- Welcome & Introduction
- Selected Achievements
- Meet Craig
- Personal Brand
- Executive Assessment (3rd Party)
- Code of Conduct & Ethics
- Selected Documents & Presentations
- Practical & Proven Leadership Videos
- Professional Experience (what my teams have done)
- Adding-Value (what my teams will do)
- Personal Industry/Investment Thesis
- Education & Professional Development
- Professional References
- Endorsements
- Recognition
- Volunteer & Community Service
- Hobbies & Interests
- Contact Craig
Welcome and thank you for visiting my website.
I’m confident you will find my experience, passion, and perseverance ideal for a senior leadership position and perfectly aligned with the needs of business owners and investors eager to elevate the performance and enterprise value of their company. Including successes in manufacturing, service and construction industries, with six (6) successful turnarounds, and leading two (2) companies to a sale/exit.
I have more than 20 years of experience in senior leadership roles. I have a proven track record of driving growth and profitability, and I am excited to bring my skills and experience to any company I have the privilege to lead. I am confident that I can lead the organization to even greater success.
In addition to my degrees in business and finance, I am a forever student of servant-leadership. Additionally, I have certifications in six-sigma and lean enterprise systems received while working with world-class organizations like AlliedSignal and Tenneco that helped me prepare for general management positions in the manufacturing and business services industries. My experiences make me uniquely qualified and sensitive to the needs and concerns of all stakeholders – owners, customers, employees, supplier partners, and communities where we do business.
I am committed to continuous learning and growth and am excited to take on new challenges. I have learned valuable lessons from each of my assignments, and I'm certain that I have the skills and experience to lead a manufacturing or services company to even greater success and I am eager to get started. For additional details, please see my resume in the 'Selected Documents & Presentations' page.
As evident in my resume, value-add commitment (see the 'Adding-Value' page), LinkedIn profile and this website, I am a 'disruptor' (meaning I challenge the status quo), a transformational leader, and a proven Private Equity/Privately-Owned manufacturing and service CEO with a track record of maximizing enterprise value by increasing profitability, growing market share, improving operations, and upgrading the organizations capabilities.
My focus and what I enjoy most is developing and building a team and sustainable culture that successfully drives process and systems improvement throughout the business - I've used this approach successfully on numerous occasions during my career. And, my proactive and innovative strategies are well-suited to companies aspiring to the next level.
Craig S. Marton
Chief Executive Officer ~ PE Portfolio CEO ~ Turnaround CEO ~ Interim CEO ~ President ~ Board Member ~ Servant Leader ~ Problem Solver ~ Mentor ~ Coach ~ US Marine Corps Veteran
(Manufacturing & Service Industries)
Led consolidation of company to establish a platform for growth, and transition the CEO role to commercial leadership. Transformed business from founder-operated to sustainable professionally-operated middle market designer, manufacturer, & installer of high-quality permanent store fixtures & displays from inception to completion. Creating a culture of honor, courage & commitment. Built a best-in-industry leadership team, promoting our company values of passionate, accountability, agility, & collaboration.
Improved quality of revenues & operating income from an annualized loss to a 10% return-on-sales while growing revenues 25+%. Successfully executed turnaround, avoiding bankruptcy during recession & automotive downturn. Paid down 75% of debt & expanded market penetration & wallet-share, improved product launch (program management), product quality, supply chain optimization, delivery, & employee involvement/satisfaction/engagement. And, obtained full & favorable commercial rate bank refinancing.
Grew revenues from $100 million to $150 million through organic growth & $20 million strategic acquisition. Producing plastic, metal & machined products. With operating income improvement from an annualized loss to a 10% return-on-sales successfully exiting bankruptcy – with significantly improved market diversification, new product development/innovation/launch, product quality, supply chain optimization, delivery & employee engagement.
Successfully implemented turnaround by significantly improving operating income/EBITDA from 9% loss to 9% profit, growing revenues & CAGR while substantially reducing debt in 2 years. Obtained full & favorable commercial rate bank refinancing. Additional improvements included reducing repeat service calls by 70+%, improved productivity by 32%, improved supply chain effectiveness, & improved employee engagement & morale. And, significantly improved/upgraded company leadership team.
Financial, operational & cultural turnaround resulting in the successful sale/exit of the business. Grew sales 25% through market-channel & market-share growth with 50+% additional growth in 2022. Operating income improvement from an annualized loss of $2mm to profit run-rate of $2.5mm or 5% return-on-sales in first year – despite pandemic, material availability & working capital challenges. With improved market penetration, new product launch, product quality, supply chain optimization, delivery & employee engagement. And, achieving full ISO re-certification.
A diverse and talented CEO; a business builder with a proven record of creating enterprise value by elevating companies to a superior level of performance.
A transformational leader who builds consensus for the vision, mission, priorities, and culture.
A pragmatic CEO who defines the correct strategic path for the realities of the marketplace and transforms business systems, human capital, management structure, and culture to execute a strategy capable of sustaining breakthrough performance.
There are many things companies seeking to improve have in common. In my experience as CEO and in consulting assignments, one that stands out is the need for a clear and unwavering code of conduct and ethics – INTEGRITY. This affects all transactions and interactions – internal and external. And it's the foundation for a great culture.
Accordingly, an early priority must be to set the tone and expectations. I use a timeless lesson I learned in the Marine Corps – It’s their code of conduct, civilian-ized for business purposes.
HONOR: This is the bedrock of character. It is the quality that empowers leaders to exemplify the ultimate in ethical, and moral behavior – to never lie, cheat, or steal and to treat people with dignity, trust, respect, and compassion. It represents the maturity, dedication, trust, and dependability to commit ourselves to act responsibly, be accountable for our actions, fulfill our obligations, and hold others accountable for their actions.
COURAGE: Is the mental, moral, and physical strength ingrained in leaders that see us through the business challenges and the mastery of fear. Courage enables leaders to do what is right, to adhere to a higher standard of personal conduct, to lead by example, and to make tough decisions under stress and pressure.
COMMITMENT: This is the spirit of determination and dedication that defines professionalism. It promotes the highest order of discipline for teamwork and self and is the ingredient that instills dedication to our company, pride, concern for others, and an unrelenting determination to achieve a standard of excellence in every endeavor.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & Board Member 2024 - 2025
- Full P&L responsibility for middle market PE-owned designer, producer, & installer of high-quality permanent store fixtures from inception to completion.
- Led consolidation of company & transformation of culture, business development & operational excellence as a platform for growth.
- Rebuilt (hired) company leadership team, creating a best-in-class organization.
- Implemented critical systems & processes, while reducing operating costs by more than $6 million in 6-months
- Created a culture of dignity, trust, respect, compassion, integrity, accountability, & responsibility.
- Developed & promoted company values of passionate, accountable, agile, & collaboration.
- Championed implementation of EOS - Entrepreneural Operating System.
- Led the development of the company's first Strategic Plan.
Interim Chief Executive Officer 2022 - 2023
- Full P&L responsibility for (& successful turnaround of) middle market PE-owned glass, glazing, metals manufacturer & installer serving the commercial construction industry.
- Identified & implemented $4.5mm in savings in the first 2 months & another $500k the 3rd month.
- Redesigned business development process & target customers/markets, significantly increasing new business opportunities.
- Implemented production improvement process, driving waste from the business.
- Created a culture of dignity, trust, respect, compassion, integrity, accountability, & responsibility.
- Upgraded the organization; implementing a robust succession plan, individual development & organizational development.
- Led development of the company's first Strategic Plan.
President & CEO 2020 - 2022
- Full P&L responsibility for (& successful turnaround of) lower-middle market home office PE owned composites, metal, assembly & machined tooling manufacturer.
- Charged with the objectives to improve overall operations, business development & financial performance. And to successfully prepare & execute the sale/exit of the company to a willing buyer - sale/exit completed in late 2021.
- Obtained price increases & implemented process improvements resulting in improved EBITDA from a loss of $2mm to a profit run-rate of $2.5mm, providing a sustainable return-on-equity to private ownership, upgraded the leadership team, and executed strategy to achieve the next level of growth.
- Provided sustainable ROI to private equity owners/stakeholders by upgrading the leadership team, developing & implementing growth initiatives while improving overall operating efficiencies in preparation for ownership exit - all completed during the covid pandemic & supply shortages.
- Significantly improved operating income/EBITDA & revenues despite pandemic, material availability & working capital challenges.
- Revenue growth in place to exceed 50+% of current sales in 2022.
CEO & Board Member 2017 - 2019
- Recruited to lead the turnaround of a private equity owned financial services company in preparation for sale/exit.
- Provided a sustainable ROI & CAGR to private equity owners/stakeholders by upgrading the leadership team, developing & implementing growth initiatives & operating efficiencies.
- Significantly improved operating income/EBITDA & revenues while substantially reducing debt in 2 years. Improving EBITDA from > 10% loss to a 10% profitable return on sales.
- Reduced repeat service calls by 70+%, & improved productivity 32% while growing wallet-share & improving customer satisfaction.
- Obtained full & best available commercial bank refinancing in < 2 years.
Independent Executive Consultant (Acting President & COO) 2015 - 2017
- Contracted to lead & elevate established, successful 3rd Party Logistics (3PL) market leader.
- Developed & implemented the first strategic plan in the company’s history.
- Developed & upgraded the leadership team.
- Established & initiated three (3) priorities; Profitable Revenue Growth, Internal Efficiency, Organizational Development.
President & CEO 2006 - 2014
- Hired to transition a sub break-even contract-manufacturer to a company providing a substantial return-on-equity & CAGR to private family ownership by upgrading the leadership team, improving productivity & executing the next level of growth.
- Producing plastic injection molding, over-molding, metal stamping & large machine tool shop.
- Grew sales 25% while reducing dependence on the automotive industry from 90% content to 60%.
- Serving the automotive, medical, industrial, agricultural, environmental, consumer products, and government/military industries.
- Reduced the cost of quality from 4+% to less than 1%, achieving best-in-class performance.
- Realized 12% return on sales, up from 1+% loss. Reduced cost structure by $5 million in 2 years.
- Obtained full & favorable commercial bank agreement.
Independent Consulting Partner 2004 - Present
- Assessed performance, developed strategies, & recommended corrective actions advising senior operating executives to assure continuity of service to automotive OEM assembly plants.
- Delivered 100% order fulfillment, zero quality issues, and no product interruptions (tier one supplier to Ford & Nissan).
- Instituted lean manufacturing methodologies, Six Sigma tools, and supply chain optimization.
- Secured $20+ million in investment capital to support the acquisition of Hedstrom.
Division President (COO), VP and GM 1999 - 2004
- Led significant performance improvement & CAGR of division, successfully exiting Chapter 11 bankruptcy in first 6 months.
- Directed P&L for $150 million business unit, 900 employees, 2 plants with metal, plastic, wood consumer products & tooling sold to big-box, DIY, national sporting goods & regional toy/sporting good chains utilizing metal forming, plastic molding, wood fabrication & fine machining.
- Managed Manufacturing, Engineering, Supply Chain, Purchasing, Logistics, Distribution, R & D, Sales, Marketing, Finance, & Human Resources – including Asia sourcing.
- Grew business from $100 million to $150 million through integration of $20+ million acquisition add-on, expanding market offering to high-end products, growing wallet-share and launching new products.
Bachelor of Science: Majors in Business & Finance, Minor in Psychology
Franklin University, Columbus, OH
Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)
Six Sigma Greenbelt - AlliedSignal, Inc.
Six Sigma Leadership - AlliedSignal, Inc.
Lean Enterprise Systems - University of Tennessee
Manufacturing Excellence - Carnegie Mellon
Integrated Supply Chain Solutions
Dynamic Marketing
Strategic Marketing & Business Development
Value-Added Selling & Marketing
Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS)
United States Marine Corps
2009 - Chosen to present a business perspective to Missouri Senate Committee on "Job Creation - 2020".
[See presentation on the 'Documents & Presentations' page]
2004 - Chosen by Chief Executives Network (CEN) as “Subject Matter Expert” to lead workshop on Organizational Upgrade & Development.
[See presentation on the 'Documents & Presentations' page]
2003 - Chosen by Chief Executives Network (CEN) as “Subject Matter Expert” to lead workshop on Operational Improvement.
1995 - Selected by IBM Consulting to speak as "Subject Matter Expert" on Continuous Flow Manufacturing (CFM) at the Production Industry Executive Conference.
1994 - Selected by IBM Consulting to speak as "Subject Matter Expert" on Total Quality Leadership (TQL) at the Production Industry Executive Conference.
In each of my successes, I have demonstrated the ability to improve performance through exacting execution. I am recognized as a team leader, builder, and player with high integrity, a high energy level and a burning desire to maximize shareholder value. Throughout my career I have been recognized for organizational and employee development, “customer delight”, innovation, hard work, and bottom-line results. I have a collaborative leadership style and I continually strive to reach consensus for critical decisions without sacrificing progress.
Executive Mentor
Future Business Leaders
2006 - Present
Advisory Board Member
St. Louis Inter-Club Junior Golf Association
2013 - 2017
Coach/Mentor
Junior Achievement - USA
1994 - 1996
Youth Mentor
Big Brothers/Big Sisters
1992 - 1994
Board Member
United Way
1990 - 1992
- Quality time with family & friends
- Learning/reading
- Golf (competitive & non-competitive)
- Boating
- Family & friends
- Reducing/eliminating Veteran suicides - Stop Soldier Suicides
- Services & assistance for our Military (active & veteran) &
First-responders (police, fire fighters & emergency medical)
- Helping people & families in need
- Mentoring & coaching future leaders
- Animal rights/rescue
- Youth organizations & charities (athletic, medical, education, social, etc)
- Various others