Ghent Metropolitan Area
CEO / MD / Business Unit Director / Sales Director / Commercial Director Looking to leverage general management experience alongside stong commercial skills at the service of a cross- functional team. Leading to achieve ambitious goals and support each team member in their growth. Goal-oriented leader and general manager with an international profile and passion for multicultural discovery, leading and developing teams. Expertise in leading national and international teams through various regional and international general and commercial management responsibilities. Successfully initiates and oversees process improvements while helping teams to achieve defined goals and grow together as an organization. Hands-on manager, leading through inspiration, guidance, and empowerment—consistently demonstrating strong strategic and operational skills. Areas of Expertise: General Management (P&L) | Cross-Functional Team Leadership | Business Transformation | Operational & Manufacturing Strategy | Change Management | Commercial Growth & Direct + Indirect Channel Management | Sales Management | Product Management | Key Account Management | Creative Problem Solving
Chairman of the management board (MD) ► Brands: (B2C) (35%) / Private Label (65%) ► Turnover: 65 mio € ► Employees: 150 FTE (50 white and 100 blue color) ► Operations: 2 production locations ► Customers: International Retail, Distributors, Discount, Club Stores, Duty-Free, B2B ► Regions: Worldwide Reported to the Supervisory Board, chaired by the company’s owner Key Highlights • Successfully guided the company through the cocoa crisis, delivering improved bottom-line results (EBITDA) • Enhanced team performance through organisational restructering, clear governance rules, KPI follow up and incentive initiatives • Led major operational improvements in raw material and waste management, resulting in higher material utilisation and reduced waste levels • Implemented a manufacturing control tool to evaluate shift performance versus planned costing and routing • Developed and implemented a new automated costing tool to support back-to-back sales offers and raw material hedging for PL • Initiated and executed key investment projects to strengthen overall operational capabilities • Established clear governance rules, including an NPD and gatekeeping process
► Member: MT Europe Bakery Products ► Brands: (B2B) (10%) / Private Label (90%) ► Customers: International Retail, International FS, Wholesale, Distributors, Discount, B2B ► Regions: Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, International Key Accounts, Spain, Italy, Switzerland Direct customer responsible for Lidl International in a matrix structure. Led and implemented cross-business line and cross-departments transformation project to make VDM more customer-centric. Managed export, P&L, team leadership, and strategy—oversight of 50 FTEs, including 7 direct reports. Key Highlights: Steered and built team of country commercial managers across different countries. Achieved double digit growth (profit and volume) in responsibility areas—implemented and led cross-functional country team in Poland. Helped Lidl grew in 10 years from 1 digit customer on local level to the biggest international customer of VDM Bakery products (3-digit turnover). Oversaw successful transformation project, leading and implementing follow-up across various departments and business lines. Contributed to implementing new market-driven pricing model and tool.
► Member: MT and reporting to the owner ► Customers: Retail, Wholesale, Distributors, Discount, BtoB, Duty Free, ► Brands: (B2C) (75%) / Private Label (25%) Managed P&L for domestic and export within +70 countries. Accountable for 23 FTEs, including 5 direct reports. Oversaw rebranding exercise and implementation
► Brands: (75%) / Private Label (25%) ► Customers: Retail , C&C, Discount , Wholesalers, Foodservice ► Regions: Germany, Austria Reported to CEO Europe; led independent business unit (GmbH). Held responsibility for all departments (Sales/Marketing/Finance), as well as P&L, strategy oversight, and 45 FTEs, including 4 direct reports. Key Highlights: Achieved strong brand (Aoste) growth with successful launch in discount. Reached +50% profit growth. Managed successful launch of license brand Weight Watchers. Established positive relationships with national distributor.
Took on sales management responsibilities along with internal preparation process for CEO assignment. Managed internal sales support team, providing support and mentorship.