Fabio FERRARI

Full P&L responsibility for the division 4 manufacturing facilities and the 8 distribution centres, 550 Employees, 75million€.
• Starting point: turnaround business in quite poor shape weak and unprofitable: weak management team, poor and unreliable numbers, unconsolidated ERP, poor inefficient and uncompetitive production units, country independently led versus European led.
• Started to build Management team and new spirit, create tables and numbers support despite weak systems, organized a Functional structure and 4 Business stream, reshaped Web image, created European Brand identity, Sales and Marketing strategy implemented and communicated
• As a key success factor we started aggressive Cost savings and restructuring initiatives to prepare the business case for grow, this is the area where we have been concentrating most of the efforts and scarce resources.
• Noncore disposal wasn’t successful due to recession trends creating a further issue “lack of cash”
• Faced, as anyone else, fierce recession trends. Industry advertise -15/20% downfall averages, Industrial segment show the highest negative impact.
• Because of sales drop, we have then found additional areas of savings and hence been able to increase our savings targets by 1,5M€, and we still actively work to find more day after day.
• Necessary Sales Initiative created to up-hold sales and reduce shortfall lead
• In 2010 in a like to like situation, due to enhanced savings and cost cutting initiatives the Business will show after “annualized saving impact calculation” an EBITDA of 6,2M€ , which will enable the company to be in a much stronger position as soon as the recession trends stop

BARNES DISTRIBUTION Europe July 2006 to date
Barnes Distribution is an international, full-service distributor of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) supplies part of Barnes Group Inc a 1.2 billion$ corporation. Barnes acquired KENT from Premier Farnell in 2006 merging it with existing activities in Europe

Managing Director Europe
Full P&L responsibility for the division - 8 Subsidiaries 27 Distributors 850 Employees, 116million €.

Sets the strategic direction and leads all of the division’s core sales, global distributor relationships, channels to market, brands coordination, marketing and operations activities in Europe.

• Ideated and led project for the division, the foreign cash taxes that may be saved over ten years exceed $10mil on NPV basis. In order to generate an equal amount of cash, International must increase annual revenues by some 20%
• Led and organized Social Plan in France and Holland (Both Social Plan delivered on time; forecasted costs France on target and Holland better then forecast – year savings over €1.5m)
• Successfully recruited and integrated new key senior team members UK Managing Director, Commercial Manager Germany, HR Manager Europe
• Over achieved forecasted sales & profit growth for the former Kent entities for 2006 and on plan till now for 2007, maintained at a decent level the non forecasted numbers for the former Barnes (UK & FRA) entities. All the above considering heavy disruption in business operation generated by IT and integration activities
• Orchestrated a multi channel sales environment ensuring post acquisition channels complemented each other-Van selling, Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI), Sales Force, Web sales, Distributors, Telemarketing
• Continued Geographic expansion strategy via distributors unit in eastern Europe

KENT, Industrial Products Division Europe, Premier Farnell plc. 1992 to July 2006
Premier Farnell 823 Million £ group supplying electronic products and maintenance/repair services. KENT distributed consumable products for automotive body repair and industrial equipment maintenance.

Managing Director, Europe Division 2001 to July 2006
Head of the Division, responsible for the P&L, working through 10 Direct reports across 9 subsidiaries 23 Distributors Revenues of £41M and approximately 460 employees.

• Led KENT disposal project in 2005/06 with a successful outcome, sale value of 23,5Million € exceeded target of 20Million €
• Introduced the web sales channel for Holland, Denmark and Sweden - now 5% of total sales
• Led Premier Farnell ‘Breakthrough Project’ to develop an alternative web-based common solution across the Group. (Web based solution now incorporated in global strategy enhancing sales by 20%)
• Restructured the Sales Force Channel ensuring greater flexibility and better returns for the business.
• Built an Eastern European network: opened distributors in Hungary and Czechoslovakia
• Commercialized an exclusive abrasive product (patented): 15% of revenues in Italy
• Reduced sales force attrition from 40% to 25% through new HR practices
• Increased proportion of sales from non-chemical products -from 5% to 15% of total group revenues)

Responsible for the leadership and development of the Southern European subsidiaries (250 employees).

• Restructured Italian subsidiary reducing staff by 50%. Re-motivated sales team and focused strategy on the 40% of clients who generate 80% of revenues. Profit improvement, €26K year 1, €930K year 4 y
• Increased sales in Spain by 82% in 1 year
• Increased sales in France by 14% and profit margin by 19% in 1 year
• Lead and Introduced the telesales Channel concept in Europe
• Managed project to explore Russian market potential in automotive aftermarket sector

Led the primary European subsidiary (30% of revenues, 160 employees, 25,000 clients) during merger with Premier Industrial Corporation.

• Achieved 12% to 18% annual growth through reorganization (including relocating warehouses) and improving sales team motivation
• Streamlined internal communications, setting up weekly reports, holding national meetings site visits etc.
• Coordinated promotional activities: sponsorships (Paris-Dakar rally), conferences, etc.

Launched Italian subsidiary, hiring 3 initial employees, setting up office and growing the branch to 45 employees. Assisted with the launch of the Spanish subsidiary.

• Obtained first contract with Fiat only 3 months after corporate decision to open Italian subsidiary
• Achieved the highest sales force effectiveness ratio in Europe (6 sales per 10 visits)
• Successfully integrated in the acquisition by Premier Farnell of the Premier Industrial Corporation group as a key manager, being given the General Manager role of the largest Subsidiary (France)