in 2002 between Phase GmbH and Medion AG.

Headquarters for Germany / employees: 380, group: 7,000 / group sales: EUR 7,766m.