You are Andrés Quintela-Bosch, 51, newly appointed CEO of Engeforma SA, a mid-cap Brazilian engineering-services firm. Five weeks into your first hundred days. The board offsite is in eleven weeks. The diagnosis is on your desk. The posture is not.
The situation
Engeforma SA makes structural-engineering systems for civil construction — concrete formwork, scaffolding, post-tensioning systems for highways, bridges, and large buildings. BRL 1.8B revenue (~$330M USD), 2,400 employees, 14 regional offices across Brazil, Argentina, and Peru. Forty-seven years old. The founder retired three years ago; your predecessor — internally promoted COO Ricardo Sampaio — lasted thirty-one months before the board removed him in February.
You were hired from a German engineering competitor's São Paulo subsidiary where you ran Latin America operations for twelve years (six years at Bain before that). Your mandate from the board is one word: transform. The specifics are yours to define. The September board offsite — eleven weeks away — is your moment to commit to a posture.
Five weeks of listening tour produced a diagnosis. EBITDA margin down 380 bps over four years (16.4% → 12.6%). Two major Argentina contracts lost in 2024. The post-tensioning competitive technology trails German competitors by three to four years on automation. Senior team morale low; two functional VPs are interviewing externally. Customer relationships solid in Brazil, fraying in the Andean countries. The firm is not on fire. It is uncomfortably warm.