Paul Sandberg has 30 years of operations management, business ownership, and management consulting experience. He has lived in five countries and worked in sixteen countries on three continents. Paul started his career in manufacturing as a plant engineer, where he had the opportunity to work as a control room operator, shift supervisor, maintenance supervisor, and maintenance planner before working his way through engineering and management roles to become the youngest US plant manager for a Fortune 500 cement company. As Plant Manager Paul led successful turnaround efforts in two US plants, each with 130 – 150 employees and $70 – $100 million in sales. Following these successes Paul was asked to move to London England and lead the team to improve operating efficiency for a $5 billion European acquisition, where within two years his team generated over $100 million in synergies, beating the target by 200%. From there the company asked him to move to Madrid and lead the effort to improve operating efficiencies across their legacy businesses in Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Africa and to manage their process engineering department for that region. Within one year this effort produced an additional $45 million in benefits and Paul moved to Croatia in 2008 to take the role of COO for a $300 million business unit serving Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and Northern Africa right as the global financial crisis was beginning. Very quickly the strategy shifted from growth to survival. Under Paul’s leadership the business was able to maintain free cash flows at pre-crash levels despite a 40% drop in the market.
At this point Paul decided to return to the US, complete an MBA at Carnegie Mellon University, and pursue a more entrepreneurial and personally impactful career. Along with two classmates he co-founded and started a technology company. As CEO he raised venture capital and led the company to 70% market share with it’s first product, and then launched a spin-out company with a second product in a new market. Unfortunately, Covid destroyed about 90% of this market.
Still energized by the entrepreneurial spirit and working with entrepreneurs, Paul started working with small businesses in a consulting role. Over five years he has had the opportunity to work with many small and some large businesses in manufacturing, professional services, healthcare, non-profits, and retail. Paul brings a wide range of skills and experience to every business improvement opportunity and is just as comfortable on the shop floor as in the boardroom.
Paul is married with two children and lives in Pittsburgh, PA.
