The document outlines the professional experience of Gerard Van Riet, including his experience leading business transformations, acquisitions, and cost reduction programs. He has worked extensively in consumer electronics, consumer lifestyle, and FMCG businesses. Notable achievements include carving out a new consumer care organization, transforming an after sales service organization, and reducing the cost of non-quality by 35% at one company. He also has experience in supply chain management, restructuring production footprints, and managing rapid business growth and declines.

1. Professional Experience
Seasoned general manager with a unique blend of strong technical (civil engineer), financial (P&L
ownership), commercial (KAM and business development), social (lived and worked in Asia,
Eastern Europe and Western Europe) and organisational acumen.
Transformation manager with extensive experience in leading and driving business carve-outs,
acquisition integrations, business process (re)engineering and business process outsourcing
(strategic purchasing through complex tender processes) in Consumer Electronics, Consumer
Lifestyle and FMCG businesses.
Major Projects
Multinational company in Consumer Lifestyle and Healthcare products with global scope
 Assignment to carve out a full-fledged, focused and stand-alone consumer care and quality
organization as part of the divestment of a global business line.
 Disentangled organization, people, processes, assets and resources.
 Supported Due Diligence process, negotiated functional terms and conditions of the Trade Mark
License Agreement.
 Defined and implemented a new IT systems landscape.
 Cloned/assigned/transferred all supplier contracts.
 Worked under a very tight schedule, serving many stakeholders, but ensured a hassle free start
on Day 1 of the new company and secured continued operational performance in all 92 markets
served.
Joint Venture in Consumer Electronics products between a European and Asian multinational
 Mission to transform the After Sales Service Organization into an agile, state of the art and high
performing team.
 Centralized roles, redefined responsibilities of local country teams and moved functions like
vendor management from country teams to HQ.
 Closed central offices in Amsterdam, Eindhoven and Bruges and moved all HQ customer
service teams to 1 site in Ghent, Belgium.
 Led a cultural change program to instil the spirit of a SME.
 Achieved a reduction in headcount from 115 to 60 over 3 years. Consequently the cost of the
after sales organization reduced from €11 million to below €6 million.
 At the same time Employee Engagement Scores reached HP norm and Customer and
Consumer Satisfaction (NPS) increased with 40% over the same period.
Fully owned subsidiary of a Taiwanese company in monitors, TVs and public signage
products (B2C and B2B, branded and OEM) serving global markets
 Assignment to dramatically reduce the Cost of Non Quality for the subsidiary.
 Designed and led the implementation of a new consumer care strategy (consumer care funnel).
 Set up of fast product quality feedback loops to R&D and manufacturing sites that improved
product quality with 35%.
 Improved Cost Per Incident through re-definition and tendering of service provider landscape.
 Closed Warranty Compensation Agreements with key component suppliers that enabled
recovering the cost of non-quality cash out they caused.
 Led a program to disentangle service operations from the trade/retail.
 As a result the global Cost of Non Quality reduced from €90 million (3.5% of sales) in 2011 to
€50 million (2.2% of sales) in 2014. This improved the EBITA margin of the business with
1.3%, a huge contribution to a business with razor-sharp margins.
A global Business Line in consumer audio products, part of a multinational holding company
 Assignment to dramatically increase the competitiveness and agility of the audio supply base
 Professionalized the cost engineering function and engaged this function in the early phases of
new product design. This enabled a reduction in cost of the Bill of Material with >25% per
design cycle.
 Addressed the high labor cost component through the design and implementation of a new
industrial footprint with relocation of production from Hong Kong to satellite sites and
subcontracting in Shenzhen, China. This reduced the cost of labor with 80%.
 Relocated production of mini and midi audio systems from Singapore and Malaysia to China.
This led to a reduction of over 20% in Cost of Goods Sold.
 Prepared the supply base in Europe to cope with the exponential growth in demand for CR-
Recorder players (long lead time items from Asia, local supply base for plastic molding, metal
stamping and packaging material). Increased industrial capacity with 400% in 6 months. But
had to wind down the entire supply chain to zero 1 year later as product was overtaken by
DVD-R in the market place. Significant damage control (plan down industrial capacity, avoid
obsolete material, negotiate claims from suppliers)
Areas of Practice
 General Management
 Change and Transformation Management
 Project management
 Industrial Operations
 Consumer Care and After Sales Service
 Strategic purchasing, outsourcing and
tender/vendor management
 Quality and Safety Management
 Sustainability and Environmental
Management
Industry Lines
 Consumer Electronics
 Consumer Lifestyle
 Fast Moving Consumer Goods
Computer Applications
 Microsoft Office
 Siebel CRM
 Kana Express CRM
 SAP ERP
 QlikView BI
 Cognos BI
 MiniTab
 Lotus Notes/Outlook
Education/Qualifications
 Master in Electromechanical Engineering
and Production Management
 EFQM Excellence Model – certified
assessor
 ISO9000 certified auditor
 ISO14000 certified auditor
 Honorary Lecturer in TQM – The Hong
Kong Polytechnic University
 Winner Hong Kong Industry Award –
Quality
 Certificate of Merit – Hong Kong
Management Association
Languages
 Dutch: native proficiency
 English: bilingual proficiency
 French: full professional proficiency
 German: professional proficiency
 Chinese (Cantonese): basics
 Hungarian: basics
Personal values
 Respect for people
 Relentless focus on the customer
 Importance of sustainable development
Gerard Van Riet
Managing Director
Executive Management Solutions
Geel, Belgium
vanrietgerard@gmail.com
+32 497 38 15 44
be.linkedin.com/in/GerardVanRiet