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PROFILE AND AMBITION
An international, multi-lingual, technically proficient Sales & Marketing professional with extensive experience in driving market expansion and revenue growth, and creating 'added value' through targeted sales and marketing initiatives, and the strategic development of customer, partner and supplier relationships
Enterprising, communicative and intuitive, able to build, coach, lead and inspire multi-national sales, marketing, process engineers and technicians to achieve first rate results within challenging, continuously evolving and intensely competitive markets – now ready to relocate to secure a position as a Sales & Marketing Director in a technical environment.
CAREER SUMMARY
1994 to date:Magotteaux - Designers, manufacturers and installers of hi-tech wear resistant castings for the cement, mining, power generation and recycling industries in Sub Saharan Africa
2002 Sales Manager
Contributing to the company's direction, market growth and profitability, with direct responsibility for creating and driving sales and marketing strategies and the management of key accounts
Main activities:
* Management meetings, formulating business strategy, reviewing performance against targets, and formulating organisational-wide improvement initiatives
* Market intelligence - analysing, synthesising, forecasting and reporting on customer, competitor, technology and market dynamics as part of forward planning and new product development
* Formulating, negotiating, presenting, implementing and controlling sales budgets
* Creating, presenting, negotiating and implementing multi-faceted marketing plans
* Contributing to setting prices, commissions and profit margins, and preparing and negotiating contracts
* Recruiting, coaching and providing direction to a multi-national team of sales and marketers, process engineers and technicians in maximising business opportunities and ensuring correct deployment of the company's mobile pilot station at customer's mine site
* Selecting appropriate test work at the mobile pilot station as part of a customer-focused added-value approach
* Orchestrating and managing technical developments in consultation with process engineers and technicians
* Supporting marketing in product positioning, technical / market segmentation, developing key messages and measuring product performance
* Consulting and developing strategic relationships with customers, key business partners and suppliers
* Key account relationship development, hospitality, business planning and project management
* Managing production partner Scaw Metals' (wholly-owned subsidiary of Anglo American Plc) licensing agreement, co-ordinating short/medium-term operational issues, pricing, quality, deliveries, new product introductions, production planning and budgets
* Organising and participating in customer training, seminars, trade shows and entertainment
Special project:
* Currently assisting Group's Chief Business Officer in formulating the business plan and managing the roll-out of a new ceramic grinding media manufacturing plant with a Board approved investment of U$15M and a market potential of U$60M per annum
Main results:
* Increased over 5 years metric tonnes sales volumes and U$ turnover by 47% and 151% respectively
* Grew grinding media market share and linear market share from 85% to 98% and 21% to 32% respectively
* Strengthened customer relationships and achieved 100% account retention in competitive market
* Recruited, built and leveraged the capabilities of a well motivated, high achieving sales and process team
* Established an open, communicative and knowledge-sharing culture – resulting in high retention levels
* Created and sustained a firm market presence, building a reputation for quality and best practice
* Introduced a customer-focused, consultative-selling and performance-based sales approach, including Total Cost of Ownership and the cents/tonne milled and delivered-to-mill concept
* Orchestrated a U$200M five-year technical and commercial collaboration program with Anglo Platinum
* Negotiated a U$50M three-year supply agreement with Aquarius Platinum – saving customer U$7.5M+
* Developed 'benchmarking' tools to measure product performance and facilitate management decision-making
* Devised a key account management tool for Anglo Platinum, Impala, Lonmin and Aquarius Platinum
* Increased sales with the introduction of a 'management by objective' performance-related bonus system
* Spearheaded roll-out of an in-house Quality Assurance Manual – improving service and market profile
* Built integrity by implementing a systematic, methodical and time-efficient approach to problem resolution
2000 Project Leader
Promoted to define the grinding media specifications for the South African gold mines, formulate the commercial strategy and introduce the most appropriate manufacturing technology to our licence partner, Scaw Metals
Main results
* Conducted techno-commercial grinding media market study in the gold mining industry
* Produced and implemented the strategic business plan linked to customer techno-commercial needs
* Quantified product requirements, new product specifications and performance criteria
* Project leading cross-functional teams in relation to new product development and introduction
1994 Technical Sales Engineer
As part of a techno-commercial team, contributed to the audit and optimisation of the grinding circuit process, and the promotion and sale of tailor-made foundry wear parts to the mining, utilities and cement industries
Main results
* Grew turnover by 35% to U$8M per annum
* Increased market share in the cement industry by 29% (South Africa) and 46% (Export)
* Devised and implemented technical collaboration programs with key accounts
* Updated and distributed technical and commercial data to facilitate a clearly defined long-term strategy
EDUCATION & TRAINING
1994 – 2006 Cement Processing - Magotteaux South Africa and Belgium
Mineral Processing – Grinding and Flotation
Foundry Techniques and Physical Metallurgy
MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint (various levels)- Learning Resources, RSA
2005 Principles of High Trust Selling & Key Account Management - IMM Graduate School of Marketing, RSA
2004 "Essentials of Leadership" - Management Centre Europe, Brussels Belgium
2003 "Managers Development" - Management Centre Europe, Brussels Belgium
2002 "Taking Sales to a higher level"- Mercuri International, South Africa
2002 Diploma in Financial Management First Class- Damelin Management School, RSA
2000 Diploma in Management First Class - Damelin Management School, RSA
1988 – 1994 Master of Science in Mining Engineering Distinction- Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium
Thesis: Critical Evaluation of Computerized Tomography for Rock Mechanical Applications
Presented to the International Congress on Rock Mechanics, Japan '95
1982 – 1988 Grammar School, Section Mathematics First Class - College of Saint-Rombouts, Belgium
GENERAL
Date of birth 27th April 1970
Nationality Belgian (South African residency)
Marital status Married, with one son and one daughter
Languages Dutch, French, English, Afrikaans and German
IT Skills MS Office, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Baan, Lotus Notes
Memberships
1.BCCSA – Belgian Chamber of Commerce Southern Africa –President since 2007; main role is to orchestrate the new vision and mission, initiate a robust membership development program and secure an independent financial strategy for the long term survival of the chamber.
2.SAIMM – South African institute of Mining & Metallurgy –Active member
Interests: Family and friends, sailing, kite surfing, scuba diving, travel and reading
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