Keith F. Cooper

Senior Managing Director, Co-Leader of Food & Agribusiness

About Keith

Keith Cooper co-leads FTI Consulting’s Food & Agribusiness industry practice and advises senior management and boards of directors in the revitalization of companies that are stagnant or underperforming. Mr. Cooper routinely serves in interim management positions for companies including in the chief executive officer, chief operating officer and chief restructuring officer roles.

Mr. Cooper’s experience in creating and implementing strategy execution programs that deliver sustainable performance improvement includes revenue enhancement; merger integration; product portfolio optimization; strategic sourcing; strategic realignment of business units; operational process management; inventory optimization; cost realignment; SG&A optimization; and working capital maximization.

Prior to joining FTI Consulting, Mr. Cooper was a Partner with the U.S. division of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Business Recovery Services practice.

Relevant Experience:

  • Served as the Interim CEO of a $2 billion revenue region of a $4 billion global specialty baking company that specialized in private label and branded bakery products, including leading the development and implementation of a comprehensive transformation plan
  • Served as the Chief Transformation Officer and developed and implemented a comprehensive restructuring of a $1.4 billion carpet and flooring manufacturer’s organizational structure and profitability enhancements, including plant operational process improvements, inventory optimization, plant rationalizations, SG&A cost reductions and revenue enhancement and product profitability initiatives
  • Advised a $1.3 billion integrated poultry processor and pet food producer, including performing an overall assessment of the company’s business plan, which involved a detailed analysis of plant operations and customer and product profitability
  • Advised a $350 million revenue producer of premium Black Angus beef to identify opportunities to reduce the cost of purchased goods and services, identify SG&A reduction opportunities and increase sell-through and net pricing
  • Served as organizational design and cost optimization advisor to a major food service company, identifying $38 million SG&A savings
  • Served as financial advisor to the secured lending group of a $1.8 billion revenue canned vegetable and fruit processor in connection with the development and implementation of a comprehensive operational improvement plan
  • Led the organization structure analysis, facilitation and performance turnaround for a $14 billion division of an oilfield services provider that created a standardized organizational structure for service lines across markets, leading to improved communication, personnel development and customer support
  • Served as Chief Restructuring Officer of Indalex, a $1.4 billion manufacturer of aluminum extruded products primarily used for residential and commercial construction in the United States and Canada; services included identifying and implementing operational process improvement across its 14 plants in North America
  • Advised a $640 million revenue Tier 2 auto parts manufacturer in the development and implementation of a comprehensive operational transformation plan, including the identification and implementation of plant operational improvement initiatives, SG&A cost reductions and other process efficiency improvements
  • Served as the Chief Restructuring Officer of a $350 million industrial fibers manufacturer in connection with the development of a profitability improvement program to identify plant-level operational efficiency initiatives across its five plants
  • Served as the Chief Restructuring Officer of O’Sullivan Industries, Inc., a $350 million revenue manufacturer of ready-to-assemble furniture, in the development and implementation of the company’s business plan, including plant cost reductions through efficiency improvements, SG&A cost reductions, and a revised product development process

Certifications

Certified Public Accountant (“CPA”)

Associations

American Bankruptcy Institute (“ABI”)

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (“AICPA”)

Turnaround Management Association (“TMA”)

Education

B.S., Accounting, University of Missouri, St. Louis

B.A., Management Information Systems, University of Missouri, St. Louis

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