HEC Paris

The Wharton School

University of Oxford

At NewGen Bikes we offer a new generation of electric bikes, combining the lifestyle of a motorbike and the freedom of a bicycle.

NewGen Bikes

Co-Founder

Self-Employed Contractor

Consultant to non-profit organisations (Education)

Supporting founders and organisations in accelerating business transformation. Making operations more efficient, scalable and resilient and driving growth and cash generation.Specific areas of expertise:- Uncover and remove operational blockers within the organisation- Increase efficiency and improve scalability of processes in the organisation (sales, marketing, CS, HR) while optimising resources- Deliver high-impact cross-functional projects - Identify of ST and LT value creation opportunities in line with founders' vision- Develop medium to long term strategy including resource mapping and organisational design - Promote and establish cash and ROI-focused mindset across the organisation- Review and mitigate operational risks in the organisation- Assist with preparation ahead of fundraiseRecent projects / engagements:o OpCapita LLP - engagement to run major strategic expansion project for the business (on hold due to COVID-19)o Stong & Co (events), HUB (music) - 9-month CF planning during COVID-19 resulting in moving the companies to a cash stable position and development of new revenue channels (industries particularly impacted by the current crisis)o Bleach London – executive advisory to founding team ahead of private equity investment, including review of the business plan and growth work streams from a return on investment standpoint and discussions around business strategy and financingo Speaker for Schools – Strategic project to quantify the impact of the charity in England. The project was transformative for the charity as it provided for the first time a data-based assessment of impact, ready to be used for fundraising and communication purposes. It unequivocally demonstrated the critical role of the charity in the British education ecosystem. In addition a number of opportunities were identified to improve business practices internally in order to increase the impact and efficiency of the organisation.

Business Transformation Contractor

Strategically transformed practices and operations to turn the company into a scalable, agile and meaningfully derisked business while maintaining the start-up company culture(EDITED finalised a $29m new financing round led by Wavecrest Growth Partners and Beringea in Apr 2020)1/ Scalability- Created a more focused, action-oriented and accountable organisation (definition of key KPIs, drove the adoption of OKRs, increased team cooperation)- Increased efficiencies in hiring: process shortened by 50%, increased hiring rates by 5 pp, open positions filled 50% more quickly- Automatised and standardised key tasks resulting in lower business risk, increased time to close in sales by 30-50%+ and reduced CS team workload on some client sensitive tasks by up to 80%- Introduced strategy to drive employee retention across the business (review and change of employee benefits, introduced first manager survey, feedback tools and processes and employee development routes)- Stabilised the Operations team: retained key team members, reduced employee turnover by 100% and grew the team from 3 to 11 people2/ Organisation alignment and strategy- Prepared 3-year geographical expansion plan (detailed market mapping and key milestones), resulting in change in prioritisation of targets per team and increased transparency, organisation design planning, review of immediate hiring needs and re-phasing of product roadmap to align to commercial objectives and new prospecting target for the sales team) This piece of work also provided critical data-based assessment of future upside for EDITED  and shared with VCs during the fundraising process.3/ Derisking of the operations-  Streamlined contracts and adjusted insurance coverage gaps- Cemented relationship with suppliers while achieving up to 30% cost savings on key contracts and terminating low usage contracts- Brought the company to GDPR compliance in 3 months (effectively tested after the data breach of one of our partners)

EDITED

VP Operations (reporting into the co-founder/COO - in charge of Strategy & Operations)

Regional upper mid-market branded womenswear retailer, operating 13 stores in key cities in Germany€130m <a href="http://saleswww.appelrath.com">saleswww.appelrath.com</a>

Appelrath Cüpper

Consultant to the company and monthly operational review meetings participant

Leading specialist frozen food retailer operating c.240 stores primarily in Catalonia and Madrid€155m saleswww.lasirena.es

LA SIRENA

Discount clothing retailer operating a chain of circa 1,800 small format stores in secondary and tertiary cities primarily in Germany and Austria with smaller operations in Croatia, northern Italy and Slovenia €580m <a href="http://saleswww.nkd.com">saleswww.nkd.com</a>

NKD Firmengruppe

Leading furniture and electricals retailer in France €1.5bn salesAcquired in April 2008; sold in November 2016 <a href="http://www.but.fr">http://www.but.fr</a>

Consultant to the company and board observer

GAME Digital PLC

Consultant to the company and operational review meetings participant

As one of the first employees of OpCapita, I was involved in all aspects of value creation of the first 5 portfolio companies of OpCapita from investment to exit (c. €3.2bn combined sales). In particular spending on average 3-4 days per week on the ground assisting the management teams to deliver high-impact transformational projects across different teams (sales, marketing, purchasing, finance, HR, IT) and coordinating to ensure successful and timely execution of the operational transformation plan, drive profit and cash generation and achieve above than average returns on each investments.– Defined detailed strategic change programme with the board of the companies– Introduced limited set of KPIs to effectively monitor companies’ performance and anticipate issues– Introduced strong cash management tools and promoted cash- and ROI-focused mindset across all teams– Reviewed marketing strategy and worked in hand in hand with marketing teams to increase marketing effectiveness, maximising revenue and supporting brand recognition in time of disruption and growth– Offered extensive support on strategic expansion and value creation projects (incl. revenue optimisation, membership growth, new revenue channels, new market expansion, introduction and leveraging of loyalty programme, pricing and assortment strategy) and responsible for timely and successful delivery and resource optimisation (cash, time, staff)– Participated in negotiations with stakeholders (e.g. landlords, HMRC, suppliers)– Regular reporting to C-suite managers, Boards and investor team at OpCapita– Coordination during fundraising, exits and acquisitionOpCapita are investors transforming operationally underperforming businesses in the consumer, retail and leisure sectors across Europe. Their model stands out by their hands-on operational approach to value creation, requiring intensive and active involvement from OpCapita members and seasoned industry executives in their portfolio investments.

Marie Guyot