Greater Madrid Metropolitan Area
Truth is a scarce commodity for many leaders. Most advice is filtered by internal politics, personal agendas, or the fear of challenging the person in the chair. I am the unfiltered voice for CEOs and Boards. I don’t offer theories, I offer perspective forged in the heat of global operations. I have led organizations through the kind of complexity that keeps leaders awake at night, steering P&Ls from $200M to $1.2B and navigating high-stakes restructurings across three continents. My philosophy is centered on the tension between the "Why" and the "P&L." I believe the most resilient organizations are Purpose-Led and Performance-Driven. One without the other is a failure of leadership. I help you bridge that gap to make better decisions in "no-playbook" moments. How I work with you: Peer-Level Sparring I provide the "unfiltered mirror" necessary for CEOs and Founders to challenge their own assumptions. A space to think aloud, share doubts and ideas. All with the overriding objective to take action and make better decisions. Board Governance As a Non-Executive Director, I help boards move beyond compliance checklists to build governance that actually protects and propels the business. Academic Collaboration I bring boardroom realities to the classroom, collaborating with worldclass business schools to prepare the next generation of leaders. To ensure total presence and focus, I strictly limit my individual partnerships to a maximum of 8 to 10 leaders at any given time. I am selective because this is a peer-level partnership based on chemistry and absolute trust. If you are ready for a conversation without an agenda, where your vision is pressure-tested and your "unfiltered" truth is heard, let’s see if there is a fit. Connect with me: 📧 [email protected] 📱 +34 620 618 255 🌐 striance.com
Striance is my personal practice. I offer a peer-level exchange for CEOs and Boards who need a truth unfiltered by internal politics or personal agendas. Whether serving as a statutory Non-Executive Director or a confidential sparring partner, I help leaders navigate the "no-playbook" moments where strategy meets messy reality. My work is built on the belief that the most resilient organizations are those that are Purpose-Led and Performance-Driven. Core Focus Areas: 1) Peer-Level Sparring: Providing the "unfiltered mirror" for CEOs and Founders during high-stakes transitions. 2) Board Governance: Moving boards beyond compliance checklists to focus on strategic value and ethical performance. 3. Academic Collaboration: Bridging the gap between boardroom realities and the classroom through collaborations with world-class business schools.
I stepped into the role of Group CEO at a critical juncture. After years of expansion across Africa, the company was over-leveraged and facing significant financial headwinds. The mandate was clear: stabilize the group and find a sustainable path forward for a 130-year-old industrial giant. The Outcome: 1) Financial De-risking: Led a complex restructuring and strategic disposal of non-core assets to slash debt and restore the balance sheet. By 2023, the company was on solid financial footing. 2) Strategic Focus: Proposed and implemented the decision to exit certain African markets, refocusing operations on our core strongholds in South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. 3) Cultural Shift: Moved the organization from a "survival" mindset to one that was Purpose-Led and Performance-Driven. This wasn't just about the P&L; it was about safety, employee engagement, and accountability. 4) Future-Proofing: Initiated the journey toward lower carbon intensity, ensuring that a legacy industrial business could remain relevant in a decarbonizing world. I didn't do this alone, it was the result of a collective effort to rebuild trust with shareholders and pride among employees. We turned a period of high-stakes uncertainty into a platform for long-term stability.
Following the global merger of Lafarge and Holcim, I was tasked with two sequential mandates to ensure the new entity delivered on its promise to shareholders. Mandate 1: Regional Integration (Southeast Asia & Oceania) Led the integration of a region with 4.8 billion CHF in revenue and 22,000 employees. My focus was navigating the messy reality of merging two distinct corporate cultures while maintaining operational momentum. The Outcome: Delivered 126 million CHF in additional EBITDA, surpassing targets through logistics optimization and shared services. Mandate 2: Global SG&A Efficiency Based on the regional success, I was tasked with tracking and driving SG&A (overhead) benefits across the Group’s worldwide operations. The Outcome: Orchestrated a group-wide initiative that achieved a 288 million CHF annual cost reduction, exceeding global targets by 10%. Achieving the outcomes required working directly with the Group CFO, regional EXCO members and Country CEOs to dismantle duplicate structures and implement a unified, performance driven framework.
Based in Madrid, I led the global seaborne trading of cementitious materials and solid fuels. Managing a 1.2 billion USD P&L across four global hubs (Madrid, Singapore, Dubai, and Miami), my mandate was to restore stability and professionalize operations following a period of significant turbulence. The Outcome: 1) Profitability & Risk Mitigation: Delivered a 10% increase in profitability by re-engineering trading processes. I shifted the focus from volume to risk-adjusted margins, enhancing efficiency across the global supply chain. 2) Third-Party Growth: Achieved a 22% increase in third-party profit by pivoting to a customer-centric model, proving that value-added services could drive margins beyond internal group volumes. 3) Structural Professionalization: Designed and implemented a strategic framework based on global commodity trading principles. I simplified the complex legal entity structure and streamlined operations to improve agility and service delivery. 4) Culture of Accountability: Rebuilt and motivated regional teams, moving the organization toward a performance-driven culture where transparency and accountability were non-negotiable.
I led a $500 million business with 1,800 employees. My focus was on scaling the operation to meet the demands of a fast-growing market while making the organization leaner and more efficient. The Outcome: 1) Growth & Profitability: Delivered over 35% revenue growth, with profit growing at an even faster rate. We achieved this by overhauling the supply chain, manufacturing, and back-office processes. 2) Asset Management: Focused on getting more out of our existing plants and made selective investments to ensure a steady, low-cost supply for the next decade. 3) Regional Shared Services: Built a Shared Service Centre in the Philippines to handle back-office work for Holcim across Southeast Asia and Australia. This allowed the region to grow without adding administrative headcount. 4) New Retail Model: Introduced a different way of selling to the market that significantly improved customer retention and margins.