HORACE WARD

**** ***** ******** ******

Birmingham, AL 35242

Home 205-***-**** / Cell 205-***-****

actgrt@r.postjobfree.com

Senior Executive / Entrepreneur

High Growth Turnarounds Operations Restructuring M&A Bankruptcy Administration

Executive with 30+ years’ experience in public and private corporations driving/achieving growth agendas and turning around struggling industrial and technology manufacturing organizations. Analytical and fact-driven decision-maker able to size up organizational strengths/weaknesses and competitive positioning, and create value in both the supply chain and marketplace. Expert in consolidating operations and establishing optimal sale conditions. Able to recruit/retain top talent, initiate change, and lead teams to embrace aggressive goals and culture of teamwork and accountability.

Strategic Planning P & L Management International Operations Corporate Restructuring M & A Business Development Client Relations Performance Optimization

Change Management

Entrepreneurial Experience

Panhandle Express Energy Services, LLC, Big Lake, TX & 2013-2015

Legacy Express Services, LLC, Cheyenne, WY

Co-Founder / Owner of Oil Field Services Company operating in the Permian Basin of Texas. This company acquired by a Texas based chemical company in 2015.

Transition Management Group, LLC, Birmingham, AL. 2010-Present

Business consulting and real-estate investment.

Corporate Experience

White Energy Inc., Dallas, TX. 2007-2010

A renewable energy company ($500M + in revenues) headquartered in Dallas, Texas with ethanol plants operating in Kansas and Texas. White Energy ranks among the 10 largest operating ethanol companies in North America.

Senior Vice President of Business Development & Acquisitions

Recruited as part of a planned acquisition of a renewable energy technology/company to run anticipated new division as President. With acquisition collapse, assumed business development role with focus on investment opportunities in the ethanol space as well as new technologies in the renewable energy industry. Served as a board member for two companies in which White has ownership interest as well as two industry boards.

Uncovered falsified data and fraudulent technology in targeted acquisition candidate resulting in termination of acquisition.

Member of senior executive team taking the company through a CH 11 restructuring process.

Oversight of third party ethanol and co-product marketing and sales organizations.

Development of industry relationships (including potential alliances, acquisitions & mergers)

Oversight of corporate investments:

Quality Distillers Grains (QDG)- QDG is a full service marketing company specializing in cattle feed products.

Pro Gold, Inc- Pro Gold is a technology company specializing in the processing of distillers grains to extract high value proteins and oils for the animal feed market.

Corporate representation in industry organizations.

Frankfort Tower Ind.* - Court appointed Administrative Officer 2004-2009

& concurrently served as Vice President of Applied Ultrasonics 2004-2007

A privately held start-up Technology Company based in Birmingham, AL.

*(Frankfort Tower Ind. was fna ROHN Industries)

Frankfort Tower Industries (Bankruptcy Court Southern District of Indiana)

Appointed by the Bankruptcy Court and US Trustee to oversee the management and liquidation of the Frankfort Tower Industries Estate.

Successfully led the management & disposition of the Frankfort Tower estate resulting in 100% recovery to the secured & unsecured creditors as well as excess funds for distribution during Q4 2009 to the public share holders the company.

Key Accomplishments:

Sold the Tower Division to Radian Towers.

Sold the Shelter to Modular Solutions LLC.

Sold the Mexico operations to a Mexican Corporation.

Sold various real estate holding to third parties.

Resolved outstanding litigations & claims against the estate.

Managed litigation on behalf of the estate resulting in a recovery of $18M+.

Preparation of monthly status reports to the US Trustees Office.

Interface with the appointed creditor’s committee and representing legal counsel.

Management of the debtor’s legal counsel.

Applied Ultrasonics

Hired to guide struggling technology start-up to improve equipment reliability and functionality. Researched production processes with Russian originator as well as with research partner, Nippon Steel. Engaged in bidding processes, field work, and Department of Transportation relationships.

Commercialized technology product by improving its design and reliability. Created technical data packages for assembly and test and transitioned construction from the lab environment into an industrial vendor base with the capabilities to manufacture repeatable products to a high quality and reliability standard.

Supported customer requirements and projects.

Participation in key customer negotiations.

Transition of operations from Russia to the United States.

Increased the organization’s focus on product reliability, quality processes and standards.

Established US based vendors to manufacture critical design components.

Transitioned company from a lab based environment to a production mode.

Supported & participated in marketing and sales efforts for the technology.

ROHN Industries, INC. 1998-2004

(fna NASDAQ: ROHN), Peoria, IL

A leading manufacturer of Cellular Communication Towers, Equipment Enclosures & Construction Services with products in 54 countries around the world. ROHN operated facilities in Peoria, IL, Frankfort, IN, Bessemer, AL, Casa Grande, AZ and Mexico City, Mexico with annual revenues up to $253.7M and organizational size up to 1400 employees / contractors.

President, CEO and Director (November 2002 – 2004)

Named CEO of ROHN at a point in time when the company was in extreme financial distress, having borrowed heavily in May 2001against a $75M credit facility to facilitate a stock buy back, just prior to a severe down turn in the telecommunications market. The company was in its 9th forbearance with its secured lenders and facing potential foreclosure at the end of 2002 when named CEO.

Negotiated a new credit facility as part of an overall restructuring plan to pay off the secured creditors with-in a 12 month period.

Led a comprehensive restructuring effort, including renegotiation of labor contracts, consolidating all operations into the Frankfort, IN facility to lower operating cost.

Generated cash through sale of idled assets and structured the company for a sale process in late 2003.

Paid down in excess of $32M on a loan balance of $40M from December 2002 to September 2003 (bringing the total to over $52M paid off in the previous 18 month period).

Stabilized the operation and mid 2003 entered a process to find a buyer for the company.

Filed for Chapter 11 (September 2003) in conjunction with the sale process to clean up the balance sheet, signed an asset purchase agreement with a selected stalking horse and utilized the 363 bankruptcy code provisions to facilitate the sale process of the company.

Completed a sale transaction in December 2003 resulting in a full pay out of the secured creditors.

Engaged as the court appointed administrator in liquidating the balance of the corporate assets for the benefit of the unsecured creditors as previously described (Frankfort Tower) .

Chief Operating Officer (November 2001- November 2002)

Led operational consolidation of three operating divisions, closing two operating plants, reducing working capital over $20M in twelve months, implementing work force reductions of over 600 employees resulting in a pay down of $20M in debt.

Extensive involvement in customer relationships, secured lenders, and investment bankers as the company implemented major structural changes due to the financial condition of the company.

Division President (2000- 2001 & formerly Plant Manager 1998-1999)

Grew the Shelter Division from annual sales of approximately $40M to over $100M.

Focused the Shelter Division on new products and markets.

Recruited new senior staff, sales and marketing organizations.

Participated in road shows presenting the company to various investment brokers / funds.

Operated facilities in Alabama, Arizona and Mexico City, MX.

HEIL Environmental Industries, Inc., Fort Payne, AL. 1995-1998

A manufacturer & installer of refuse bodies and dump bodies for the waste and construction industries. Headquartered in Chattanooga, TN. HEIL operated plants in Tishomingo, MS. and Fort Payne, AL. Key accounts included BFI, Waste Management and New York City. Manufacturing processes included metal fabrication (welding, bending, burn and sheer), paint, hydraulics, wire harness fabrication and electrical systems on large trucks and manufactured truck bodies.

Plant Manager

Managed a stand-alone operation recognized as the flag ship facility in the refuse body industry with annual production volumes up to $70M.

300+ employees shipping both domestically and internationally.

Implemented a formal corrective action / quality program to track and reduce product defects.

Changes to process & equipment in paint operation resulting in $500K annualized savings.

Focused the organization on reduction of working capital.

Increased focus on day to day management, preventative maintenance, and process control resulting in:

Reduced indirect labor and overtime by 16%.

Reduced small tools and factory supplies by 23%.

Reduced machinery break down and repairs by 12%.

Reduced “Other” (contracts, services, leases) by 18%.

Reduced off load operations in the paint department from $40K/month to under $10K/ month.

Initiated cost reduction program in materials group resulting in significant annualized savings.

Implemented product combinations on dedicated lines resulting in a significant hour per unit reduction on automated product.

Sunbeam-Oster, Holly Springs, MS. 1993-1995

Sunbeam-Oster’s Household Products Divisions supplied consumer appliances to a variety of retail accounts including the major retail accounts of Wal-Mart & K-Mart. The Holly Springs’ plant operated with volumes in excess of $70M annually and provided manufactured components to two facilities in Mexico. Manufacturing processes at the facility included plastic injection molding, blow molding, and high volume assembly lines.

Plant Manager

Managed the division’s largest stand alone manufacturing plant employing over 700 employees with annual production volumes in excess of $70M supporting the company’s distribution warehouses as well as facilities in Mexico.

Improved schedule performance from 80% to 97%+.

Increased direct labor performance 27% in a twelve month period.

Increased production volume 20% while increasing direct labor spending 8%.

Reduced excess/rework labor and overtime premium 37%.

Reduced supplies, rental and repair cost 35%.

Reduced scrap material 49%.

Reduced indirect labor, maintenance, and tool room cost 7%.

Reduced occupancy cost 5%.

Reduced material inventories from $8.3M in 1/94 to $4.7M in 12/94.

Increased inventory turns from 6.0 in 1993 to 11.5 in 1994.

Hughes Aircraft, Forest, MS. 1988-1993

The Hughes Aircraft facility in Forest, MS. executed Department of Defense contracts for the Navy ADCAP 48 Torpedo program. The company assembled and tested the guidance and control sections as well as the propulsion system at this facility. Manufacturing processes included circuit card assembly, wave soldering, hand soldering, component and upper level test, paint, conformal coat, and assembly operations.

Business Unit Manager (October 1990 to December 1993)

Managed a self contained manufacturing facility in support of the U.S. Navy’s MK 48 ADCAP torpedo with program budgets totaling over $40M, over 300 employees with responsibilities that required interface with on-site Govt. inspectors, compliance to a wide range of military specifications, attending and presenting at Navy program reviews.

Implemented cell / team management concepts throughout the operation.

Improved schedule performance through in-source of problem subcontractors resulting in 98% schedule performance.

Implemented reliability improvement program resulting in increased factory test performance.

Streamlined the organizational and operating structure reducing operating cost $2M.

Successfully executed the start-up of various torpedo related products associated with fleet exercise programs.

Reduced work in process levels by 20% through continual cycle time reduction activities, TQM initiatives, JIT and World Class principles.

Reduced indirect expenses by $110K through restructuring of service agreements.

Completion of 23K sq. ft. facility expansion on schedule and under budgeted cost.

In-source and start-up of the propulsion system for the ADCAP MK 48.

Operations Manager (December 1989 to October 1990) and previously Production/Manufacturing Engineering Manager (3/89 to 12/89)

Reduced cycle time for production of circuit card assemblies from an average of 25 days to 10 days.

Recovered a 4 month schedule slip on subassemblies resulting from material shortages in a 6 month time frame while maintaining original contract delivery schedule.

Improved direct labor performance 45% in a 7 month period through application of line balancing techniques and performance competition programs between assembly lines.

Implementation of CMI techniques resulting in reduced operating cost and improved quality performance. Examples include a reduction of solder defects from an average of 7% to .06% and conformal coat quality indicators of 1.8 Defects per Unit (DPU) to an average of .02 DPU.

Manufacturing Engineering Section Head (November 1988 to March 1989)

Developed and implemented production assembly flows to maximize manpower and equipment resources to achieve a balanced assembly line.

Established operating procedures and planning which passed a Government Quality System Review audit 7 months after production start-up.

Developed and published a production flow business plan for the ADCAP production operation.

Rockwell International-Missile Systems Division, Atlanta, GA. 1986-1988

Rockwell manufactured Stand Off and Battle Field Weapon Systems for the Air Force and Army. Manufacturing processes included circuit card manufacturing, wire harness production, casting machining, assembly and paint operations in production of guidance and control sections for various weapons systems.

Senior Production Engineer:

Responsible for production line support for the AGM 130, GBU 15, and Hellfire production programs.

Conception and implementation of work instructions, tooling requirements, production methods, analysis/improvements and produce ability studies.

Change analyst on Production Configuration Review Board (PCRB).

Implementation of Statistical Process Control (SPC).

Development and maintenance of assembly programs at Rockwell’s Norcross 1 facility and development of Norcross’s annual capital budget.

Developed labor standards for all Norcross 1 operations via time study and MTM analysis.

Implemented SPC programs resulting in a 15% reduction in scrap for the GBU- 15 mechanical assembly lines.

Implemented a floor layout plan reducing material flow time by 10%.

Developed performance improvement programs resulting in a 30% increase in touch labor performance and higher production rates per work center.

Implemented line balancing techniques in the wire harness production area resulting in a 20% decrease in flow time.

Milliken & Company, Lagrange, GA. 1983-1986

Milliken is one of the largest privately held textile companies in the United States with operating plants throughout the southeast. Products included automotive upholstery, furniture fabrics, and linens.

Industrial Engineer

Responsible for quality improvement programs, factory layout and capital budget preparation, labor standards, weekly cost statements, variance reporting, product costing, scrap reporting, and development of plant operating budgets for direct and indirect departments at the Elm City Plant.

Assigned to “Travel Team” responsible for resolution of process problems at all plants in the Decorative Fabrics Division.

Implemented statistical process control program for the jet and range dye operations resulting in an 8% reduction in fabric waste for a 500,000 yard per week operation.

Named Employee of the Year (1983) for the Elm City Plant.

EDUCATION

Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama (1979 to 1983), Bachelor of Science, Industrial Engineering

Executive Development Program with Columbia University Graduate School of Business

13 weeks of management training with Milliken &Co.

100+ hours of leadership training with Rockwell

100+ hours of management training with Hughes Aircraft

Contact this candidate