Vico Morcote, Ticino, Switzerland
With more than 20 years of experience in senior leadership roles in the global food and beverage sector, I have a demonstrated track record of driving both top-line growth and profitability, navigating through times of change, driving product innovation, optimizing costs, and executing successful post-merger integrations. As President & Managing Director of the Mediterranean division at Perfetti Van Melle Group, I grew peak annual revenues to €750M, successfully defended against the market entry by a major competitor (Ferrero Group), and generated 20%+ of annual revenues from newly launched products in every year (versus the industry average of <15%). As President & Managing Director of the Global Ingredients business at Perfetti Van Melle Group, I generated €9M in annual savings by reducing the unit cost of a key ingredient (gum base) by 20% and improved safety to attain zero lost time incidents. As Executive Vice President of Asia Pacific at Perfetti Van Melle Group, I led the regional post-merger integration following the acquisition of Van Melle by Perfetti and transformed Van Melle’s Asia Pacific business from a loss-making entity into a profitable operation with a positive EBITDA of 10%+. And as Managing Director of China, Indonesia & Vietnam at Perfetti Van Melle Group, I propelled annual revenues 4X+ from $10M to $45M, launched operations in China from the ground up, and ranked as a Top 3 confectionery manufacturer in each market.
Domani Food is a startup focused on providing natural snacking food and Swiss chocolates with ~10 employees. I was recruited by the founders to drive strategy, business development, factory operations, mission-critical alliances, and the P&L. Some of the key ways in which I made a difference include: ► Revamped packaging, website, and point of sale materials to reposition Mani Brand as healthy snacking alternative, boosting annual revenues 42% to €1M. ► Forged partnerships with 2 new suppliers in Switzerland (allowing for “Made in Switzerland” labelling) as well as with new Swiss distributor (previously products available only in Belgium, France, and Netherlands). ► Launched in-house manufacturing operation in Switzerland, eliminating delays caused by former co-packer model, reducing costs, and providing flexibility to rapidly expand number of SKUs over course of next 12 months.
Perfetti Van Melle Group is a global manufacturer of confectionery and chewing gum with €2.5B in annual revenues and 18K employees. As President & Managing Director of the Global Ingredients business, I led an organization supplying key confectionery ingredients to other business units throughout the Perfetti Van Melle Group as well as to 3rd-party buyers. In this role, I managed a €40M P&L while leading 90 employees. My most significant contributions to the organization included: ► Launched standalone Global Ingredients business across China, India, and Italy (previously Ingredients division executives reported to country managers). ► Reduced unit cost of gum base 20% from €3.30 to €2.60 (versus target of €3), generating €9M in annual savings. ► Selected to lead flavours subsidiary (Mondarom) in 2016. Reduced costs 10% by automating processes and strengthened relationships with other business units to increase annual demand from 200K to 300K kilograms. ► Improved safety to attain zero lost time incidents by 2017 as well as ISO 14000 environmental certification.
As President & Managing Director of the Mediterranean Division, I was promoted to lead the company’s largest and most profitable business (with the Perfetti, Gelco and La Giulia confectionery brands) across Italy, Greece, and Turkey. I grew peak annual revenues to €750M while overseeing 1K employees and 4 factories. My most notable accomplishments included: ► Boosted market share in sugar confectionery from 48% to 52% and in chewing gum from 95% to 98%. ► Retained #1 position in chewing gum segment despite market entry by Ferrero Group in 2016. (Ferrero attained <5% market share despite owning of 50% of all point of sale terminals across Italy.) ► Emphasized innovation with 20%+ of annual revenues generated by newly launched products in each year (versus industry average of <15%) while identifying and eliminating underperformers to reduce SKUs from 500 to 300. ► Led foray into “healthy snacking” market by spearheading acquisition of Valisi in April 2018 and laid foundation for new distribution revenue stream by structuring partnerships with Red Bull, Loacker, and Crik & Crok. ► Negotiated with labour unions and navigated through complex regulatory requirements to successfully implement lean manufacturing, launch 24/7 production, and consolidate factory operations across Italy, saving €700K in annual costs. ► Aligned sales team’s compensation with actual retail purchases versus volumes sold to distributors, encouraging sales representatives to take more active role in product placement / merchandising / etc.
As Executive Vice President of Asia Pacific, I managed a business with 8 production facilities and 6K employees across China, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam. My best achievements were: ► Delivered 50% growth in annual sales from €180M in 2001 to €270M in 2005. ► Led regional post-merger integration following acquisition of Van Melle by Perfetti in 2001 and transformed Van Melle’s business in Asia Pacific from loss-making entity into profitable operation with positive EBITDA of 10%+. ► Introduced new lollipop offering under Perfetti brand, generating €50M in annual revenues.
In this role, I led 4 production facilities and 3K employees across China, Indonesia, and Vietnam. My impact on the business: ► Propelled annual revenues 4X+ from $10M to $45M. ► Launched operations in China from ground up and won #2 market share in confectionery within just 2 years. ► Ranked as Top 3 confectionery manufacturer in Indonesia and Vietnam.