TAOUFIK SBAI

Role overview Lead the development and launch of new interior products for vans (storage solutions, flooring, occupant safety devices), ensuring innovation and compliance with industry standard

Key responsibilities

• Lead a multidisciplinary team of engineers and designers, providing mentorship and strategic alignment to achieve project success
• Transform client needs into innovative concepts through collaboration with product and design teams, including concept ideation workshops
• Solve complex engineering challenges while ensuring compliance with industry regulations
• Plan and initiate projects by setting clear objectives and coordinating cross-functional teams using detailed project plans
• Oversee the entire product lifecycle, from specifications to prototypes, including iterative testing to ensure quality

Impacts & achievements

• Created a project governance framework tailored to management processes and product lifecycle stages.

Role overview : Oversaw client portfolios across Europe and the Middle East, driving strategic partnerships with automotive manufacturers in the seating commodities sector

Key responsibilities

• Provided regular updates to executive leadership on project milestones, growth opportunities, and risk management strategies
• Directed high-impact programs, including Renault-Nissan CMF C and B segment vehicles and Ford C2 Europe, ensuring seamless collaboration across teams in France, Morocco, Turkey, and Japan
• Strengthened client relationships by resolving outstanding issues, optimizing cost management, addressing claims, and ensuring timely invoicing
• Championed business growth by securing additional partnerships, such as local integration and co-engineering projects, to expand key accounts
• Managed program milestones to ensure timely deliverables, budget adherence, and approval processes aligned with client expectations
• Analyzed macroeconomic trends and their impact on cost structures, including raw material prices, transportation costs, and labor inflation, to adapt strategies proactively
• Developed and managed the department's annual budget, identifying opportunities for cost optimization while meeting financial objectives

Impacts & achievements

• Implemented pricing strategies to mitigate post-COVID logistics disruptions, securing a price indexation agreement with a +2% impact on EBITA
• Led the intercontinental transfer of a production line in just three months, ensuring seamless operations and maintaining an annual production capacity of 60,000 vehicles

Role overview Develop and strengthen strategic relationships with OEMs in the EMEA region, ensuring customer satisfaction and maximizing business opportunities valued at $30M

Key responsibilities

• Develop business plans in collaboration with stakeholders, including product bill of materials evaluation, projected optimizations, and margin proposals to ensure profitability
• Negotiate and finalize commercial agreements by validating payment terms, implementation dates, and macroeconomic commitments approved by the financial department
• Conduct regular economic reviews with clients, monitoring the trade balance, sales forecasts, and resolving disputes to align with strategic objectives
• Analyze regional projects from technical and economic perspectives, evaluating costs, material flows, and production processes to ensure feasibility and profitability
• Identify growth opportunities by developing additional partnerships, fostering business expansion and long-term client relationships

Impacts & achievements

• Led the commercial management of a strategic project for the Renault Express utility vehicle launch, delivering an annual EBIT of $2.3M .
• Negotiated a revised contractual hourly rate, factoring in inflation and retroactive adjustments, securing a $838K cash rebate.

• Monitor Lean Six Sigma workshops across various manufacturing processes to drive continuous improvement and operational efficiency
• Conduct regular efficiency analyses across the plant: Production line time studies, bottleneck identification
• Lead focused continuous improvement workshops (Yokoten): Standardized best practices to solve efficiencies discrepancies
• Report daily efficiency and productivity results to corporate
• Train white-collar staff on Lean Six Sigma fundamentals: 5S practices, Process design principals