Davide
Leonardi

Context & Challenge

Took ownership of an automation project already in progress after the original PM left mid-execution. The project involved a pick-and-place automation system for the food sector. The situation was further complicated by the vendor: a small company whose owner was facing serious health issues and on the verge of bankruptcy — a condition they actively concealed throughout the engagement.

Approach

• Conducted a rapid assessment of project status, open deliverables and vendor capacity to understand the real risk exposure.
• Built a direct, trust-based relationship with the vendor team to maintain momentum and transparency despite their difficult circumstances.
• Prioritised features strategically — ensuring the most business-critical automation capabilities were completed and tested first.
• Operated entirely without formal authority, as the project was funded by a Business Unit politically opposed to the Corporate organisation — requiring pure influence and interpersonal leadership.
• Developed contingency plans for post-delivery support, identifying alternative service providers before project closure.

Outcome

Delivered the automation system with the maximum achievable feature set, fully operational and validated. Secured alternative support arrangements to protect the investment long-term. A clear example of delivering results under constraints through stakeholder management and adaptability rather than authority.

Context & Objective

Co-led a strategic corporate initiative to map and consolidate manufacturing capabilities across GEA's global network — Germany, Italy, China, India and Poland — creating visibility of technologies, identifying best practices and laying the groundwork for structured knowledge sharing.

Approach

• Designed and executed a structured data collection methodology, gathering production data and technology inventories from all five sites.
• Analysed common processes, identified technology overlaps, and mapped gaps and unique capabilities per site.
• Facilitated cross-cultural communication between teams with different languages, working styles and organisational cultures.
• Built a shared knowledge platform and initiated a roadmap for technology sharing and capability development across sites.

Outcome

Delivered a comprehensive global manufacturing map, reduced duplication of development efforts, and created a foundation for more coordinated global manufacturing strategy.

Context & Challenge

Led the qualification and industrialisation of a first-stage gas turbine vane — the most thermally and mechanically demanding component in the turbine hot section. Strategically critical for Lincotek, requiring the simultaneous qualification of four technologies never previously combined on this material.

Technologies Involved

• DVTBC Coating — proprietary thermal barrier coating developed by the customer, applied for the first time on a Lincotek component.
• Laser Drilling — cooling hole drilling not yet qualified on this specific superalloy substrate.
• New Material Welding — joining of a novel high-temperature alloy with no established process baseline at the facility.
• EDM Machining — recently acquired technology requiring process development and certification for this application.

Outcome

Successfully qualified — giving Lincotek a new high-value product in its portfolio and a proven multi-technology integration capability, opening the door to a new aerospace market segment.

Scope

Designed and managed the complete production cycle of a custom valve group for a key client — from specification and CAD design through supplier coordination, manufacturing oversight and final customer validation.

Key Activities

• Translated client requirements into engineering specifications compliant with FDA and EHEDG hygienic design guidelines.
• Produced detailed CAD designs using SolidWorks, iterating with the client to finalise the configuration.
• Coordinated external suppliers for component manufacturing, managing timelines and quality checks.
• Supervised assembly and functional testing; managed the full customer interface through to final validation.

Outcome

Delivered a fully validated custom valve group on schedule, meeting all regulatory and customer technical requirements.

Scope

As SAP Key User, led the migration of all production work cycles into a new SAP environment and managed their integration with a simultaneously deployed MES — requiring deep understanding of both systems and the manufacturing processes they represented.

Key Activities

• Mapped existing production routing data and translated them into the new SAP structure, ensuring accuracy and continuity during the transition.
• Coordinated with the MES implementation team to align data flows between ERP and shop-floor execution.
• Identified BOM inefficiencies and drove a restructuring initiative: reclassified materials as minimum-stock, forecast-driven, or consumables — reducing unnecessary purchasing and inventory.
• Trained and supported production and engineering teams on the new SAP workflows.

Outcome

Full SAP/MES migration with no production stoppages. BOM optimisation delivered measurable reductions in material waste and improved supply chain responsiveness.