Strategy and Business Growth Interim Director: GEA

GEA are a global leader in process and packaging technology, and working with them to develop a business plan demanded clarity, structure, and decisive action. The organisation operates across food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, utilities, and several specialist sectors.

With more than 18,000 employees and revenues above €5 billion, GEA needed a renewed direction for the UK and Ireland. They needed a focused business plan that restored confidence, rebalanced priorities, and set the groundwork for long-term growth.

Understanding the Challenge

Growth across the UK and Ireland had slowed. Market visibility was scattered. Commercial alignment across divisions lacked consistency. I carried out a structured review of performance, customer portfolios, processes, and internal communication. The findings were clear. Market coverage was not coordinated, pipeline management varied from team to team, and customer engagement needed a more unified approach.

Setting a Strategic Foundation

GEA required practical direction. My role was to build a strategic structure that every division could follow. This meant creating a Business Plan that reflected market realities, competitive pressure, and operational capability. The aim was a plan that drove decisions, not a document that sat on a shelf.

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Delivering Strategic Direction

I created a clear, evidence-based plan for the UK and Ireland. It outlined priority markets, customer opportunities, margin focus, and resource allocation. It also established commercial goals that could be measured and tracked. This gave the leadership team a single framework that aligned all four divisions behind a shared agenda.

Commercial Excellence and Collaboration

I worked closely with each division to translate strategy into execution to strengthen key account focus, improve tender quality, clarify roles, and create consistent standards for opportunity management. I also introduced tools to improve forecasting accuracy, pipeline confidence, and market intelligence reporting.

Leading Change and Embedding New Practice

To ensure sustainable change, I built and led a Change Management programme for the UK and Ireland. This encouraged cross-divisional collaboration, shared best practices, and consistent customer-centric processes.

Long-term Impact

GEA now has a unified commercial direction, stronger internal alignment, and a robust business plan designed to support long-term performance.

Get in touch today to see how I can support you in developing a business plan.