Richard Kostka

• CODYMAG is an industrial holding company closely affiliated with the Grenzebach family office. Our holding comprises businesses in machinery and plant engineering, electronic manufacturing services (EMS), and contract manufacturing.
• Oversee a budget of $120 million and a team of 400 employees across five different countries.
• Led change management efforts, fostering a culture of continuous improvement across departments.
• Led operational strategy to enhance organizational efficiency and drive revenue growth.
• Directed operational strategy aligning with corporate goals, enhancing overall business performance.
• Oversaw cross-functional teams to streamline processes and improve organizational efficiency.
• Implemented data-driven decision-making frameworks to optimize resource allocation and project outcomes.
• Cultivated partnerships with stakeholders to drive collaboration and support strategic initiatives.
• Full responsibility for developing new manufacturing footprint in Poland including construction, relocation, team development, contract negotiation and production launch.

Responsible for a division with a budget of $90 million and a workforce of 210 employees that manufactures activated carbon products for vapor and water filtration, biological treatment products, ion exchange systems, laboratory water products, and membrane filtration and separation systems. I was recruited to lead the transformation and restructuring of three European facilities, including a brownfield launch, which were facing a significant backlog and an unsustainable supply chain. My responsibilities encompass day-to-day operations, project management, production, supply chain management, procurement, quality assurance, inventory control, IT, and compliance.

• Core Responsibilities Operations Director:
• Accountable for multi-site quality management system and increasing customer value with a thorough understanding of customer needs.
• Preparing, meeting, and exceeding facility sales, P&L, and capital expenditure budgets.
• Directing all operations, administrative and financial functions.
• Fostering, promoting, and demonstrating the company's core values and leadership behaviors.
• Maintaining a balance between customer, employee, and financial satisfaction by maximizing facility/department performance indicators that align with company objectives.
• Growth Behaviors: to be highly enabled to deliver, highly empowered to succeed, and highly accountable to lead.
• Provide leadership and set strategy, KPIS, and deliverables for continuous improvement in safety, environment, customer experience/quality, production, reliability, and profitability.
• Personally lead, promote, and serve as a role model for the safety culture within the plant.
• Full ownership of the magic triangle (Time, Cost, and Scope) for opening a new production facility in Warrington, UK, and launching two fully automated production lines in Günzburg.
• Selected Achievements:
• Improved bottom-line absorption hours by over 31% within the first nine months.
• Improved Sales by 17% year over year by renegotiating piece prices with OEMS and the material supply chain.
• Successfully launched new fully automated assembly lines for analysis & control of the product. This is the first global automation for Evoqua.
• Relocated a UK operation (Brownfield) within nine months on time, within budget, and with 100% employee engagement.
• Concluded ISO re-certification audits with only one minor finding in 2021.

• Responsible for an $80M, 160-employee division producing assembled camshafts and modules for BMW and VW. Recruited to turn around a manufacturing plant with negative Operating Income, an extensive past-due backlog, and a non-sustainable supply chain. Managed day-to-day operations, including manufacturing production, supply chain, procurement, quality, inventory, IT, and compliance.
• Core Responsibilities, CEO:
• Develop and execute a business strategy for the SMA plant that drives management development at all levels, enhances competitive market vitality in core business segments, and achieves financial objectives.
• Preparing, meeting, and exceeding facility sales, P&L, and capital expenditure budgets.
• Directing all operations, administrative and financial functions.
• Fostering, promoting, and demonstrating the company's core values and leadership behaviors.
• Maintaining a balance between customer, employee, and financial satisfaction by maximizing facility/department performance indicators that align with company objectives.
• Support the ISO/TS 16949 Quality System, ISO 14001 & Ford Q1 Certification
• Develop and implement a Six Sigma and Operational Excellence (OpEx) culture.
• Ensure team compliance with ITIL processes as defined by the company's IT policies to ensure that all process control objectives are met.
• Analyzing performance and operational activities to identify problem areas and implement solutions.
• Develop, review, update, and implement strategic planning regarding sales, customer satisfaction, and financial performance as appropriate to the markets served.
• Guide the kick-off of new programs using APQP, MS Project, and Project & Launch Management tools to ensure success.
• Provide leadership, coaching, and training to the executive team and all reporting managers, ensuring continued development and effective succession planning.
• Support the implementation of the Health and Safety Committee and the Steering teams for continuous improvements.
• Develop employee incentive programs and align strategy with the long-term business plan.
• Establish cooperation agreements with other legal entities in Mexico and the Union Officials.
• Identify areas of the business where there is a risk of non-compliance and develop policies to reduce that risk.
• Selected Achievements:
• Improved bottom-line OE by over 5 M within the first nine months.
• Improved Sales by 17% year over year by renegotiating piece prices with OEMS and the material supply chain.
• Successfully launched a new assembly line for VW
• Scrap reduced by 17% to 2.53% (better than the industry standard)
• Employee research concluded with a satisfaction rate of 92%
• Received both ISO certifications with only three minor findings and accumulated more than 90 points
• Spearheaded strategic initiatives aligning company vision with market trends.

During my seven years with Linamar, I developed an excellent reputation for launching greenfield and brownfield plants, as well as turning around operations and projects in several countries.

Global EAT M1 Program Director @McLaren, USA, Germany & Hungary / 2018

• The project is a $500 million global e-car corporation between Daimler, Valeo, Siemens, and Linamar, the transmission supplier. Overall, budget responsibility includes. Prototype ~$30m and CAPEX ~$97m. Initiating and setting goals for programs according to the strategic objectives of the organization. Responsible for contract negotiations, project feasibility, and customer compliance. Full responsibility for greenfield and project planning - from start to completion, involving deadlines, milestones, and processes. Control and challenge the resource and budget inputs within the project at a higher level. Contact person for the project, internally and externally. Responsible for crisis management.

COO, @Linamar Tianjin, China 2016 – 2017

• Full P&L responsibilities for the DL382 VW/Audi transmission housing program ($56m US) and 175 employees. Oversaw material, purchasing, manufacturing, facilities maintenance, and quality assurance. Enacted a turnaround budget to reduce past dues and make the division profitable.

Managing Director, @Linamar Valvetrain, Germany 2014 – 2016

• Oversaw three plants (forging, heat treat, and camshaft assembly) totaling $38 M and 170 employees of a then-acquired business site of Mubea. Reviewed due diligence errors, corrected them, and developed and implemented strategic plans and budgeting processes. Establish a business unit structure based on a linear departmental organization and establish the financial and organizational structure that allows gross margin measurement at the business unit level

Managing Director, @Eagle Manufacturing Kentucky, USA 2012 – 2014

• I held complete P&L responsibilities for a world-class engine block machining plant. Eagle Manufacturing produces V6 engine blocks for Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, and Caterpillar, as well as transmission components. Leading over 450 employees and managing annual sales of $72M with an OE of $ 11M, with a complexity of 5 different customers. Managed day-to-day operations, including manufacturing production, supply chain, procurement, distribution, inventory, IT, and compliance.

• I held full responsibility for a greenfield launch and the 2nd assembly line in Irapuato. Responsible for the achievement of the project target (quality, time, costs), starting from milestone 'Start of Project' (SP) to 'Project Closure' (PC). Clarified the aim (magic triangle: Quality, Timing, Costs) after the Project takeover, broke this down according to the operational structure of the core team members, and moderated the responsibilities of the project core team. Coordinated the project assignment of the project core team; Steered the project core team meeting; Controlled and challenged the resources and budget input within the project on a higher level; collected the information of specific positions (project core team members, product controller). I was the contact person for the project, internally and externally.
• Selected Achievements:
• Turned around an over-budget, two-months delayed $ 48m project and delivered 100% on time (Job#1) and under budget.

• Thesis Statement: Corruption As Part Of The Global Corporate & Public Governance: Comparison Of Different Laws To Challenge The Sufficiency Of Current Mechanisms, Control And Impacts On The Effectiveness Of The Global Anti-Corruption Campaigns

Certified Auditor DIN EN ISO 14001-2015 / ISO 19011, Studies: Environmental Norms, Methods, Use, Development of a sustainable system