Simon Mills

Head of Central & Eastern Europe, Animal Nutrition & Health at dsm-firmenich

Vienna, Austria

About

Business leader with proven strategic and operational line management experience with a background in strategy consulting and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School, New York • Proven analytical and conceptual skills to address diverse business development issues • Demonstrated leadership qualities to manage complex business change initiatives • Established leader of people and teams in international and culturally diverse contexts

Experience

  • dsm-firmenich (Vienna, Austria)
    • Head of Central & Eastern Europe, Animal Nutrition & Health
      Oct 2024 - Present · 1 yr 10 mos

    • Head of Marketing & Business Development EMEA, Animal Nutrition & Health
      Apr 2020 - Oct 2024 · 4 yrs 7 mos

      Responsible for a portfolio of specialty solutions, comprising ~20 product lines, accounting for ~300 EURm in sales with direct accountability for regional product management, pricing, marketing and technical support • Led the development of a regional growth strategy, defining priorities for geo expansion, performance improvement of established businesses and new business development in the fields of sustainable solutions for animal farming • Responsible for the go-to-market set-up and implementation of organisation refinements aimed at both reducing cost and accelerating solution sales • Initiated deliberate marketing actions targeting underpenetrated segments, sales force training, regional marketing events and commercial management • Achieved a performance turnaround after several years of stagnant growth, resulting in sustained double-digit (above-market) sales growth of the solution business • Delivered accelerated bottom-line growth through bold pricing actions, product rationalisation and sales focus towards most profitable product lines

  • Commercial Excellence Manager at DSM
    Jun 2018 - Apr 2020 · 1 yr 11 mos

    Responsible for leading the conceptual development and implementation of a proprietary sales & marketing toolkit across a regional sales force spanning 20 markets in EMEA • Established a methodology for tactical marketing prioritisation, execution and account planning including customer segmentation with a differentiated service level concept • Introduced CRM to the sales force with an initial focus on pipeline management and coordination of sales actions across specialist roles in a solution-selling context • Adopted a structured workshop-based approach to roll-out the toolkit and train the sales force, leading ~25 workshops and engaging ~200 sales & marketing team members

  • Principal at Strategy&
    Dec 2016 - Jun 2018 · 1 yr 7 mos

    Senior member of the energy, chemicals and process industries practice with a 10+ year strategy consulting track-record starting at Booz Allen & Hamilton, Booz & Company and latterly Strategy& • Partnered with CEOs and Board members on strategy and transformation topics • Experienced leader of strategy, operating model and performance improvement projects • Broad international project experience having operated on a pan-European basis Strategy development and commercial excellence, Chemicals • Developed the strategy and target portfolio for a ~$1bn performance plastics business • Assessed end-market growth opportunities and revised the go-to-market approach • Conducted a rapid margin improvement exercise delivering an additional 1.5% in return on sales Portfolio review and strategy development, Specialty Chemicals & Solutions • Evaluation of a diverse product portfolio along market, competitor and profitability dimensions • Derived strategic options with implications for innovation, new business models and go-to-market • Developed an implementation plan incl. partnering and M&A targets Operating model design and corporate restructuring, Industrial Gases • Led large scale global organisation transformation and cost reduction programme • Designed and rolled-out key organisation, governance and process changes across business units • Managed the program office achieving >€500m in annualised savings Additional project experience: • Business model evaluation and benchmarking, Polymers • Organisation and operating model design, Specialty Chemicals • Strategy for a national oil company, Oil & Gas • Sourcing and supplier strategy, Specialty Chemicals • Organic growth strategy, Industrial Coatings • Post-merger integration and operating model design, Petrochemicals • Customer and product portfolio optimisation, Utilities • Review of group capital projects and operating expense reduction, Oil & Gas • Operating model design, Downstream Oil & Gas

  • Project Leader (Manager) at Booz & Company.
    Sep 2013 - Dec 2016 · 3 yrs 4 mos

  • MBA Graduate Student at Columbia Business School
    Jan 2012 - Jun 2013 · 1 yr 6 mos