Mark Klaus

Background

About Mark Klaus

I am known as a tough-but-fair leader who listens, is collaborative yet decisive, and who displays emotional intelligence. I am a calm presence in the face of emergencies or unexpected circumstances, and I thoroughly enjoy rolling up my sleeves alongside employees as I train, mentor, and develop them. I can be considered an “over communicator” in that I facilitate two-way communication and make a concerted effort to ensure understanding and answer questions. My experience includes leadership roles in plant operations, safety, quality, production, and sales. One of my “superpowers” is an ability to see around corners – to quickly recognize the potential for a negative trend and make the necessary corrections proactively. Throughout my career as a plant manager, I have been called upon to reverse the downward trajectory of plants; this has included returning to plants where my successor wasn’t able to maintain the transformation I had facilitated. I take a three-pronged approach to change management: establishing a proactive schedule of equipment maintenance, repair, and replacement; introducing stringent budget control measures; and opening the lines of communication and building trust to enhance employee engagement and productivity. At the Crown plant in Ft. Bend, Texas, I walked into an issue surrounding employee training. Our equipment was specialized, and thus, unfamiliar to new employees. To ensure all new employees were properly trained and safe to operate our equipment, I implemented a comprehensive, modular training program that would “certify” employees to use each piece of equipment. To incentivize the training, I provided salary bumps for each completed module. This example illustrates my ability to step into a new situation, quickly assess priorities, develop a strategy to address those priorities, and lead project execution. I am at my best in turnaround situations that utilize my troubleshooting skills, people management strengths, and ability to clear the way so my team can do their jobs in the most effective way possible. When I’m not working, you’ll find me hanging with my two red mini poodles. I also enjoy cooking – I was formerly an assistant chef at a country club. My gumbo is the best!