rs advisory
Strategy  ·  Positioning  ·  Legacy

Thirty-four years in industry,
now on the side of those who decide.

Two practices, one origin: real operations. Business consulting for industrial companies that have stopped scaling. Executive mentoring for senior leaders who need the market to recognize what they have built.

34 years in industry 3,000 people led Latin America and the United States
01 · Executive Mentoring
Executive
Legacy

From the career you built to the market you win. One-on-one mentoring for senior leaders.

See the mentoring →
02 · Business Consulting
Business
Advisory

From a company that runs on effort to a company that runs on system. Diagnostic, transformation and board advisory.

See the consulting →
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Ricardo Kretzmann dos Santos
Two practices

Mentoring or consulting?
Two different engagements.

The origin is the same, 34 years of industrial operations. What changes is who hires, what gets transformed and how the work happens.

01 · For the individual

Executive Mentoring

Executive Legacy Program

One-on-one work with the executive. The client is you, not your company. What gets transformed is your career: positioning, authority and network.

  • ClientDirector, VP or C-level, as an individual
  • What it isExecutive experience transferred one to one
  • FormatIndividual, confidential sessions
  • Duration90 minutes, 90 days or 6 months
  • DeliverablePositioning, narrative, active network and a 12-month plan
  • Who executesYou, with the mentor alongside
Explore the mentoring →
02 · For the organization

Business Consulting

Business Advisory practice

Work inside the company, alongside the leadership team. The client is the organization. What gets transformed is the operation: margin, process and decision governance.

  • ClientIndustrial companies that have stopped scaling
  • What it isDiagnostic, transformation and board advisory inside the operation
  • FormatSite visit, diagnostic and project with your leadership
  • DurationStandalone diagnostic or an 8-month program
  • DeliverableStandardized process, reliable numbers and autonomous leadership
  • Who executesYour team, with the consultant leading
Explore the consulting →
Ricardo Kretzmann dos Santos Founding Partner  ·  RS Advisory

Ricardo Kretzmann
dos Santos

Operations Director  ·  Senior Industrial Board Advisor  ·  MBA in Applied AI

  • 34 years of industrial career
  • Head of Transformation for Latin America
  • Plant Director of a 3,000-person operation
  • International experience: United States and Latin America
Who sits on the other side of the table

34 years in the same school:
real operations.

An Operations executive with 34 years at one of the largest industrial companies in the world, from apprentice technician to C-level. He closed that chapter as Head of Transformation and Corporate Efficiency for Latin America, from Mexico to Uruguay, reporting to the VP of Operations.

A consistent record in process management, digital transformation, mergers and acquisitions and leadership development, with shared ownership of P&L and investment and influence over global corporate decisions.

Core competencies
Industrial Operations Process Management Digital Transformation Mergers & Acquisitions P&L and Investment Management Leadership Development Applied AI
Sectors
Agricultural Machinery Agribusiness Metalworking Automotive Capital Goods

"I am not a report consultant. I am the partner who sits next to the person who decides, and decides with them."

Education
MBA
Applied Artificial Intelligence
Fundação Santo André
Master's
Lean Manufacturing
UFRGS
Postgraduate
Labor Relations
WCCA Porto Alegre
Bachelor's
Industrial Mechanical Engineering
URI Santo Ângelo

Fluent in English  ·  international projects and multicultural team leadership

Next step

Still unsure which of the two practices is yours?

Leave your details or send a message on WhatsApp. The first conversation carries no commitment and exists exactly for this: to understand where you are and point to the right path.

WhatsApp
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01
Executive Mentoring  ·  For Executives

Executive Legacy.
From the career you built to the market you win.

One-on-one mentoring for directors, VPs and C-level leaders who have already built a solid track record and now need the market to know it. Positioning, authority and network, with method and cadence.

One-on-one Three formats Selective process
Who it is for

Mentoring for those who have already built
and now need the market to know it.

You are...
✓
A director, VP or C-level with 10+ years of real delivery
✓
An executive in a planned or strategic transition
✓
A leader aiming for consulting, a board seat or a C-level role elsewhere
✓
A professional who knows what they deliver, while the market still does not
You want...
→
Positioning the market understands, wants and pays for
→
A narrative that opens conversations without selling yourself
→
An active network, not dormant corporate contacts
→
A next chapter that is structured, not improvised
01
Market Invisibility

An outstanding track record, but the market knows you only by your former badge.

02
Transition Without a Network

Decades delivering for the organization, with no network built for the next step.

03
Expertise Without Positioning

You know what you do well, but not how to turn it into an offer the market buys.

04
Lost Timing

Every month without positioning is one more month the market spends not knowing you.

05
No Personal Brand

You never needed a personal brand. Now you see it makes all the difference.

The mentoring

This is not coaching. It is
the transfer of executive experience.

A senior executive at your table, with a defined cadence and accountability for the outcome, not a facilitator asking questions.

01

A mentor who has walked the path

From apprentice technician to C-level, and then the transition into board and advisory work. The same path the mentee wants to walk, already walked.

02

One-on-one, hands-on and confidential

This is not a course or a group program. The process is built for your context, with the level of candor only a one-on-one format allows.

03

Measurable outcome by phase

Each stage closes with a concrete transformation. You know what you will have at the end of every month, not a feeling of progress.

Formats

Three formats.
One methodology.

The entry point depends on where you are. The depth changes, the method does not.

Starting point

Executive Session

90 minutes

One open decision, resolved with someone who has been there.

  • A read of your moment and the scenario
  • Clarity on the open decision
  • An immediate action plan
Flagship program

Executive Legacy

6 months · one-on-one

From the career you built to the market you win, with method and cadence.

  • Positioning and value proposition
  • Authority and market presence
  • An active network and conversations that convert
  • A 12-month plan in execution
Defined objective

Executive Sprint

90 days

One specific objective, resolved with close support.

  • Promotion or a new role
  • The first 100 days in a new role
  • A structured entry into the market

Commercial terms are presented in the first conversation, according to scope, cadence and level of access between sessions.

Executive Mentoring

The right format depends on where you are.

A 45-minute conversation defines whether it is an Executive Session, a 90-day Sprint or the full Executive Legacy program.

WhatsApp
The flagship program · Executive Legacy

6 months. One-on-one.
With a measurable outcome at every stage.

The structure of the six phases is below. The full content of each one is presented in the first conversation, against your context.

Month 1
Diagnostic & Assets
Month 2
Positioning & Narrative
Month 3
Leadership, Legacy & Impact
Month 4
Presence & Authority
Month 5
Network, Market & Conversion
Month 6
Next Chapter
By the end of Executive Legacy
Clear positioning and a value proposition the market understands and pays for
Recognized market presence, without looking like you are selling yourself
An active network with the people who open the right doors
An authority narrative that arrives before you do
A 12-month strategic plan already in execution, not in intention
Executive Mentoring

There is a selection process,
and it begins with this conversation.

Leave your details and I will get back to you to schedule the first conversation, confidential and with no commitment.

WhatsApp
What sets it apart

What you will not find
anywhere else.

01
The mentor has done what the mentee wants to do

Not theory. Ricardo walked exactly the path you want to walk, from technician to global strategic C-level.

02
Real experience, not textbook methodology

34 years at one of the largest industrial companies on the planet. Every method was tested under real pressure in a large multinational.

03
One-on-one and exclusive, without exception

Not a course. Not a group program. The process is built for your context, with a rigor and depth a group does not allow.

04
A view of the market that is coming

An MBA in Applied AI combined with experience in mergers, acquisitions and digital transformation. Positioning for tomorrow's market.

05
Measurable outcomes, not vague development

Each phase has concrete, measurable transformations. You know exactly what you will have at the end of every month.

06
A selection process up front

I do not accept everyone who applies. There is a profile criterion: real mentoring requires real commitment.

First conversation, no commitment
Next step · Executive Legacy

One conversation can change
the next cycle of your career.

Before any proposal there is a 45-minute conversation: to understand where you are, where you want to go and to decide together whether the format makes sense. There is a selection process, and it begins here.

  • Executive Session, 90 minutes. Clarity on the open decision and an immediate action plan.
  • Executive Sprint, 90 days. The objective of the moment resolved: promotion, a new role or the first 100 days.
  • Executive Legacy, 6 months. Positioning, authority, an active network and a 12-month plan already in execution.
ricardors@ricardosantosadvisory.com.br +55 51 99269-9982 · WhatsApp linkedin.com/in/ricardo-k-dos-santos

Let's talk

Leave your details and I will get in touch to schedule the first conversation.

Reply within 2 business days. Confidential conversation.

✓

Message received

I will be in touch shortly to arrange the first conversation.
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02
Business Consulting  ·  For Companies

Business Advisory.
Complexity, organized.

From a company that runs on effort to a company that runs on system. For industrial companies that need to grow with margin, structure and control, not just with more effort from the same people.

Diagnostic Transformation Board advisory
The moment

When the operation stops scaling,
the symptom shows up far from the cause.

None of these situations is solved with more meetings. All of them are solved with system: defined routine, reliable numbers and autonomous leadership.

01
The operation depends on the owner

When he travels, decisions wait. Critical knowledge sits in people's heads, not in the process.

02
Revenue grew, margin did not

More volume came in, but the result did not follow. No one can point to exactly where the margin leaks.

03
Every department has its own number

Production, sales and controlling bring different versions of the same month. The meeting turns into a debate about the data.

04
Good results do not repeat

One excellent quarter, the next one off target. Without structure, performance depends on who happened to be on duty.

05
Investment is decided on intuition

Capacity, expansion and new equipment approved with no scenario, no calculated return and no P&L impact.

06
Leadership fights fires

Capable managers consumed by urgency. No time left for what would move the operation to another level.

The bottleneck is rarely where the pain shows. That is why the whole company is analyzed: operations, supply chain, controlling and leadership read together, in a single read of margin, capital and service.

Portfolio

Six connected practices.
One single backbone.

From the initial diagnostic to leadership development, each practice addresses a value lever in the operation, and all of them start from the same diagnostic.

Entry point
01

Operational Diagnostic

An X-ray of the operation: where margin leaks, with losses quantified in currency, quick wins and a prioritized roadmap.

Flagship program
02

Transformation Program

Value capture executed over 8 months, from diagnostic to a management system that runs without heroes.

Premium
03

Industrial Board Advisor

An experienced Operations Director at your table, on a monthly cadence with the CEO and the board.

Growth
04

Strategy, Investment and Expansion

Capacity planning, feasibility studies and investment prioritization with scenarios, return and P&L impact.

Development
05

Industrial Leadership Development

Internal programs and executive mentoring for the leaders who will sustain the system after handover.

Differentiator
06

M&A and Technical Due Diligence

Technical assessment of plants, post-acquisition integration and synergy capture with targets, owners and deadlines.

Method

Five pillars that turn improvisation
into process, metric and decision.

01

Management X-Ray

Real cost by line, product and process. An objective map of where margin is lost today.

02

Decision Governance

Authority levels, management routines and defined roles. A company that works well even without the owner in the room.

03

Critical Processes

The essential processes documented, standardized and auditable, out of people's heads.

04

Management Indicators

An executive dashboard with the indicators that drive immediate action, not a report left in a drawer.

05

Sustained Performance

Auditable results and planning on real data, cycle after cycle, without depending on heroes.

"Good results once is luck.
Good results every year is structure."

Phase 0
Diagnostic
30 days · on site
Program
Transformation
8 months · defined cadence
Ongoing
Industrial Board Advisory
Monthly cadence with the CEO
Business Consulting

Before the proposal,
comes the diagnostic.

A 45-minute exploratory conversation to understand where your operation's results are stuck. With no measured number, there is no proposal.

WhatsApp
Program timeline · 8 months

From diagnostic to a system
that runs without heroes.

Each stage closes with a deliverable stated in the language of results, not tasks. You know what you will have before it begins.

M1
Diagnostic
M2
Architecture
M3
Stabilization
M4
Performance
M5
Scale
M6
Follow up
M7
Follow up
M8
Sustainment
Months 1 and 2

Foundation

  • Process map and critical bottlenecks
  • Cost and indicator baseline
  • Losses quantified in currency
  • Operating model designed
Months 3 to 5

Implementation

  • Priorities and standardized processes
  • Authority levels and responsibilities defined
  • Targets by area and visual management
  • Autonomy of the key leaders
Months 6 and 7

Follow-through

  • Biweekly follow-up on execution
  • Course correction on the indicators
  • Audit of adherence to the routines
  • Fine-tuning of the management dashboard
Month 8

Sustainment

  • 12-month plan delivered
  • Governance running without external support
  • Formal handover of the system
  • Ongoing board advisory proposal
Value levers

Where the operation can generate
measurable results.

Each workstream connects an operational improvement to a clear financial indicator, tracked from the start of the program to the end.

Cost and margin

What starts being measured
  • Real cost by line, product and process
  • Cost of goods sold composition

Industrial productivity

What starts being measured
  • Overall equipment effectiveness
  • Lead time, losses and rework

Working capital

What starts being measured
  • Inventory and cash conversion cycle
  • Production and sales plan accuracy

Quality

What starts being measured
  • First pass yield
  • Scrap and cost of poor quality

Safety and culture

What starts being measured
  • Recordable incident rate
  • Team engagement and absenteeism

Profitability and capital

What starts being measured
  • Margin by product line
  • Return on approved investments
About the targets

The targets for each workstream are defined together with your leadership after the diagnostic, on the operation's real baseline. No number is promised before it is measured.

Business Consulting

Has your operation stopped scaling?
Let's measure where.

Leave your details and I will get back to you to schedule the exploratory conversation with your leadership team.

WhatsApp
Exploratory conversation, no commitment
Next step · Business Advisory

One conversation can change
the next cycle of your operation.

The path is always the same: exploratory conversation, site visit and diagnostic, and only then a proposal built on what was measured. With no number, there is no proposal.

  • Exploratory conversation, 45 minutes. Understand where the operation stands and where the results are stuck.
  • Site visit and diagnostic. A read of the real operation, with a measured baseline and defined priorities.
  • A tailored proposal. Scope, timeline and targets agreed with your leadership on real data.
ricardors@ricardosantosadvisory.com.br +55 51 99269-9982 · WhatsApp linkedin.com/in/ricardo-k-dos-santos

Let's talk

Leave your details and I will get in touch to schedule the exploratory conversation.

Reply within 2 business days. Confidential conversation.

✓

Message received

I will be in touch shortly to arrange the first conversation.
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