James C. Willis, MBA

Naperville, Illinois ***** 630-***-**** ac38eq@r.postjobfree.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jwillis1/

Professional Summary

Senior Executive with a full range of operational, financial and leadership expertise. Successful at integrating all functional areas of an organization into a high performing and profitable unit. Adept at analyzing organization structure and processes for efficiency, streamlining and lean performance. Significant industry exposure in consulting, metal fabrication, paper products, jewelry, distribution, automotive, measuring instruments and financial turnarounds. A strong leader who can motivate organizational team members to high levels of achievement. Long term management up to 75 reports.

Key Strengths

P&L Management

Executive Leadership and Planning

Budgeting and Forecasting/Analysis

Cost Reduction and Vendor Relations

Mentoring and Training

Strategic Planning

KPI Measurement

Sales Management

Lean and Six Sigma Trained

Financial Statement Preparation

Professional Experience

KCP Metal Fabrications, Inc. Vice President of Operations

2015 to April 2017

Managed a 30,000 square foot facility with 25 employees. Products were small and medium volume runs which were often unique, difficult to engineer and required fast turnaround.

Member of senior management group.

Saved approximately 30% - 50% annually by renegotiating new contracts with vendors.

Implemented new procedures for improved quality tracking and production planning.

Re-staffed and put new processes into place that significantly improved quality and delivery.

Midwest Fuel Injection Services Director of Branch Operations

2013 to 2014 - Bolingbrook, Illinois

Managed seven (7) branches across the USA with multiple technicians and service centers. Branches sold and serviced diesel pumps, injectors, turbochargers and other peripheral equipment.

Achieved profitability in 100% of the seven (7) branches in 13 months.

Developed budget and actuals for each branch with variances and analysis.

Mentored and coached seven branch managers across the USA.

Greatly improved inventory accuracy by establishing and implementing a cycle count program.

Member of executive management committee.

Updated company-wide employee manual.

Improved the overall appearance and décor of each branch

JW Consulting President

2012 to 2013 Naperville, Illinois

Consulted with various manufacturing and service businesses with a focus on strong profit improvement. Analyzed

and evaluated cost structures and problems and made recommendations for improvement. Insured plans were effectively implemented and measured results. Developed and implemented KPI metrics, made staffing and personnel assessments and built cross departmental teams to attack problems. Clients included heavy machinery maker Caterpillar.

Viking Metal Cabinet Company President/Owner

2003–2011 Chicago, Illinois

Purchased the company in late 2004 after working in senior management for one year. Implemented many sales, cost control and reorganization initiatives to allow it to survive and prosper reaching a high point in 2006 with sales of $7.5 million and strong profitability. Reorganized and upgraded personnel, improved on time delivery performance and

strengthened product quality and engineering. Sold the company to a strategic investor in December, 2010.

James C Willis 630-***-**** ac38eq@r.postjobfree.com Page 2

Viking Metal Cabinet Company, (Continued)

Key Accomplishments:

Grew company from $4.5 million in 2003 to $7.5 million in sales by 2006 with strong profitability.

Functioned as hands on company controller and financial analyst.

Replaced a fully insured health plan with a self-funded plan saving $200,000 annually.

Reduced overall inventory levels 50% over five years from $1.4 Mill to $650K.

Improved on time delivery performance to 93% over a five year period.

Implemented lean and Six Sigma principles and practices.

Conducted $3 Million annually in sales with General Electric.

Tech Finishers Powder Paint Company General Manager

2002-2003, Lombard, IL.

Recruited by company owner to conduct a very successful turnaround after the company had gone into

negative monthly earnings and was in chaos. Planned and championed an aggressive restructuring that took

earnings from severely negative to positive in a span of 6-8 months.

Completely revamped the production facility including work stations, layout, operational

functionality and quality control.

Managed the successful implementation of a state-of-the-art five station powder coat paint line.

Took actions with respect to the monthly financial statements that turned it profitable in 6 months.

Blackman Kallick CPA Firm Senior Financial Manager

2000-2002, Chicago, IL.

Clients were typically distressed firms requiring effective and aggressive actions to improve profitability.

Engagements were conducted in various industries - jewelry, die casting, paper products, measuring

instruments and metal fabrication. Goals were to improve operations and profits so the organizations could

survive and prosper.

Implemented lean and Six Sigma Principles.

Conducted numerous successful turnarounds across a variety of industries.

Coordinated with top level management and ownership to affect positive change.

Recommended and implemented staffing changes that brought about enhanced performance levels.

Published numerous articles on manufacturing principles and practices.

Diemasters Mfg. Inc. Vice President of Operations

1994-2000, Elk Grove Village, IL Director of Operations, Controller

Hired as the controller and consistently promoted to greater responsibility for engineering, operations,

tooling and customer service. Customer base included top tier customers such as Littlefuse, Briggs & Stratton, Texas Instruments, Kwikset, Lucent and TRW.

Company grew from $10 million annually to over $18 million under my leadership.

Oversaw and coordinated successful effort to achieve ISO certification.

Managed several internal build outs which expanded production capacity substantially.

Implemented Kaizen events, lean processing principles and Six Sigma quality standards.

Danly-Komatsu LP Production Planning Manager

1991 – 1994, Cicero, IL Corporate Internal Auditor

Obtained extensive experience working with major automotive companies (Chrysler, Toyota, Nissan) as I

managed the project development of major transfer stamping presses for the Neon and Avalon cars.

Learned and honed project management skills and the ability to coordinate multiple tasks.

Trained and implemented many Japanese management techniques, including Lean and Six Sigma quality.

Developed production tracking and job costing models that were used to communicate status with major automakers.

Developed monthly cost to complete job cost statements used by ownership on major projects.

Education/Systems

BS - Eastern Illinois University, Accounting MBA - University of Illinois, Finance and Strategic Planning CIA - Certified Internal Auditor

Excel, Word, Powerpoint, Access, E2, Quantel, Quickbooks, Vistage, MRP packages, Kronos, Banking Software

Contact this candidate