Full P&L Accountability.
Not Advisory Distance.

Full P&L accountability and not advisory distance is what separates the CEO for industrial business from an external adviser. Scott Foster operates as CEO for industrial business — bringing a full P&L mandate, commercial rigour and operating experience across manufacturing, distribution and industrial sectors. CEO, Managing Director and Operating Partner roles in industrial, manufacturing and distribution businesses — across turnaround, transition and growth mandates in Australia and APAC.

Where this fits

Demand → Pricing → Cash → EBITDA → Network → Visibility → Value

$110M+ Revenue Managed

25 Yrs Operating Experience

17× EBIT Exit (Dotmar)

12 Countries Operated

Mandate Types

Three ways to engage.
One standard of accountability.

Boards and PE firms engage directly — no search firm, no agency fee. The same operational accountability regardless of mandate type or duration.

CEO & Managing Director

Full-time CEO and Managing Director for boards, private equity firms and privately held industrial businesses. Permanent placement, full P&L ownership.

— Full-Time CEO / MD placement — Transformation CEO turnaround — CEO for Scale through acquisition — Pre-Exit CEO value creation

Explore CEO Mandate

Interim CEO

Deployable within days for industrial businesses facing transition, underperformance or sudden leadership change. Available now. No onboarding lag.

— Interim / Acting CEO deployment — PE Operating Partner (hold period) — Distress and crisis leadership — Bridge between CEO appointments

Explore Interim CEO Mandate

PE Operating Partner

Embedded operator for PE-backed industrial businesses. Drives the value creation plan alongside the deal team — EBITDA improvement, working capital and exit readiness.

— Embedded during hold period — Post-acquisition integration — EBITDA turnaround mandate — Pre-exit value creation

Explore Operating Partner Mandate

“Boards and PE firms engage directly. No search firm, no agency fee. The same accountability as a permanent appointment — from day one.”

How I Work

Inside the business.
Not above it.

Diagnose Before Acting

I start with a commercial and operational audit — pricing, margin, working capital, execution cadence. No assumptions. Real numbers from inside the business.

Build the Value Creation Plan

A structured improvement plan with clear priorities, owners, timelines and metrics. Not a strategy document — a working tool that drives weekly decisions.

Execute With Full Accountability

I hold the P&L. I sit in the operating cadence. I make or support the decisions that move the numbers. Results are measured, not reported.

Transfer and Exit Cleanly

Whether stabilising, preparing for exit, or transitioning to permanent leadership — the goal is a business that runs without me.

$1.3M→$5.2M EBITDA in 18 Months

$38M→$93M Revenue Under Management

+500bps Margin Expansion

2.3×→6.0× Exit Multiple Achieved

Track Record

Proven results.
Across industrial businesses.

Dotmar Engineering Plastics — CEO

17× EBIT exit multiple. Full P&L accountability, restructured operations and commercial model ahead of PE trade sale.

Polyflor APAC — CEO & MD

300% EBITDA growth. Rebuilt the regional business across ANZ, overseeing manufacturing, distribution and commercial teams.

Plascorp — CEO

85% EBIT expansion in 18 months. Operational and commercial transformation of an industrial distribution business.

Full Track Record

Ready to discuss a mandate?
Let’s talk.

Direct engagement — no search firm, no agency fee. Full accountability from day one.

Start a Conversation Mandates & Deployment

Operating Method

How I run the business

For industrial businesses, CEO performance is measured differently than in service or technology sectors. Revenue growth is only part of it. The board needs to see EBITDA improving, working capital tightening, pricing discipline holding and branch or distribution performance converging — not diverging — as the business scales. These are the measures that translate into enterprise value.

Weekly operating cadence
KPI ownership
ERP and analytics alignment
Pricing and margin visibility
Working capital discipline
Branch and network performance
Board-level reporting discipline

Performance Visibility Track Record Discuss a Mandate

Next Step

Many businesses are no longer carrying operating leverage. They are carrying operational drag — overhead, complexity and reporting burden that has grown faster than the commercial capacity it was designed to support.

Go to next step: Leadership Mandates View full sequence

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