Founded a major distribution business in the plastics raw materials sector.

45 years of successful international business experience in sales and management in the industrial sector in central Europe, United Kingdom and USA. in the eighties led joint venture entity as J.M.D. with Burmah Oil Group in England.In 1985 appointed marketing director for Elektrim SA -at that time publicly traded, largest industrial/trading conglomerate in Poland.In 1992 established in Illinois and led for 14 years Tele-Fonika Cable Americas Corp.- importer and wholesaler for industrial cables/wires.Sales from $ 2 M.- first year to $55 M.in 2005. Currently advises Tele-Fonika and owns consulting company- AmeriEuro Consultants Inc.

Over 35 years experience in the Food Industry both in Foodservice and Consumer package goods. Extensive New product development, sales and marketing experience. 6 years in my own consulting business.

Expert in Business Operations, Strategy and Planning. Very knowledgeable in manufacturing and technology and web-based services. Senior Supply Chain Operations/Engineering/Product Development Leader “Insightful actions, keenly executed . . . Results Delivered” Customer Focused. . . Problem Solver. . . Team Builder. . . Business savvy global leader with deep engineering and manufacturing expertise who is accomplished at delivering complex electro-mechanical products across multiple industries. An inclusive global leader and collaborator with highly effective listening, change management, and relationship building skills. Experience spans full product life cycle and value chain. BSME ▪ MSME ▪ MBA ▪ LSSBB REMOTEC, Inc.; Clinton, TN 2010 – 2011 Company: $40M (subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Corp.) Manufacturer of hazardous duty robotic ground vehicles and radio control systems for Military, EOD, First Responders, and Law Enforcement Agencies worldwide. Business characterized by a long sales cycle driven by government funding approvals and operated as build/procure to order with long lead times. Chief Operations Officer (COO) Engaged by the President to spearhead critical turnaround assignment to bridge functional silos, drive business process improvements in on time delivery, new product introductions, build accountability, and instill a program management culture. Assumed P&L accountability and directed day to day operations providing leadership to a team of 60 managers and associates with responsibility for Product Management, Manufacturing, Purchasing, Materials, Quality (ISO 9001), Accounting, Contracts, IT, EH&S, HR, and Facilities. Tracked KPI’s, addressing issues; prepared monthly management reports; spearheaded employee engagement initiative and proposal activity. • Enabled a critical revenue stream by expediting resolution of technical and supplier start-up issues on $11M Air Force contract; mobilized and prioritized resources; imparted a sense of urgency by being visible on the production floor. • Initiated “silo busting” by implementing collaborative planning and a product manager to align new product program across engineering, operations, service, and sales/marketing. • Diagnosed and charted path for product delivery improvement by engaging key stakeholders and analyzing data; orchestrated execution and accountability through daily meetings, focusing the team on communication, problem resolution, material availability, and cycle time. LEXMARK INTERNATIONAL; Lexington, KY 1998 – 2009 Company: $4B publicly held global developer & manufacturer of business laser and consumer ink jet printing products and managed print services. Roles were in the business products division during a period where we transformed from an in-house manufacturing model to an Asian contract manufacturing platform coupled with an unprecedented expansion of our product offerings which were refreshed on a 1.5 to 2 year cycle. Senior Manager, Manufacturing Services (2001-2009) Promoted twice with expanded role overseeing manufacturing plant, process, and systems; regional New Product Introduction; OEM Product Engineering; Supply Chain cost tracking and strategic planning. Managed a multi-disciplined team (3 managers/ 29 staff with $15M annual budget) and 200 employee plant, providing a range of services to global manufacturing operations. Member of the Worldwide Supply Chain Leadership Team and contributor to numerous strategic initiatives. • Oversaw daily execution of a build to order plant (200 employees, warehouse, production, distribution, refurbishment, VMI) in Mexico with full accountability for cost (P&L), quality, and delivery of >$150M/year. Achieved lead times of < 5 days and inventory accuracy of >99.7%. • Enhanced the customer experience for $40M OEM by reducing product/warranty problems 90%. • Advanced manufacturing productivity 25%, quality 82%, and cycle time 65%, via continuous improvement methods, while doubling SKU’s shipped to 700. • Improved responsiveness to large orders by process redesign enabling flexible capacity. • Spearheaded actualization of a proprietary web-based manufacturing system enabling real time visibility into our global contract manufacturers and servicers; we delivered this $5M program, using agile methods, establishing process controls and product traceability at 60 sites. • Planned/Managed $1.7M plant transformation in Mexico to materialize late personalization strategy. Leveraging demand flow we overhauled all processes and systems; restructured contracts; consolidated fragmented US operations; enabled direct customer distribution. • Tapped to revamp US supply chain supporting shift to an Asian manufacturing strategy; performed strategic analysis, network optimization; devised plans to save $3M over 3 years. Program Manager, New Product Introduction (1998 to 2001) • Selected to lead a team tasked with defining a product release process supporting a strategic shift to an Asian sourcing strategy. Solicited diverse inputs and established a process framework including capabilities map, partner selection criteria, risks, roles & responsibilities. • Led global cross functional team through a stage-gate process bringing a business laser printer family (>$300M/year in sales) from R&D to multi-site manufacturing launch in NA, EMEA, ANZ, and Brazil. Collaboratively planned and managed execution – design/test, sourcing, demand flow manufacturing process, volume transition, risk management, and decision making. SARGENT & GREENLEAF, Nicholasville, KY 1996 – 1998 Company: $25M privately held (ISO 9002) manufacturer of mechanical and electro-mechanical security products serving financial, government, and industrial sectors through an international network of distributors. Vice President, Engineering Reported to CEO; recruited to direct product development and sustaining engineering team of 14; electro-mechanical hardware/firmware; product testing and certification; tool design. Served as technical advisor to sales, distributor network, and at international trade shows. • Interacted with major bank to create a custom ATM lock solution, winning $2.2M bid. • Launched configurable electronic lock co-developed with a Swiss partner by overcoming technical hurdles, securing international approvals, resulting in initial sales of $330K. NORTHROP GRUMMAN NORDEN SYSTEMS, Norwalk, CT 1991- 1996 Company: $250M developer and manufacturer of radar and fire control systems serving military and civilian market. Originally unit of United Technologies sold to Westinghouse who was acquired by Northrop Grumman. Manager, Mechanical Engineering & Design Recruited amidst a turnaround to lead a team of 55+ engineers & designers/$12M budget; electronic packaging, mechanical/circuit card design, drafting, analysis, test, and production sustaining. Orchestrated constrained resources and budgets across multiple programs. Implemented CAD upgrades. • Planned, quoted, negotiated, and successfully executed multi-phased ($4.9M) production design of Joint-STARS radar; nine subsystems, 134 circuit boards, test sets, 1800 drawings. We delivered this $40M system by overcoming start-up issues through a collaborative team effort. • Contributed to business process improvements – integrated product development, cost estimating, proposal process, cost/schedule control, ISO 9000, engineering change reduction. GE ASTRO-SPACE, Princeton, NJ 1990- 1991 Company: $700M division manufacturer of satellite systems serving commercial and military markets. Staff Engineer, Thermal Systems • Team leader and cost account manager for thermal design on NASA Space Station. Authored system and component specifications, verification plans, capturing Award Fees. • Wrote design/analysis/estimating best practices as part of GE Workout initiative. LOCKHEED ELECTRONICS COMPANY, Plainfield, NJ 1984 – 1990 Company: $200M manufacturer of electronic warfare, signals intelligence, avionics, and radar systems. Supervisor, Mechanical Systems & Analysis Promoted twice to Supervisor/Staff Engineer. Managed 8 engineers performing antenna design, R&D, thermal/structural analysis, environmental testing. Member-Corporate Composites Task Force. Supported Business Development via capabilities briefings and proposal development. • Revived $1.1M R&D project delivering planar heat pipe technology and manufacturing processes; Enabled $1.5M power amplifier R&D contract; top scores from DOD reviewers. Invited to brief capabilities to the USAF, Army, NASA, and Lawrence Livermore Labs. • Resolved a “show stopper” B2 mission data entry unit random vibration problem fulfilling a $10M contract; minimized airframe impact. Interacted with customers – Boeing and Northrop. NAVAL AIR ENGINEERING CENTER, Lakehurst, NJ 1975-1984 • Promoted four times. Designed aircraft recovery equipment; managed $500K R&D portfolio for inspecting composite aircraft structures. Contracting Officers Technical Representative. Certifications: Project Management, Lean/DFSS, Lean/Six Sigma Black Belt, Professional Engineer Affiliations: American Society of Mechanical Engineers; Society of Manufacturing Engineers Publications: Several Technical Papers/Articles and Conference Presentations Selected Training: Change Management, Managing for Operational Excellence, Team Building, System Thinking

Manufacturer's Representative; VP Marketing; Author; Publisher.  http://www.outofvienna.net.

Ernie Weiss received his B. S. Public Relations and Communications from Boston University.

He spent his career as a Manufacturer's Representative followed by VP Marketing of a start-up company that later became publicly held. His customer base was manufacturers of various end products. He supplied parts needed to manufacturer those items.

As a SCORE mentor he concentrates on start-up businesses and low profit situations where sales and marketing are a solution.