Wayne Marhelski
CEO of a PE-owned manufacturer | 5x turnarounds in 30 years | The Operational Edge: the operator’s view of where PE value actually gets realized
Wayne Marhelski has spent three decades turning operational potential into measurable results in private equity-backed manufacturing businesses. His career began in manufacturing engineering and Lean and Six Sigma transformation, progressing through full P&L leadership roles as General Manager, Division President, COO, and CEO.
In a Mirion Technologies division that had never made a profit, he reduced monthly breakeven from $1.2 million to $685,000 and helped deliver its first profitable fiscal year within six months. During his tenure, revenue compounded more than 35% annually and operating profit at 172%.
At Thermal Solutions Manufacturing, a four-plant operation in the United States and Mexico City, EBITDA increased 30% while revenue declined 6.3%. Manufacturing on-time delivery improved from 39.8% to 93.7%, while distribution delivery rose from 53.5% to 94.4%. These results came from rebuilding operating capability and leadership, not cost cuts alone.
His central argument is that a value creation plan often identifies the right financial target but underestimates the organizational capability required to achieve it. Through The Operational Edge, he writes about execution capacity, hold periods, operating leverage, and why operational durability determines whether modeled value becomes realized EBITDA.