WORK EXPERIENCE:
Audio International, Inc., Little Rock, AR 2001 – 2005
As President I had full P & L responsibility for this $30 M company. Audio International designs, manufactures and sells control electronics, seat electronics and In Flight Entertainment (IFE) equipment for Business and VIP aircraft.
• Managed the company to positive EBITDA through the catastrophic downturn in general aviation in 2001... emphasized customer support and product release controls. Changed the sales and marketing structure and initiated an incentive program.
• Improved and implemented quality and productivity programs during the downturn that allowed return to a $20M sales rate in 2004 with no increase in staff.
• Developed and implemented a dealership program for European and world operations that allow penetration of remote markets with local resources. Provided sales, service and completion support for European operations.
• Implemented a new management structure that led to an increase in customer confidence and increased sales in 2004 and 2005.
S-TEC Corporation. Mineral Wells, TX 1998 – 2001
As President & CEO I had full P & L responsibility for this $22 M Company. S-TEC designs and develops Supplemental Type Certificates, manufactures and sells autopilot systems for General Aviation Aircraft throughout the world. S-TEC is a Designated Alteration Station and holds Planned Maintenance authority for all of its products.
• Marketed and sold the company in 2000 to Meggitt Plc. Obtained a selling price of $27.5 M on Sales for the previous year of $15 M and profits of $1.6 M.
• Managed growth of S-TEC from $11 M in 1998 to $22 M in 2000. Growth continued through $24 M in 2001.
• Introduced manufacturing automation in the form of Surface Mount Component placement and semi automated test equipment. Improved lead-time by two weeks with a decrease in inventory value of $500k.
Clarostat Sensors & Controls, El Paso, TX 1995 - 1997
As President I had full P & L responsibility for this $45 M unit of BTR. Clarostat designs, manufactures, and sells potentiometers and photoelectric sensors. This international company is based in El Paso and has facilities in El Paso, Dallas and Juarez.
• Managed operating results to consistently achieve 19% ROS and 44% RONA. Prior to 1995 the company was breakeven.
• Developed and marketed the first two new products to be released by the company in eight years. A third new product was to be released in the first quarter of 1998 with a potential of $10 M. The addition of these products added $250 M to the served available market.
• Used team building sessions to develop the first Strategic Plan for Clarostat in five years.
• Modernized marketing systems through introduction of Electronic Data Interchange, Lotus Notes databases, Internet communications and Fax on Demand.
• Initiated sales incentive programs leading to $4 M in improved sales.
• Increased capital spending on new product development and automation. Spending changed from 80% replacement / cost savings to 80% new product development.
• Upgraded and emphasized the Quality function, making quality management a theme of the organization. The result was BSI certification for the El Paso facility to IS0 9001 and the Juarez facility to IS0 9002 in six months. The process of IS0 9000 certification was used to build strong cross-functional working relationships.
Philips Components, Mineral Wells, TX 1991 - 1995
As General Manager of this division of Philips Components I had full P&L responsibility. This $22 M business unit produced resistors for the North American market. My responsibilities also included strategic planning for the Philips Components resistor commodity team for worldwide sales and product development.
• Improved profits from a 1991 low of ($-7 M) to $2.9 M in 1993. Managed assets to show a 38% RONA in 1993. Performance continued at a 10% ROS through 1995.
• Increased sales to $29 M by January of 1993.
• Re-engineered management organization leading to reduction of seventeen staff and supervisory positions. The resulting team provided annual savings of $1.4 M starting in 1992. Incremental annual savings of$1.6 M were realized starting in 1993.
• Developed and implemented a strategic plan concentrating on customer satisfaction and quality. Customer quality certifications received from Honeywell, Hewlett Packard, AT&T and IBM. IS0 9002 was achieved as the result of a five-month project to turn ex military certification into a useable commercial system.
• Developed and introduced tight tolerance, thin film, surface mount resistor product line. This line was moved to Jupiter, Florida where it produced $2 M in annual sales.
Philips Broadband Networks, Manlius, NY 1984 – 1991
Philips is an internationally recognized manufacturer and systems supplier to cable television and communication companies worldwide. The operation grew from a $38 M operation in 1984 to a highly profitable $87 M in 1991. The eight years with this company began with a volatile growth situation, moved to a turnaround stage and finished in a growth mode. I left this company because of a promotion opportunity within Philips.
As Vice President of Operations from 1988 through 1991, I had responsibility for manufacturing, manufacturing engineering, procurement, test engineering, warranty operations and all materials management functions. Operations at the facility in Manlius included 700 direct employees on two shifts.
• Implemented cellular manufacturing and workflow management systems. Tripled the output with no additional space required. First pass yield improved from 65% to 96% over a year of management and operator training. Improved warranty returns from 12% to less than 1% as a result of improved manufacturing operations and implementation of Kaizen systems.
• Improved cycle times from 6 weeks to 8 hours by implementation of JIT. This project was instrumental in improving customer relations as well as improving return on assets to over 50%. A result of the project was a WIP reduction from $2 M to an average $300 K.
• Led Pacific Rim selling effort and placed CATV systems in Hiroshima, Japan and Trang, Thailand. Additional sales efforts were made in Singapore, Manila and Taiwan. The Manlius factory and its Japanese operational methods were used as a showcase for foreign and domestic customers.
As Director of Materials Management from 1984 through 1988, I had responsibility for logistics, planning, procurement and inventory management functions through a major product transition period. I managed international procurement contracts valued over $30 M. Promoted to Vice President of Operations.
• Improved MRP, Purchasing and Master Production Scheduling systems that resulted in increasing inventory turns from 1.4 times in 1984 to 6.2 times in 1988.
• Out-sourced the Passive Tap product lines to Japan and Taiwan increasing profits by $1.3 M annually. The product line improved in sales from $15 M to $37 M in 1991.
Graber Industries, Middleton, WI 1976 - 1984
This $100 M division of Springs Industries supplies products for the window fashion industry. Multiple factories and branches distribute products through dealers, distributors and major retail chains worldwide.
As Director of Sales Administration from 1983 to 1984, I controlled a $7 M sales expense budget for a 120 person sales force.
• Selected and implemented sales training programs.
• Monitored and approved sales promotions and discounting programs.
• Participated in the team selling effort that added Sears Roebuck as a major customer. Sears replaced their own products with ours. This resulted in $25 M in recurring annual sales.
As Director of Materials Management from 1980 to 1983, I was responsible for master scheduling, production planning and logistics operations for three production facilities and 12 branch facilities.
• Oversaw purchases of $42 M per year and average inventories of $25 M.
• Selected and implemented MRP software along with training programs for schedulers that allowed inventory turns to be increased from 2.3 to 6.0 over a two year period.
• Managed the logistics of a plant closure and product move from Saginaw MI to Madison, WI.
• Implemented scheduling systems for custom products ordered in high volume and delivered throughout the US.
• Participated in a McKinsey study to optimize logistics and branch operations.
As Manager of Systems and Programming from 1978 to 1980, I built technical team of thirteen professionals from a starting point of three.
• Directed the design and implementation of manufacturing and distribution control systems in a multi plant, multi branch environment.
• Lead participant in an Arthur Anderson Consulting project to improve operational efficiency.
• Selected and installed IDMS database management system as a basis for modernization of the MIS function.
• Converted batch oriented systems to on-line systems.
As Systems Analyst from 1976 to 1978, I designed and implemented systems for customer service, cost accounting, sales management, inventory management and material requirement planning. Installed first on-line applications in this company.
Modine Manufacturing, Racine, WI 1974 - 1976
As Programmer/Analyst I designed and implemented systems for control of manufacturing operations. Main area of expertise was on-line real-time applications for planning of manufacturing activities.
• Designed MRP systems that were installed in three plant locations.
• Wrote and implemented programming and data base design standards.
EDUCATION:
Master of Business Administration September 1980
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Bachelor of Business Administration June 1974
University of Wisconsin - Whitewater
Private pilot ASEL, Instrument Rating
MILITARY:
United States Marine Corps May 1966 to May 1970
Honorable discharge, rank of Sergeant