1386 Interim Multi-Plant Turnaround CEO / CRO – Europe

About Our Client:

Our client is a European industrial group operating a network of manufacturing sites that convert base materials into finished products, through processes such as cutting, shaping, laminating and bonding, for the furniture and consumer goods market, spanning between five and eight sites across Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the United Kingdom, and potentially other European locations. Performance across this part of the business has become fragmented and inconsistent: deteriorating volume and contribution, inconsistent pricing and costing discipline, and a leadership gap that has stopped previous strategy work from turning into execution. The individual sites remain profitable in their own right, but the group has not yet been able to turn them into a single, disciplined, value-creating platform.

CE Interim has been appointed to implement a dedicated, time-bound turnaround of this business, consolidating the European manufacturing footprint, supply chain, pricing and product strategy under one accountable leader. The mandate runs for a defined period and concludes once the turnaround objectives have been delivered and are running independently.

Further mandate details will be shared with qualified Interim Managers under a signed non-disclosure agreement.

Project Description:

The Interim Multi-Plant Turnaround CEO will take full, CEO-level ownership of a defined 12-18 month turnaround mandate across a multi-plant converting business, with direct accountability for consolidating its European manufacturing footprint, supply chain, pricing and product strategy into a single, disciplined, value-creating platform.

• Holds overall accountability for turnaround performance across the network, reporting into senior divisional leadership
• Leads a full diagnostic across financial, commercial and operational performance by site, customer and product in the first 90 days, defining scope, milestones and governance
• Builds and secures approval for a recovery roadmap covering footprint consolidation, productivity, supply chain and commercial recovery within the first six months
• Owns execution of agreed recovery actions across pricing, product strategy, costing, customer segmentation and productivity through the core of the assignment
• Establishes consistent pricing, costing and margin governance across a previously fragmented, inconsistently run multi-site network
• Drives consolidation of the European manufacturing footprint, taking clear decisions on which sites to invest in, restructure or exit
• Embeds new performance routines and operating discipline so the turnaround holds once the mandate concludes
• Operates with full executive authority and direct senior access, while staying close enough to site-level reality to know whether the plan is real

Expected Results:

Success on this mandate is measured in restored profitability, disciplined operations, and a platform strong enough to run on its own once the mandate concludes.

• Sustainable improvement in underlying profitability and contribution margin across the network, not just headline volume
• A consolidated, rationalised European manufacturing footprint, with clear decisions taken on the weakest parts of the network rather than deferred
• Improved cost-to-convert through better productivity, yield and waste performance
• Restored commercial discipline: consistent pricing, a coherent product strategy, clear customer segmentation and healthier margin quality
• A stronger, more resilient supply chain supporting the consolidated footprint
• Continued external growth and new business development running alongside cost and margin recovery, not instead of it
• A turnaround that holds: performance routines embedded and running independently once the mandate concludes

Interim Manager Required Skills:

A senior industrial CEO or general manager with deep, personal converting sector experience and a direct track record of multi-plant turnaround and European manufacturing footprint consolidation.

• Direct, hands-on experience within the converting sector: manufacturing that transforms base materials into finished or semi-finished products through cutting, shaping, laminating, bonding or similar processes, spanning commercial, operational, technical and financial dimensions
• Proven CEO or senior general management experience running multi-site industrial operations with full P&L accountability
• A demonstrated personal record of consolidating manufacturing footprints, supply chain and product strategy as part of a turnaround
• A confident P&L owner able to connect pricing, product strategy, customer profitability and shopfloor execution
• Comfortable holding full, personal accountability for a defined-length turnaround mandate
• Executive credibility, able to operate at CEO and board level while staying close enough to operational reality to test whether a plan is real
• Experience introducing standard performance routines, KPI discipline and continuous improvement across multiple sites
• Fluent English is essential; Czech, Slovak, Serbo-Croatian, Bulgarian or Polish are an advantage

Track Record Required:

Interim Managers should be ready to provide concise, specific examples of multi-plant turnaround or transformation assignments they have personally led within the converting sector, ideally spanning footprint consolidation, supply chain and commercial strategy. Each example should cover:

• The scale and structure of the manufacturing network involved
• The starting situation and the mandate given
• The diagnostic approach used to establish the fact base
• The specific turnaround actions taken across footprint, supply chain, pricing or product strategy
• The level of authority held, and how full accountability for the turnaround was exercised
• The measurable results achieved, and over what timeframe
• How performance was embedded so it held once the mandate concluded

This mandate requires genuine converting sector experience: manufacturing that transforms base materials into finished or semi-finished products. General industrial or turnaround experience without direct converting exposure will not be considered a fit.

Key Requirements:

• Converting sector experience is essential and non-negotiable: direct, personal leadership within manufacturing that transforms base materials into finished or semi-finished products through processes such as cutting, shaping, laminating or bonding. Turnaround experience in general industrial manufacturing without this specific background will not meet the mandate’s requirements.
• CEO or senior general management leadership in multi-site European industrial manufacturing, with direct P&L ownership
• Direct experience consolidating manufacturing footprints, supply chain, pricing and product strategy as turnaround levers
• Comfortable taking full accountability for a defined-length mandate, not just advising on one
• Fluent English is essential; Czech, Slovak, Serbo-Croatian, Bulgarian or Polish are an advantage
• Available for a defined 12-18 month interim mandate with extensive travel across CEE, the Balkans, the UK and other European locations

Type of Assignment:

Interim

Scope of Interim Assignment:

Turnaround and Transformation

Functional Area of the Interim Manager:

General Management

Location:

Interim CEO / CRO

Duration:

12-18 months

Start Date:

October 2026

Why work with us?

CE Interim delivers proven executive interim leaders within 72 hours across borders, cultures, and industries. We specialize in high-impact interim management for private equity firms, family offices, and global corporations facing moments of transition: digital transformation, market entry, operational turnaround, post-merger integration, or crisis.

What sets us apart is not just the speed or depth of our network, it’s how we lead. Every engagement is personally guided by a CE Interim managing partner: former CEOs, CFOs, or COOs who’ve been on your side of the table, steering organizations through high-stakes decisions.

With a global talent pool and operational reach spanning Europe, the USA, and the Middle East, we don’t fill roles, we build trust, lead transitions, and deliver outcomes.

As part of the Valtus Alliance, the world’s largest alliance of Executive Interim Management companies, we ensure seamless international execution through 25+ offices and 80+ senior partners in over 50 countries.

Executive Leadership Breaking Borders. Outcomes Without Compromise.