Interim CEO & Turnaround Leader | Manufacturing, Engineering & PE-Backed Recovery Specialist
This interim leader brings extensive experience delivering turnaround and transformation in manufacturing-led businesses, combining deep technical understanding with strong commercial and financial acumen. Their career spans interim and permanent CEO, COO and operations director roles, where they have repeatedly transformed underperforming operations into profitable, scalable enterprises. They are recognised for their ability to take control in difficult situations, instil operational discipline and lead organisations through crisis into recovery and growth.
They have significant exposure to private equity and investor-backed environments, frequently appointed by banks, PE houses and private investors to rescue distressed assets, stabilise performance and prepare businesses for sale or long-term value creation. Their work includes restructuring governance, managing lender and investor relationships, supporting M&A integration and delivering credible turnaround plans that restore trust and confidence. They operate comfortably in high-stakes, highly scrutinised environments requiring transparency, rigour and pace.
Well suited to interim CEO, turnaround or recovery leadership roles, this executive offers a rare combination of engineering depth, operational excellence and board-level leadership. Their ability to deliver results under pressure, align diverse stakeholders and create durable operational and cultural change makes them a strong asset for investors and boards seeking decisive intervention and sustainable value recovery.
Delivered a full turnaround of a high-performance automotive manufacturing business, reversing multi-year losses into record EBITDA and restoring profitability despite major external shocks.
Led the operational unification and performance improvement of a large, multi-site manufacturing group, driving substantial EBITDA growth, output increases and real-terms cost reductions.
Stabilised and restructured multiple distressed engineering and manufacturing businesses on behalf of private investors and lenders, preserving jobs and protecting shareholder value.
Rebuilt boards, strengthened governance frameworks and embedded lean operational systems across international manufacturing operations to support sustainable performance.
About the Candidate
This executive is a multi-award-winning CEO and business turnaround specialist with over three decades of leadership experience across manufacturing, engineering and automotive environments. They are widely trusted by boards, banks and private equity stakeholders to stabilise distressed businesses, restore profitability and rebuild operational and cultural foundations. Combining strategic vision with hands-on operational leadership, they are particularly effective in complex, multi-site and international settings where decisive action and credibility are essential.
They excel in crisis and recovery situations, including prolonged losses, cash burn, operational underperformance, governance weaknesses and stakeholder confidence erosion. Their strengths include rapid diagnostics, cash and cost control, leadership team rebuilding, KPI-led governance, lean manufacturing implementation and operational standardisation. They bring calm, authoritative leadership under pressure and are adept at aligning investors, lenders and management teams around a clear recovery and growth agenda.