|
Michael is an operations and strategy professional with over 23 years of experience. He has extensive knowledge in business strategy, manufacturing engineering, quality, launch and product development. Professional Experience Prior to joining BBK, Michael was the Manager Production Planning & Scheduling for Ford of Europe (FoE), responsible for the development of operating plans to transform market demands into vehicle deliveries, covering all seven vehicle and five powertrain plants (including three Premier Automotive Group engine plants). He and his team, both in London and Cologne, also managed the Diesel-Engine Joint Venture with the French PSA-group. Among his achievements was the synchronization of the continuously strong demand increases beyond the installed capacities (up to 118% at individual plants). As Manager Strategic Planning-Vehicle Operations for FoE, Michael led cross-functional teams on various projects within seven plants in six countries. He successfully ran value chain analyses, make-buy studies and supplier-park optimizations. He also developed business plans, scorecards, and conducted benchmark studies on Kaizen/Lean concepts at Mazda in Japan. During his 18 years at FoE, Michael held various other positions, leading project-teams and departments, with positions including Manager Casting and Forging Programs, Manager Investment Planning, Project Control- Powertrain, and Program Analyst- Product Strategy and Business Office. Among his accomplishments, Michael successfully developed and implemented improvement actions with achieved cost savings of $4-6 million per year, restructured and launched a new strategy planning group, and achieved 15% investment reductions for new programs. He developed plant consolidations, implemented a capacity expansion, and designed a launch at a 20% reduced operating budget. Furthermore, he was involved in marketing projects for Aston Martin Lagonda in the UK. Prior to Ford, he was active at Adam Opel AG, Russelsheim, Germany for three years, and also performed his military service at a vehicle maintenance group in Mainz, Germany. | 