Dr. Sebastian Falß

Senior Project Manager Operational Excellence | Operations, Engineering & Maintenance Leadership | Industrial Cost & Performance Optimization

Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

About

Experience

  • LANXESS (Леверкузен)
    • Senior Project Manager Operational Excellence
      Sep 2024 - Present · 1 yr 10 mos

      • Led strategic operations projects on manufacturing footprint and product-asset strategy, developing relocation and closure scenarios and enabling executive decision-making based on cost structures, competitive positioning, supply chain considerations (e.g. logistics, tariffs, contracts), and regulatory frameworks (e.g. REACH). • Core team member driving maintenance excellence initiatives, systematically identifying and prioritizing performance improvement opportunities and cost-saving measures. • Led cross-functional Operational Excellence projects across multiple international sites, identifying mid double-digit million EUR savings potential and enabling sustainable cost reductions across production, maintenance, and support functions.

    • Head of Technology / Senior Engineering Manager
      Oct 2021 - Sep 2024 · 3 yrs

      • Led engineering and maintenance organization of the plant with full budget and personnel responsibility. • Accountable for technical compliance with all relevant legal and internal regulations (e.g. BImSchG, WHG, AwSV, BetrSichV). • Drove process and asset performance improvements, implementing cost-effective optimization measures resulting in six-figure annual savings. • Managed maintenance, optimization, and capital investment projects across the plant. • Developed a Power BI-based maintenance KPI system with live SAP integration, subsequently adopted as a blueprint for a company-wide solution. • Reduced maintenance costs by ~10% under challenging economic conditions while maintaining high asset availability.

    • Process Engineer
      Jun 2016 - Sep 2021 · 5 yrs 4 mos

      • Process engineer and process lead for large-scale design and optimization projects (€1m–€100m+ investments) across the full project lifecycle, involving cross-functional collaboration with production sites, R&D, and project engineering teams. • Selected additional responsibilities: (1) Led the global harmonization of SAP GLM labeling during the S/4HANA rollout, reporting to an executive-level steering committee and establishing a company-wide labeling guideline, (2) Represented the global technology function in the sustainability committee, contributing to the LANXESS Scope 1 & 2 climate roadmap.

  • Research Associate (PhD in Chemical Engineering) at INVITE GmbH
    Apr 2012 - Apr 2016 · 4 yrs 1 mo

    PhD in Chemical Engineering in cooperation with TU Dortmund

  • Intern at Process Technology & Engineering at Evonik
    Mar 2010 - Aug 2010 · 6 mos