A key executive has left
The business needs accountable leadership now — not after a long search.
Interim CEO / MD · Turnaround · Growth · Europe ↔ Asia
I take responsibility when an industrial business has to move.
For more than 25 years I have led industrial businesses through turnarounds, growth phases, international expansion and management transitions. I step in when results, decisions and execution cannot wait — from shopfloor to boardroom, across Europe and Asia.
- 25+
- years of executive impact
- +300%
- revenue growth at a double-digit-million scale
- 150+
- China trips over 20 years
Max Brandt
Global Industrial Executive · Author
Mandate focus
Interim CEO / MD · CRO · CCO / CGO
Turnaround · growth · international expansion
Interim CEO / MDTurnaround & Profitable GrowthInternational ExpansionEurope ↔ AsiaCommercial ResetAI from Pilot to Operations
When to call
Call when the business cannot afford to wait.
I take temporary executive responsibility, create clarity and move the organisation from a difficult starting point to a controlled next phase.
A transformation has stalled
Decisions slip, workstreams drift and no one owns the whole result.
A business unit is underperforming
Revenue, margin, cash or customer confidence must be stabilised and rebuilt.
International expansion needs an owner
A market entry needs customers, partners, operations and governance — not just a strategy deck.
Europe and Asia are talking past each other
Local speed, regulation, customer expectations and headquarters logic need practical translation.
An AI pilot has to become real work
The use case is promising, but process, decision rights, data and accountability are still unclear.
How I work
Mandate → Mobilise → Lead → Handover
- 01Mandateresult · authority · priorities
- 02Mobilisefacts · people · decision rhythm
- 03Leadchoices · milestones · accountability
- 04Handoverroutines · ownership · continuity
AI in management
AI only matters when the work changes.
My work starts with a business decision or process, not with a tool. Current mandates translate AI and technology roadmaps into market-entry, operating-model and leadership decisions, with clear human accountability.
From pilot to practice
Better work
Process · decision · accountability
Machine intelligence
×
Human responsibility
Sense
Use AI-supported research and structured inputs to see relevant signals sooner — with sources and assumptions visible.
Decide
Turn scenarios into explicit choices. Define who decides, what evidence matters and where human judgement is non-negotiable.
Act
Build the use case into roles, workflows and review routines so that the organisation learns from real execution.
Work already done
Developed AI-supported management routines around earlier signals, shorter decision loops and explicit accountability.
Led C-level work that translated AI and technology roadmaps into market-entry, growth and operating-model choices.
Built cross-border advisory capability linking AI-enabled engineering and AD/ADAS data with regulation, market access and customer value.
The leadership task
“I do not measure AI progress by the number of pilots. I look for better decisions, changed workflows and accountable execution.”Concrete work, not AI theatre
Executive track record
What changed because I led it.
Selected, rounded figures from industrial leadership roles. Company names remain confidential here; the scale and outcomes do not.
+300%revenue growth at a double-digit-million scale
+122%profitability improvement after restructuring
400k+ tmaterial sales and +4pp profitability
€180m+portfolio across 50+ global programmes
~€260mChina transaction and post-merger integration
€650msales volume stabilisation responsibility
From restructuring to profitable growth
- Challenge
- A restructured metal-processing business needed credible growth, stronger governance and new market relevance.
- Mandate
- Managing Director / CEO & CFO with responsibility for strategy, cash, people, customers and execution.
- What I changed
- Repositioned the company as a technology-led supplier, opened new regions and sectors, tightened governance and advanced patented high-speed machining.
Volume and margin moved together
- Challenge
- A global materials business needed stronger commercial discipline without sacrificing innovation or customer reach.
- Mandate
- Global responsibility for sales, marketing and R&D, including pricing, portfolio and two M&A projects.
- What I changed
- Introduced active pricing and portfolio steering, strengthened commercial routines and linked new alloys and coatings to market demand.
Cross-border integration became new business
- Challenge
- A major China transaction had to become a functioning joint operation across different management, customer and industrial systems.
- Mandate
- On-site integration, technical business development, sales and strategy in Wuhan for 2.5 years.
- What I changed
- Connected European and Chinese stakeholders, translated customer requirements into industrial delivery and co-developed new material and manufacturing solutions.
Europe ↔ Asia
I did not learn China from presentations.
More than 150 trips over 20 years, 2.5 years of operational responsibility in Wuhan and continued executive work with China since 2008 shape how I lead across regions. I know the pressure points first-hand: speed, trust, regulation, headquarters logic, local customers and industrial delivery.
-
01
Operate on site 2.5 years · Wuhan · integration
-
02
Build trust repeatedly 150+ trips · 20 years
-
03
Turn insight into business ~€240m portfolio & new-product business
Where the experience came from
Built in real operating roles.
The work started with materials testing and production. It grew through customer projects, China integration, global sales, turnarounds and CEO responsibility.
Materials & automotive manufacturing
Shopfloor, materials, production planning
Sino-European automotive joint venture
Wuhan integration and China operations
Automation · metals · automotive supply
Global projects, sales, pricing and growth
Advanced manufacturing · new mobility
CEO leadership, mobility and special situations
Engineering & transformation consulting
Strategy, engineering and technology commercialization
People behind performance
“I look for people’s strengths early — then create the clarity and responsibility that let them perform.”
Creative intelligence
Industrial leadership is also an act of composition.
Modern art, design, craftsmanship, classical music and sampling sharpen the same capabilities I use in business: recognizing patterns, creating tension and coherence, and combining distinct elements into a system that works.
Author & thought leader
China Speed — Schnelle neue Welt.
“China Speed is neither praise nor accusation. It is an attempt to understand a phenomenon that challenges our familiar speed of thinking.”
A practical and analytical perspective on infrastructure, digitalization, mobility, industrial scaling and the question of how Europe can respond with greater clarity, responsibility and speed.
Featured in leading business media and executive watch lists.
In conversation
Ideas become useful when they survive dialogue.
A podcast excerpt on industrial transformation, mobility and the gap between technological capability and consistent execution.
Podcast excerpt · 1:15 min
Industrial transformation · Mobility · Europe ↔ Asia
The next thesis
Die Langsamkeitsfalle — Blockierte Zukunftskraft.
“Europe does not have a knowledge problem. Europe has an execution problem.”
The manuscript connects productivity, capital, industrial scaling, mobility, regulation, leadership, talent and energy. Its conclusion is democratic speed: clear priorities, shorter learning loops and accountable execution — without authoritarian imitation.
Knowledge
→
Capability
→
Impact
New manuscript
Operating experience
I know the work behind the mandate.
My experience spans manufacturing, materials, automotive systems, automation, mobility, engineering services and international commercial leadership.
Selected advisory exposure includes C-level and business-unit mandates in aerospace and logistics.
Automotive & Mobility
Robotics & Automation
Industrial Technology
Global / Asia-Pacific
Metals & Materials
Engineering Services
Technology Commercialization
Advanced Manufacturing
Supply Chain & Logistics
Growth & Transformation
AI-shaped Management
PE Portfolio Leadership
Start a conversation
Call when waiting costs more than acting.
hello@maxbrandt.net
Available for interim CEO / Managing Director, CRO and CCO / CGO mandates, as well as selected permanent executive roles. Internationally mobile across Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America; relocation or a pragmatic multi-hub model is possible.