Operations leadership for industry: production, supply chain, sales

I lead operations. And build what runs them.

Head of Operations and executive board member at a mid-sized industrial manufacturer: 60 people, 7 sites, a P&L that grew against a shrinking market. Founder of Zoyos GmbH, where I build the AI-supported systems mid-sized companies run on.

See the work Download CV

Open to Head of / Chief Operations roles, Doha from November 2026.

100+workflow steps automated
90%less IT downtime
30%less inventory
3systems built, in daily use
Florian Leonhart
+5 to 10% p.a.growth in a shrinking market
60+ people ledover 5 years, 7 locations
AI focusedcompany-wide rollout & enablement

Systems I took from first idea to daily use.

Not slides. Software that a team opens every morning.

Screenshot of the Labely label management web app
Label management · Live

Labely

Employees update label content in minutes and generate a print-ready, compliant label directly. The external design loop is gone.

€10k to €15ksaved per year, weekly workload down 75%
Open Labely
Screenshot of the Arvelo property management portal
Property management · Live

Arvelo

An AI-supported platform that automates data creation and administrative workflows across properties, units and documents.

80% lessmanual maintenance for data and documents
Open Arvelo
Screenshot of the Zoyos Central dashboard
Business operating system · Live

Zoyos Central

A custom CRM and ERP with an AI assistant. Voice-to-text updates records and orchestrates projects, tasks and finances from a phone.

Secondsper CRM update, no monthly software fees
Open Zoyos Central

Access to the GitHub repositories on request. Just get in touch.

And the tools that took the typing off the team.

Windows desktop apps in Python, built at maleco Farbwerk. They run on internal systems, so the previews show each app's interface.

Interface of the Sage 100 special prices tool

Sage 100 special prices

Bulk maintenance of customer specific discounts that had to be typed in line by line.

10 min to 1 minper case, 10 to 20 cases a week
Interface of the Sage 100 purchase documents tool

Sage 100 purchase documents

Turns a supplier order in Excel into a complete purchase document without manual typing.

5 min to 30 secper case, about 50 cases a week
Interface of the abacus MDE.Next stock booking tool

abacus MDE stock booking

Books whole stock lists into the warehouse system after every inventory count.

5 h to 30 minmanual errors gone, data current within the hour

Leadership with an owner waiting for the numbers.

Five years on the executive board of maleco Farbwerk, a paint manufacturer: four years running operations under owner leadership, then one and a half years in partnership with private equity after Motus Unternehmerkapital took over.

60 people, 7 locations

  • Cross-functional responsibility for production, sales, IT, marketing and project management
  • Full ownership of hiring, terminations and people development
  • Reporting directly to the CEO as a member of the executive management
  • Direct, calm under pressure, focused on the group: 16 years of first-division team sport

Private equity reporting

  • KPI reporting and budget management towards the shareholder side, every month
  • Presented and defended figures directly to the shareholders, alongside the CEO
  • Investment cases from business case to commissioning: a €500k site expansion, €150k in machinery
  • Growth of 5 to 10% a year while the market shrank 2 to 8%

Building with the team

  • Automation built together with the people who use it, never imposed on them
  • 100+ recurring workflow steps automated, a large share by team members I enabled
  • Systems handed over documented, so teams keep developing them without me
  • Most operations leaders never build, most builders never led 60 people. I do both.

How I work.

Operational improvement that stays useful after the project ends. Four steps, always in this order.

  1. Start with the operation

    I map the real process, speak with the people doing the work and identify the constraint before choosing a tool.

  2. Build with the users

    Solutions are developed with the team, tested in daily operations and designed around how people actually work.

  3. Measure business impact

    Time, cost, quality and reliability are the benchmark. Automation only matters when the operational result improves.

  4. Enable the team

    I document, hand over and build internal capability so the system keeps improving without creating dependency.

Career.

Newest first. The full detail is on the about page.

Mar 2026 to now
Founder & Managing DirectorZoyos GmbH, Hamburg
AI automation and operations consulting for mid-sized companies. Order intake automation, ERP desktop tools, AI adoption from assessment to rollout.
Oct 2021 to Feb 2026
Head of Operations, Executive Managementmaleco Farbwerk GmbH
60 people across 7 locations, reporting to the CEO and to private equity. Growth against the market, downtime down 90%, inventory down 30%, 100+ workflow steps automated.
Sep 2020 to Sep 2021
Business Development & Project Managementmaleco Farbwerk GmbH
Took over IT infrastructure, modernized brand and communications, launched B2B and B2C e-commerce, led 15 people.
2016 to 2020
Working student and intern rolesLatupo, Convertus, SevenOne Media, GymPro, Mankiewicz
E-commerce management, B2B software sales, founders associate, alongside the studies.
2013 to 2020
B.A. Business Administration, M.A. Sustainable Marketing & LeadershipHochschule Fresenius, Hamburg
Focus on organizational management.

Full career, education and skills

Have an operation that should run better? Let's talk.

Operations leadership, business performance and hands-on automation. Available in Doha from November 2026, remote before that.

florian@maxleonhart.de Download CV
LinkedIn Zoyos GmbH About