Tom leads McKinsey’s Columbus office. He helps global clients deliver bold and lasting performance transformation programs, navigate financial distress, and respond to activist investor challenges.
Drawing on his experience in our London, Düsseldorf, and Warsaw offices, Tom counsels CEOs globally as they drive their manufacturing companies to deliver the impact and returns their PE or public shareholders expect.
Tom has partnered with over 70 executive teams to design and execute full enterprise transformation in the aerospace and defense, automotive supplier, chemical, steel and nonferrous metal, light manufacturing, building materials, paper, consumer goods, and financial services sectors. Examples of Tom’s recent client work include the following:
- leading a recovery and transformation services (RTS) full-enterprise turnaround of a public German tier-one automotive supplier with a global plant footprint
- leading a top global chemicals group through a multiyear groupwide EBITDA-doubling performance enhancement program
- tripling the production throughput of a US defense sector supplier to recover critical customer delivery commitments
- leading an FTSE-50 aerospace group through an enterprise-wide RTS transformation
- leading the Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America RTS transformation of a US public building-services company
- leading the redesign of the 18-country (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) operating model for a public IT company based in the United States
Tom also frequently counsels senior executives of leading public companies on response strategies to activists and hostile takeovers.
Previously, Tom led the transformation work in Europe of a global professional services firm, managing six offices in Germany as well as Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Before that, he founded Kolaja & Partners, a leading boutique consultancy in CEE focused on turnaround and restructuring. Earlier in his career, he was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and a chemist at Bayer AG.
Tom has pursued his interest in higher education, having served as vice-chair of the Ohio State University Alumni Association, as a board member on the Polish–American Fulbright Commission, and on the external advisory board of the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center at Ohio State University. He also proudly served on the board of Transparent Agents and Contracting Entities (TRACE), the leading anti-corruption nonprofit serving Fortune 500 companies. Tom is fluent in German and Polish.