Brian Gapco

Background

Highly effective consultant in program management, root-cause analysis, and leading personnel to establish and exceed efficiency targets in challenging situations. Comfortable working with, and within, multi-national business cultures. Accomplished background including logistical, engineering, and commercial achievements.

Education

• Bachelors of Science – Mechanical Engineering
• Masters in Business Administration

Licenses

Licensed to practice patent law before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Reg. No. 42,566.  Trained in “Speed to Market” TPS, APQP, Lean Manufacturing, Value Stream Mapping, D&PFMEA.  Fluent in German, increasingly conversant in Spanish.

Project Experience

• Responsible for key-customer worldwide business expansion, to include formulation and refinement of global product-delivery solutions, market opportunity analysis, and product mix optimization.
  • Revamped an unprofitable, $4 million business segment to exceed corporate return guidelines, this achieved via value stream analysis, manufacturing relocations, and logistical improvements.

• Tasked with reversing declining sales to U.S. customers’ European operations and motivating local sales and engineering support, in addition to improving transatlantic cooperation and logistics.
  • Within five months overcame a “business hold” status from a Major Tier One Supplier to win the Client’s first new European order in four years.
  • Won increased business by solving a persistent, transatlantic shipment corrosion quality problem.

• Directed NAFTA business development and engineering liaison with manufacturing, HQ in Germany.
  • Acted as troubleshooter to facilitate communication and resolve quality and part content issues to the satisfaction of both NAFTA customers and manufacturing plants in Europe.
  • Assumed responsibility for all North American corporate functions and turned existing customer evaluations from sub-standard to exemplary within six months.
  • Earned Major Automotive OEM’s acknowledgment as an approved supplier in less than eight months.

• Implemented systems to ensure the quality of all purchased components. Guided development of suppliers worldwide, ensured ISO compliance, and oversaw value analysis and product inspection.
  • Instrumental in decreasing purchased product costs over 20% by personally leading teams which visited, evaluated, and developed more than 75 suppliers located in Asia, Europe, South America.
  • Created and implemented a system to evaluate and manage a worldwide supplier base of over 200 vendors. The system also provided feedback to quickly detect, identify, and rectify problems.