Sigurd S.

Freelance Consultant

Wenzenbach, Germany

Experience

Jan 2021 - Present
4 years 8 months
Wenzenbach, Germany

Freelance Consultant

Sigurd Späth

  • Purchasing, procurement, supply chain as well as contract negotiation/structuring, interim management, due diligence.
Dec 2019 - Present
5 years 9 months
Hamburg, Germany

Freelancer and Industry Specialist

VORSPRUNG Advisory GmbH

  • Supporting the acquisition of investment opportunities.
  • Writing a commercial due diligence.
  • Advising a well-known German entrepreneurial family on an investment in a joint venture.
  • Consulting in specialized areas in the food sector.
Feb 2019 - Dec 2020
1 year 11 months
Regensburg, Germany

Head of Leasing and Procurement

transmed Transport GmbH

  • Leadership role in leasing and procurement for a total fleet of over 3,000 commercial vehicles—including several hundred pharma vehicles—company cars, several thousand scanners and over a thousand specialized checkout systems for pharmacies in three countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland).
  • Negotiated the best terms across the entire PHOENIX Group.
  • Integrated the scanner department and installed a system to prevent free usage.
  • Optimized processes and service levels for all branches.
  • Built a sustainable ready-to-lease vehicle stock for immediate leasing and to minimize unprofitable leasing gaps.
Apr 2017 - Jan 2019
1 year 10 months
Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, Germany

Head of Procurement Strategy

Hipp-Werk Georg Hipp OHG

  • Newly created, cross-functional strategic role to develop a long-term procurement strategy for the entire Hipp Group and to build an international raw materials trading business.
  • Reviewed and assessed existing procurement systems and derived medium- and long-term measures.
  • Established an international organic grain trade with five-digit tonnage in the first season.
  • Launched a cross-departmental project to improve or replace existing sourcing channels and developed a long-term retention strategy for key and system-relevant suppliers.
  • Developed calculation models to assess whether direct investments in supplier systems or own cultivation and processing could secure more sustainable prices and quality—leading to pilot projects.
  • Created a multi-point plan with five focus areas for sustainable efficiency gains and annual savings potential in the millions.
  • Developed exclusive raw material sourcing channels to differentiate from competitors.
  • Led the project "Unique Selling Points of Hipp".
  • Core member of cross-departmental strategy projects "Implementation of Effective Project and Process Management" and "Improvement of Personnel Management".
  • Supported the creation of Europe's and possibly the world's largest organic agribusiness producer and ensured exclusive supply in infant nutrition.
  • Quickly built an international organic grain trade with five-digit tonnage in the first season.
  • Strategic advisor to an investor on building the world's largest agribusiness production facility for a specific raw material.
Sep 2012 - Mar 2017
4 years 7 months
Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, Germany

Head of Raw Materials Purchasing including Production Logistics

Hipp-Werk Georg Hipp OHG

  • Led international procurement with a purchasing volume of approx. €300 million/year for seven production sites in five countries (Germany, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Switzerland, Russia) and managed production logistics for storage and supply of all raw materials.
  • Managed about 70 staff in strategic purchasing, agricultural management, project management, operational purchasing, purchasing controlling, master data management and production logistics.
  • Stabilized prices in a pure seller’s market amid rising specification requirements (lower thresholds and rejects) and growing demand in a tightening supply (organic boom).
  • Constant collaboration with sales/marketing and built a team of 10 project managers focused on new product development and product conversions.
  • Substantially improved performance through targeted training, hiring highly qualified staff and creating new strategic key positions.
  • Successfully integrated purchasing and quality assurance to foster shared responsibility across the value chain.
  • Significantly improved efficiency at key interfaces—development, marketing, production, logistics, sustainability, controlling, quality assurance—by standardizing exchanges.
  • Introduced a cross-department priority system to more efficiently execute development projects and successfully launch new strategic assortments.
  • Focused each area on its core competencies.
Apr 2009 - Aug 2012
3 years 5 months
Grimma, Germany

Head of Procurement, Production and Bio Management and Sales for Airlines, Wholesale and Retail

Otto Maier GmbH, Caviale Srl/Venatus Holding GmbH

  • Led international procurement and oversaw three production sites (Germany, Italy) and sales for airlines, wholesale and retail.
  • Managed about 50 employees.
  • Deputy to the managing director.
  • Secured and expanded sustainable procurement including logistics.
  • Achieved certification under EU organic regulation, MSC, IFS at two sites.
  • Certified the world's largest sustainable sturgeon farm by "Friends of the Sea" in Italy.
  • Built MAP fresh fish packaging and logistics at one site for retail customers—first nationwide listing of a MAP fresh fish product in retail.
  • Established modern caviar processing including slaughter, caviar extraction, packaging, classification and international shipping system.
  • Developed marketing presence—eye-catching trade show booth and own online sales platform.
  • First nationwide listing of caviar in a special clear ball pack for a Christmas and New Year campaign in discount retail.
  • Developed a retail-ready combo pack: caviar, two vodka glasses and special sturgeon vodka.
  • Established a market for sturgeon meat and caviar by-products in Eastern Europe.
  • Main lead for all trade show events.
May 2008 - Oct 2008
6 months
Hamburg, Germany

Purchasing Director – Interim Manager for ZMM

Crustimex Seafood GmbH/HERISTO AG

  • Restructured the department and optimized processes.
  • Ensured open, transparent information flow and defined clear goals and values.
  • Improved collaboration between purchasing and sales, regaining footing in strategic lines and winning key tenders.
  • Centralized procurement for several HERISTO Group companies across different production and sales sites.
  • Improved the existing logistics concept.
  • Successfully onboarded a permanent successor.
Oct 2007 - Mar 2009
1 year 6 months

Management Buy-Out Advisor

Caviale Srl / Venatus Holding GmbH

  • Goal was to spin off several European aquaculture production sites for freshwater and marine fish from an international food group and merge with an existing European processing and marketing company.
  • Successfully converted a conventional trout farm into Europe’s largest organic trout farm under Naturland standards, aiming to become the world’s largest organic trout producer.
  • Formed a management team of existing and new experts to run the new company.
Oct 2005 - Sep 2007
2 years
Bremerhaven, Germany

Category Manager Fine Fish, Fresh Meat, Poultry and Strategic Assortments

Deutsche See GmbH

  • Led central and decentralized purchasing worldwide with an annual volume of approx. €90 million, closely integrated with production and responsible for sales in 11 branches.
  • Successfully merged two previously separate divisions.
  • Controlled product flow for cost and quality optimization.
  • Main contact for all internal and external technical and specialist questions.
  • Various TV appearances and print interviews.
  • Introduced new organic assortments and expanded non-fish range (meat and poultry, partly organic).
  • Member of the implementation group for "Improvement of Internal Processes".
Oct 2003 - Sep 2005
2 years
Bremerhaven, Germany

Category Manager Fine Fish

Deutsche See GmbH

  • Overall responsibility for supporting and training sales across 11 of 23 branches in southern and eastern Germany and strategic purchasing.
  • Led a team of approx. 25 and managed a purchasing and sales volume of about €50 million.
  • First-time integration of purchasing and sales.
  • Acquired over 50 Michelin-starred chefs and multiplied sales in high-end gastronomy.
  • Introduced several exclusive products to the German market.
  • Advanced the entire value chain from procurement to customer (costs, quality, processes, service).
  • Achieved double-digit annual sales growth.
  • Organized internal and external training events, panel discussions, trade show presentations, joint events with wholesale, retail and end customers.
  • Various TV appearances and print interviews.
  • Co-initiator and speaker for a paid weekly lecture at Bremerhaven University for internal and external training ("University of Fish").
Jan 2000 - Sep 2003
3 years 9 months
Bremerhaven, Germany

Purchasing Manager Fine Fish

Deutsche See GmbH

  • Full responsibility for global purchasing and import of fine fish with approx. €30 million annual volume.
  • First direct personnel responsibility for four purchasing staff and partial responsibility for 12 production staff.
  • Secured supply while improving and stabilizing quality.
  • Key role in building the fine fish production facility.
  • Organized product lines into "SELECT" (new launches), "DAILY", "MR.STEAM" for customer clarity.
  • Revived the salmon business by introducing special qualities and exclusive fresh (e.g. "Ikarimi") and smoked (e.g. "Arctic Rose") salmon.
  • Achieved mid-double-digit annual sales growth.
  • Multiplied sales in strategic assortments.
  • Significantly improved efficiency and service levels.
  • Helped reorganize and restructure the production facility.
  • Contributed to the successful introduction of new ERP systems for purchasing (Proplan) and production (Prostore).
Sep 1998 - Dec 1999
1 year 4 months
Bremerhaven, Germany

Junior Manager in Purchasing (Trainee Program)

Deutsche See GmbH

  • Purchased fresh fish focusing on Scandinavia with a double-digit million annual volume.
  • Sole departmental responsibility during manager’s absence.
  • Member of the "SAP Retail/3" implementation group.
Jan 1997 - Apr 1998
1 year 4 months
Dietlikon, Switzerland

Analyst for Market Penetration Analyses

Datacolor AG

  • Designed Europe-wide market penetration analyses and independently delivered on-time market reports for 12 European countries.
  • Greatly simplified the assessment of market potentials in each country.
Dec 1996 - Sep 1998
1 year 10 months
Würzburg, Germany

Organizer and Trainer of Exam Prep Courses

Fischereiverband Unterfranken e.V.

  • Organized and trained exam prep courses for 300–400 participants per year.
  • Provided consulting and written assessments.
  • Improved trainee success rates in state exams through better training concepts.
  • Successfully advised associations.
Sep 1995 - Sep 1998
3 years 1 month
Würzburg, Germany

Consultant

Sunnmøre-Lachs

  • Production, processing and quality control with multiple stays in Norway.
  • Acquired new customers and managed existing accounts.
  • Co-led the build-up of logistics.
  • Ongoing consulting.
  • Acquired over 40 new customers.
  • Reduced cost of goods through production optimization.
  • Implemented a cost-saving logistics concept.
  • Cut complaints significantly by creating an action plan.

Summary

  • Strategic procurement management while handling daily operations

  • Wide range of leadership experience from operational staff to manager

  • Over 30 years of international purchasing and logistics experience

  • Nearly 30 years of sales expertise with wholesale, retail and end customers

  • Extensive experience in project and process management

  • Assertiveness in negotiations

  • Good interpersonal skills and assessment of people and their motivation

  • IT support in operational purchasing, logistics and production

  • Solid knowledge in production, development, controlling and quality assurance

  • Strong analytical and conceptual thinking skills

  • Action-oriented implementation

  • Confident handling of public media and their representatives

  • High resilience and willingness to perform

  • Social skills combined with strong teamwork and communication abilities

  • High mobility and flexibility

Languages

German
Native
English
Advanced
French
Intermediate
Italian
Elementary

Education

Oct 1990 - Sep 1998

TU Munich-Weihenstephan

Dipl.-Ing. in Agricultural Science · Agricultural Science · Freising, Germany · very good (1.4)

Oct 1990 - Sep 1998

Humboldt University Berlin

Master of Science in Ichthyology · Ichthyology · Berlin, Germany

Sep 1980 - Jun 1989

Municipal Schönborn Gymnasium

Würzburg, Germany

Certifications & licenses

Situational Leadership

Deutsche Training

Negotiation Techniques for Purchasing

Foxx Consult

Negotiation Management

Corporate Training

Block Training

Hohenbrunner Academy

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