VDS Value Creator — Michael Norris — Operational Excellence

Value Creator · Operational Excellence

Michael Norris.

Operational Excellence & EBITDA Growth — converting underperforming P&Ls into compounding enterprise value.

68.6% EBITDA improvement in nine months as President & CEO of Warabeya North America. Michael takes the interim seat when execution speed determines outcome.

Michael Norris
68.6%
EBITDA improvement delivered in 9 months as President & CEO
95%
Client retention as VP Retail North America at Sky Chef
100%
Retention on top-tier accounts representing 80% of regional revenue
128k
Sq ft manufacturing & distribution facility designed and built
How to engage

Three ways Michael ships EBITDA.

01 · Interim

Interim CEO / President seats.

Michael takes the seat for post-close integrations, turnarounds, and margin-recovery mandates where execution speed determines outcome. Owns the P&L while the search runs.

Typical: 6–12 months · day-rate or fixed-fee
02 · Fractional

Operating partner for the portfolio.

Embedded with portco leadership on cost optimization, margin management, and the people-process-technology infrastructure that makes operational gains durable.

Typical: 2–4 days/week · 6+ months
03 · Direct hire

Operating leader search.

Michael partners with VDS to scope, source, and embed the full-time CEO, President, or COO who can carry the operating model forward. Placement comes with a 90-day plan.

Typical: 8–14 weeks to placement

Michael Norris is a multi-disciplined C-suite executive whose hallmark is converting underperforming P&Ls into compounding enterprise value. Most recently as President and CEO of Warabeya North America, he delivered a 68.6% EBITDA improvement in nine months through cost optimization, margin management, and process standardization — building the people, process, and technology infrastructure that made the gains durable.

"Margin recovery is people, process, and technology — in that order. Skip the first and the rest doesn't compound."

Earlier, as VP Retail North America for Sky Chef following Lufthansa's acquisition of his privately-owned Norris Food Services, he held a 95% overall client retention rate and 100% retention on the top-tier accounts representing 80% of regional revenue. He spent 20 years before that as President and Owner of Norris Food Services, where he led the design and construction of a 128,000 sq ft state-of-the-art manufacturing and distribution facility.

At VDS, Michael leads operational value creation engagements for PE-backed manufacturers and middle-market portfolios — interim CEO/President seats, post-close integrations, and margin-recovery mandates where execution speed determines outcome. He holds a BA in Business Management from Ithaca College, plus BRC and HACCP industry certifications, and splits his time between Dallas–Fort Worth and West Palm Beach.

Credentials

Twenty years owning the P&L, not advising on it.

01
Most recent
President & CEO, Warabeya North America — 68.6% EBITDA lift in 9 months.
02
Prior
VP Retail North America, Sky Chef (post-acquisition).
03
Founder
President & Owner, Norris Food Services — 20 years; sold to Lufthansa.
04
Education
BA Business Management, Ithaca College · BRC & HACCP certifications.

Have an EBITDA problem worth solving?

Send a one-paragraph brief. Michael and the VDS team will come back within two business days with a scoped path forward.

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