Toralf S. - Interim manager and consultant for start-ups & small and medium-sized enterprises

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Berlin, Germany

Experience

Aug 2023 - Present

2 years 1 month

Berlin, Germany

Interim Manager and Consultant for start-ups & small and medium-sized enterprises

Self-employed

Short-term bridging and/or support in management roles such as CEO, COO, project manager, etc.
Outlining visions.
Reengineering organizations and management structures.
Talent coaching.
Management support.
Marketing and sales planning.
Building customer relationships (CRM).
Assessing operations and optimizing their processes.
Internal culture coaching.

Oct 2020 - Mar 2022

1 year 6 months

Japan

Managing Director and Chairman of the Board

Swissport AIK Ltd.

Jun 2016 - Jul 2023

7 years 2 months

Osaka, Japan

Senior Vice President (SVP) Asia

Swissport International Ltd.

Reporting to Group COO, later EVP APAC. Responsible for 2,000+ employees, EUR 190 million revenue.
Responsible for P&L, operations (cargo, ramp, passenger, lounge), and implementing business development opportunities in Asia.
Overseeing the Swissport office in Beijing/China.
Turning all loss-making business units into highly profitable operations with EBIT of 20%-40%+ through efficiency improvements and successful yield management.
Reorganizing headquarters in Seoul and Osaka to secure nearly 90% revenue growth without significant management headcount increase.
Introducing various software tools to optimize the entire operation.
Expanding Swissport’s geographic presence in the region by opening new stations (Fukuoka/FUK, Okinawa/OKA and Cheongju/CJJ).
Founding a joint venture (JV) with a Korean low-cost airline on a cost-plus basis to gain profitable access to the low-cost handling segment.
Opening an in-house training center in Osaka to support rapid growth.
Acquiring and integrating an aircraft maintenance company at Haneda/HND airport to obtain our own ground handling license at Japan’s largest airport.
Consultant and project manager for business development and M&A projects in India, China, Thailand and Malaysia.
Leading the effort to secure a ground handling license at Macau/MFM airport.
Multiple board mandates in Asia.

May 2016 - Mar 2022

5 years 11 months

Hong Kong

Board Member

Jardine Airport Services Hong Kong

May 2014 - Mar 2022

7 years 11 months

Japan

Board Member

Swissport Japan

May 2014 - May 2016

2 years 1 month

Osaka, Japan

SVP & COO Japan, Korea & Greater China

Swissport International Ltd.

Reporting to Group COO. Responsible for 1,500+ employees, EUR 100 million revenue.
Responsible for P&L, operations (cargo, ramp, passenger), sales, identifying and implementing business development opportunities in Northeast Asia.
Overseeing the Swissport office in Beijing/China.
Achieving annual revenue growth of 20%+.
Developing a market entry strategy for China (partnerships with Shenzhen Airport/SZX, Zhengzhou Airport Group/CGO and Hainan Airlines Group/HNA).
Geographic expansion by opening a station at Japan’s largest airport, Haneda/HND.

Aug 2010 - Apr 2014

3 years 9 months

VP Key Account Management Asia

Swissport International Ltd.

Concurrently.

Feb 2007 - Apr 2008

1 year 3 months

Austria

Project Manager

Swissport Cargo Services Austria GmbH

Station opening.
Concurrently.

Sep 2006 - Mar 2022

15 years 7 months

Korea, Republic of

Board Member

Swissport Korea Ltd.

Sep 2006 - Apr 2014

7 years 8 months

Korea, Republic of

VP & COO Korea

Swissport International Ltd.

Reporting to SVP EMEA & Asia. Responsible for 600+ employees, EUR 40 million revenue.
Responsible for P&L, operations (cargo, ramp, passenger) and sales.
Implementing the Swissport brand after the successful majority acquisition (51%) of the former Globeground Korea Ltd., alongside four local shareholders (49%).
Implementing all Swissport corporate policies.
Successfully winning market-leading airlines like Emirates, Etihad Airways, Delta Airlines and FedEx to strengthen Swissport Korea’s position as the largest independent ground handler in Korea.
Revenue growth from EUR 20 million to EUR 40 million.
Successful crisis management during the 2008 financial crisis, the Fukushima tsunami impact on Northeast Asian aviation and the H1N1/SARS crisis.
Board member of Swissport Korea Ltd.

Mar 2006 - Aug 2006

6 months

Singapore

Project Manager

Swissport Singapore Ltd.

Reporting to SVP EMEA & Asia. Responsible for 200+ employees, EUR 2 million revenue.
Responsible for cargo and opening the first Swissport branch in Asia.

Apr 2005 - Feb 2006

11 months

Frankfurt, Germany

General Manager Germany & Eastern Europe

Swissport Cargo Services Dtl. GmbH (SCS)

Reporting to SVP Europe. 550+ employees, EUR 35 million revenue.
Operational and budget responsibility for all ten Swissport Cargo stations in Germany and Hungary.
Managing Director of Swissport Cargo Services Munich GmbH.

Oct 2003 - Mar 2005

1 year 6 months

Frankfurt, Germany

Operations & Product Manager Germany

Swissport Cargo Services Dtl. GmbH (SCS)

Reporting to General Manager Germany. 12 employees.
Process optimization, quality management (QM) and business development.
Managing Director of Swissport Cargo Services Munich GmbH.
Responsible for entering the Budapest/Hungary market by opening the first Swissport logistics center.
Introducing a quality management system for SCS’s subcontracting partners in Bremen/BRE, Dortmund/DTM, Cologne/CGN and Münster-Osnabrück/FMO.

Mar 2002 - Sep 2003

1 year 7 months

Frankfurt, Germany

Station Manager Frankfurt

Swissport Cargo Services Dtl. GmbH (SCS)

Reporting to General Manager Germany. 300+ employees, EUR 15 million revenue.
Responsible for P&L, operations (cargo) and sales.
Reorganizing the entire operation to improve efficiency and adjust staffing after losing a major customer.
Establishing quality management (QM) and customer relationship management (CRM) to regain customer and partner trust.

Jan 2001 - Feb 2002

1 year 2 months

Greven, Germany

Station Manager Münster-Osnabrück/FMO (ad Interim)

Cargo Service Center Deutschland GmbH

Concurrently serving as acting station manager.
Responsible for P&L and cargo operations.

Mar 1998 - Mar 1999

1 year 1 month

Hamburg, Germany

Station Manager Hamburg/HAM (ad Interim)

Cargo Service Center Deutschland GmbH

Concurrently serving as acting station manager.
Responsible for P&L and cargo operations.

Mar 1998 - Aug 1998

6 months

Düsseldorf, Germany

Station Manager Düsseldorf/DUS (ad Interim)

Cargo Service Center Deutschland GmbH

Concurrently serving as acting station manager.
Responsible for P&L and cargo operations.

Jul 1995 - Feb 2002

6 years 8 months

Hanover, Germany

Station Manager Hannover

Cargo Service Center Deutschland GmbH

Reporting to General Manager Germany. 40 employees, EUR 1 million revenue.
Responsible for P&L and cargo operations.
Successfully integrating local KLM Royal Dutch Airlines staff with high seniority into the Cargo Service Center Germany Hannover team (business transfer).
Opening a second off-airport warehouse to support rapid growth.
Achieving sustainable profitability in the high single-digit percentage range.

Oct 1994 - Jun 1995

9 months

Hanover, Germany

Student assistant at Hannover branch

Cargo Service Center Deutschland GmbH

Reporting to branch management.
Supporting operations and customer care.

Summary

I am an internationally experienced executive with over 30 years of work at home and abroad.
Special focus areas: strategic business planning, securing profitable growth, talent management, creating lean management and flexibility in organizations, market analysis, marketing and sales planning, customer relations (CRM), business field analysis and process optimization.
Experience leading small business units (around 50 employees), as managing director at country level (around 300 employees) and with regional responsibility across Asia with over 2,000 employees.
Working in small teams up to leading multicultural executive teams with international regional responsibility helps me adapt quickly to new challenges.
In-depth knowledge and experience managing international joint ventures (JV) and integrating acquired business units.
Thanks to my training as a teacher, I know how to develop a strong sense of responsibility in my employees through social skills and emotional intelligence, both within the environment and towards the company. The focus is always on finding solutions together.
I focus on these principles: analyzing the "AS-IS" situation, understanding the company culture, developing a project plan and regularly monitoring & fine-tuning it.