Johannes Klein

Head of Value Creation · Built & led 140-person cross-functional BU in aviation · P&L ownership, restructuring & operational excellence | Aviation & Industrial | ex-Roland Berger | Lean Six Sigma

Munich, Bavaria, Germany

About

Most business units don't fail because of bad strategy. They fail because no one is truly accountable for the whole thing. I learned that on the ground — not in a boardroom. Running a 140-person aviation harness unit with full P&L ownership at a TransDigm company. Leading OEM bids. Sitting in quarterly stakeholder reviews. Being the person whose name is on the result. Before that, I was the consultant telling clients what to do. At Cylad, I stopped advising and started doing — as interim Head of S&OP, managing €40M in volume through a global supply chain crisis. The gap between recommending a restructuring and executing one is everything. That combination — strategic clarity from consulting, operational skin in the game as an operator — is what I now bring to Verdatherm, a PE in the craft sector, where I lead value creation across portfolio companies. What I've delivered: → >€20M P&L with >15% top- and bottom-line growth in year one → 35% production volume increase at a restructured manufacturing BU → €40M S&OP execution during peak supply chain disruption → Cross-functional teams up to 140 people, end-to-end I work with PE-backed businesses, boards, and leadership teams who need someone who can own a unit — not just advise on it. Not the right fit if you need a generalist or a slide deck.

Experience

  • Head of Value Creation at Verdatherm
    May 2025 - Present · 1 yr 3 mos

    - Lead Value Creation across a PE-backed multi-entity platform (craft sector) - Drive operational excellence, restructuring & growth initiatives across portfolio companies - Partner with management teams & shareholders to execute value creation roadmaps - Focus: P&L performance, scalability, and integration of acquisitions Core skills: Value Creation, PE Operations, Performance Management, Transformation, Operational Excellence

  • Business Unit Manager at Elektro-Metall Export (EME)
    Apr 2023 - Apr 2025 · 2 yrs 1 mo

    Full P&L ownership (>€20M) of an aviation / aerospace manufacturing business unit (140 FTE) - Delivered >15% revenue & EBITDA growth within the first year through operational excellence & cost optimization - Led OEM sales, contract negotiations & business development in a regulated aerospace environment, securing profitable new business - Managed end-to-end value chain (sales, engineering, supply chain, operations) - Owned business planning, forecasting & quarterly stakeholder reporting Core skills: P&L Ownership, General Management, Aviation, Negotiation, Scaling Operations, Leadership

  • Consultant at Roland Berger
    Jan 2023 - Mar 2023 · 3 mos

    - Supported strategy, transformation & restructuring projects in industrial sectors - Delivered data-driven analyses & executive-ready recommendations Core skills: Strategy, Transformation, Executive Communication

  • Cylad Consulting (1 yr 11 mos)
    • Experienced Consultant
      Jul 2022 - Dec 2022 · 6 mos

      Led business unit in turnaround & restructuring programs in manufacturing & industrial companies - Acted as interim Head of S&OP, managing €40M salesvolume during global supply chain disruption - Delivered +35% production increase through operations optimization & bottleneck management - Owned end-to-end implementation (not just advisory) incl. execution tracking & KPI steering Core skills: Restructuring, S&OP, Supply Chain, Interim Management, Execution, Manufacturing

    • Consultant
      Feb 2021 - Jul 2022 · 1 yr 6 mos

  • Internship at Deloitte Deutschland
    Sep 2019 - Dec 2019 · 4 mos

    Strategy & Operations | Real Estate Consulting - Performed market potential analysis and location analysis for international customers - Developed long-term growth potentials and performed strategic outlooks - Developed restructuring measures - Developed strategic considerations in the M&A sphere