Wolfgang Farkas
Interim CEO France & EVP Operations Germany
Experience
Interim CEO France & EVP Operations Germany
Kelvion
Developed plan for German factories, introduced standard work and process optimization
Improved on-time in-full (OTIF) performance from 60% to 98%
Increased EBIT by 4%
Analyzed status quo and developed future strategy with group management and PE investor
Prepared French social plan, budget and timing
Negotiated with unions and managed local & national politicians to obtain plan approval three months after announcement
Ensured no strike actions and executed priority customer production orders during shutdown in record time with perfect quality
Communicated successfully with customers, suppliers, stakeholders and government officials
Executed production transfers to other sites and/or profitable sale to third parties
Established new sales & service organization in France
Sold existing French site within three months at 20% above market price and moved remaining business to a new location
Interim CEO, TAM-Groupe
DYWIDAG Systems International (DSI)
- Merged four companies, closed and transferred part of production abroad and aligned ERP within six months
- Created and implemented a culture driven by objectives and accountability
- Reduced headcount by 20%, improved treasury by 30% and reduced inventory by 25%
- Constructed a growth strategy including a key investment in additional production with 60% public funding
- Developed export market in French-speaking Africa, resulting in strategic partnerships and doubled sales
- Rightsized product offering from over 8,000 to 6,000 SKUs and implemented a WMS-managed central warehouse
- Coached the leadership team including changing three out of five management team members
Interim CEO, JELD-WEN Switzerland AG
JELD-WEN, Inc.
- Led business review to identify compliance issues and executed a €6 m restructuring project
- Developed business strategy for Central Europe and launched a new product line, increasing sales by 18%
- Decreased inventory by 20% and renegotiated favourable supplier terms
- Reduced costs by implementing stringent controls, generating an additional €1.5 m EBIT
General Manager BU & Market Head, South West Europe & Africa; Director M&A EMEA; Member of Board of Directors, Smiths Detection
Smiths Detection
- Led due diligence and integration of the €710 m Morpho Detection acquisition (sites worldwide, €320 m sales, 950 employees), achieving a 25% headcount reduction and site closures in France, Italy & Germany
- Established lean processes and project management using a ‘war room’ approach, reducing project execution time by 47% and inventory by 55% while increasing OTIF from 45% to 94%
- Developed additional sales with UN, NATO and EU, leading to a 30% year-on-year revenue increase
- Defined future strategy for new products, low-cost offerings and aftermarket, achieving a 33% cost reduction
- Targeted total quality across the business to reduce cost of poor quality by 50%
Division Director Global Operations Strategy & Program Director; Chief M&A Leader; Business Unit Finance Director; Member of
Collins Aerospace
Increased profitability through cost-down and productivity improvement initiatives, realizing €36 m annual savings
Established standard work for new program introduction, improving customer response times by 40% and reducing costs by €16 m
Increased savings for non-product purchases by 30% through new policies
Secured €26 m funding from EU governments and commission for long-term investments
Drove due diligence and global integration of the €500 m Microtecnica acquisition (three Italy sites & one UK, €250 m sales, 700 employees), finalizing due diligence in 30 days and exceeding budgeted annual EBIT targets by over 30% within seven months
Increased customer satisfaction and OTIF from 63% to 96%
Reduced overheads by 3% through divisional organization streamlining
Improved operating income within four years from a €54 m loss (on €350 m sales) to a 6% profit
Reduced receivables overdue by over 30% while business grew 10% year-on-year
Eliminated audit findings from 17 to 0
Reduced finance headcount by 35% while improving on-time delivery from 26% to 96%
International Finance Director
Honeywell CTG
- Analyzed, created and implemented a business strategy to achieve 15% growth and 8% EBIT (from 0%)
- Merged business unit with another division and closed a French factory within budget and ahead of schedule
Group CEO & CFO, President US operations; Group CFO
DaTARIUS Technologies GmbH
- Generated and executed a restructuring plan, achieving 10% EBIT in the second year
- Established strategic product development and go-to-market strategy
- Built a greenfield sales and aftermarket organization in the USA within six months
- Led due diligence, acquisition negotiations and integration of two main US competitors in a €20 m deal
CFO and Liquidator
STEINER INDUSTRIES AG
- Identified misleading auditor reports and corporate fraud
- Acted as point of contact for criminal investigators and executed business liquidation
VP / Finance Director CIS; Financial Controller Eastern Europe; Assistant Business Unit Finance Director
Schneider Electric SA
- Served as VP / Finance Director CIS in Moscow, Russia, from 1996 to 1999
- Served as Financial Controller Eastern Europe in Grenoble, France, from 1993 to 1996
- Served as Assistant Business Unit Finance Director in Vienna, Austria, from 1991 to 1992
Summary
Business Transformation & Restructuring: Directed large-scale restructuring initiatives in France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and the UK, including the development of social plans, headcount reductions, and ERP/organizational alignments. Delivered measurable results such as improved EBIT, inventory reductions, and enhanced on-time delivery.
Social plans, Site Closures & Production Transfers: Executed multiple production site closures and relocations of production assets under highly sensitive conditions. Ensured seamless customer order fulfillment, negotiated with unions and government authorities, and safeguarded brand reputation. Achievements include the profitable divestment of a French site above market value, closure and transfer of manufacturing to low-cost regions, and integration of acquired businesses with simultaneous site consolidations.
M&A and Post-Merger Integration: Led due diligence and integration of several acquisitions, including the €710m “Morpho Detection” and €500m “Microtecnica” transactions, delivering synergies through headcount optimization, site consolidation, and streamlined organizational structures.
Stakeholder & Change Management: Skilled in navigating complex industrial relations, building trust with employees, unions, investors, and government officials. Consistently prevented labour disruptions and ensured transparent communication with stakeholders during transformational change.
- Integration of several international acquisitions (transaction volumes between 500 m€ and 710 m€) – including works council negotiations, site closures (France, Germany, and Italy) and restructuring; financial targets exceeded by 30%
- Growing customer satisfaction from 63% to 96% while merging several companies and reducing inventory by 50%. Establishing close-knit merger teams, purposefully retaining good customer relationships, and achieving complex mergers in less than 1 year (during Covid)
- Planning and execution of social plans in international environment. 100% success rate without any strike actions. Specialised in difficult negotiations with unions and government officials. Asset sales above market values
- Achieving Y/Y sales growth of 30% for 4 years in the area of Francophone African Government sales as a result of sales team streamlining and gaining support from European and US country embassies plus UN and NATO
- Turnaround of loss-making companies (with revenues between €70M and €225M) & secured €20M in funding from governments and the European Commission.
- Advised an international industrial business on production and service capability optimizations, resulting in 1.5% additional EBIT
- Developing high performing teams in challenging environments, getting their buy-in for structural and cultural changes, and applying lean (TPS – Toyota Production System) and Total Quality Management (TQM) tools.
Languages
Education
University for Finance and Economy – Moscow
B.A. · Management · Moscow, Russian Federation
IMADEC
European MBA, Law · Vienna, Austria
California State University, East Bay
Executive MBA · Hayward, United States
Similar Freelancers
Discover other experts with similar qualifications and experience
Interim CEO
Investor, Shareholder, Member of the Board of Directors
Founder and Managing Director
Independent Consultant and Interim Manager
Finance Transformation Director
Partner
Expert in Engineering & Consulting
Advisor Go-2-Market
Freelance Consultant and Interim Manager
CEO
Chief Transformation Officer – Special Machinery, Systems and Services
Managing Partner
Lecturer for Generative AI, Freelance Part-Time Associate
Board Member
Interim Director Finance / CFO
Operational Managing Director
Founding Partner
Interim Logistics Manager
Head of Purchasing
Consultant
Interim E-Commerce SME Consultant – Special Accounts
Interim Managing Director of the Technical Department
Owner / Associate Partner
Consultant
Project Manager for SAP GTS Trade Services, edition for SAP 4/HANA
Interim Sales Director
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Management/Strategy Consulting: Reorganization and Optimization of the R&D Department with a Focus on Software Development
Task Force Manager
