About the Company

Our client is a premier Canadian manufacturer of standard and custom equipment. A recognized leader in its sector, the firm serves a nationwide customer base while expanding its footprint into strategic US markets. Over the past six years, this privately-owned company has undergone exceptional growth, currently generating over $50M in revenue with a dedicated team of 200+ professionals. The company’s reputation is anchored in uncompromising quality, operational agility, and a deeply entrepreneurial culture.

While our client’s expansion has been highly successful, recent market and macro-economic shifts have required tactical adjustments. Our client launched efforts to streamline its cost structure while optimizing and consolidating operations. The business is highly resilient, agile, and once again primed for accelerated growth. To lead this next chapter, the firm is seeking a dynamic President. The incoming leader will drive the strategic roadmap from vision to execution, positioning the firm to capture expanding market opportunities and accelerate profitable growth

Scope of Position

Reporting to, and working with, the company’s Board of Directors, the President will be responsible for the overall P&L for the company. He/she will direct and coordinate all activities associated with the successful implementation of both the annual and longer-term strategic plan including matters relating to sales, marketing, finance, engineering and manufacturing.

The role will have oversight of the company’s manufacturing (high mix/low volume) facilities and processes from the ordering of goods and raw materials through to the efficient assembly and quality of products sufficient to keep pace with market demand. In achieving this, the President will work with operational leadership to evaluate existing systems, processes and metrics with a view to ensuring continuous improvement mechanisms and disciplines are in place which will minimize production costs and waste while maximizing production and quality outputs.

The president will also be responsible for the annual plan around revenue, margin and EBITDA. They will also oversee the firm’s financial leadership with the administrative, financial, IT and risk management operations of the company, including the continuing refinement of financial and operational strategy, metrics tied to that strategy, and the ongoing development and monitoring of control systems designed to preserve company assets and report accurate financial results.

No less important, the President will contribute to ensuring that the firm’s Go-To-Market strategy and execution are optimized including pipeline and backlog.

The President will be expected to achieve these results by continuing to cultivate positive relationships across the organization while nurturing a culture of engagement, teamwork, excellence and accountability.

This is an outstanding opportunity that features:

• Strong industry and market positioning
• Committed ownership
• Strong long-term market fundamentals
• A chance to make a real difference.

Functional Tasks

• Work with the Board of Directors in refining strategy/vision for the business
• Develop annual business plan defining financial and growth objectives for business
• Participate in administering company policies, directing and coordinating all department activities to develop and implement goals and objectives to meet business and profitability growth objectives.
• Ensure performance metrics are in place that will drive high performance and performance management
• Drive execution of business plan
• Infuse energy and ‘can do’ attitude throughout the organization
• Oversee manufacturing and materials leadership to review production and operating reports and resolve operational, manufacturing, and facility problems to ensure minimum costs and prevent operational delays and to meet future growth.
• Cultivate a continuous improvement or related lean manufacturing (eg. Kaizen) culture across the organization.
• Play a hands-on role in managing all day-to-day operations working closely with key managers and team members.
• Oversee key projects, processes, and performance reports, data and analysis.
• Review and support engineering and sales to oversee design concepts with fundamental or new technology used for new or existing products or improvement to provide cost reduction, safety, customer requirements and market growth.
• Review operations and plans to meet requirements for sales planning and to ascertain manufacturing or outsourcing requirements to develop new markets.
• Reviews and approves preparation of accounting analysis: for budgetary planning and implementation, production efficiency, financial reporting, and submittal for capital expenditures.
• With the sales organization, own the sales funnel from top to bottom – from lead to close. Own metrics and monthly goals. Meet with customers where appropriate.
• Ensure forecasting tools/rigor and metrics are appropriate to ensure the organization is aware and prepared for what is ahead.
• Ensure that all operational activities are performed in compliance with all safety and environmental regulations. Measure and report metrics based upon safety and/or injury. Create and sustain a viable organizational structure to make optimum use of human resources, technology and systems.
• Build and facilitate the development of strong relationships and synergies with all other areas of the company in order to achieve the corporate goals, objectives and revenue targets.
• Travel as required to confer with customers, suppliers, industry associations and corporate personnel in the support of short and long term objectives.

Key Performance Deliverables

In light of the identified responsibilities, the following are specific deliverables that the position is designed to achieve.

To be discussed and agreed upon with the successful candidate. Metrics will include:

• Operational Performance
• Financial Delivery
• Commercial growth
• Organizational Leadership
• Operating Rhythm and Culture

Competency Profile

The following competencies listed below define the role of President at our client:

Results Orientation – Focuses strongly on achieving agreed upon outcomes and ensures that key objectives are met. Conveys a sense of urgency and drives issues to closure. Aims to improve upon past performance. Establishes aggressive personal targets and strives to achieve them. Stays ahead of the noise and sets the tone and agenda daily to drive the management team and employees towards the company’s goals.

Planning & Objective Setting – Systematic in approach to work. Produces action plans in which objectives are defined and steps for achieving them are clearly specified. Plans by breaking down large task into subtasks. Develops plans that anticipate obstacles. Is realistic about time-scales and builds in appropriate checkpoints, milestones and controls in order to ensure that desired results are realized.

People Management – Establishes and communicates clear priorities and sense of direction. Clarifies roles and responsibilities. Adapts management style to achieve optimum results.

Customer/Client Orientation – Strives to provide customers/clients with personalized and efficient service. Anticipates customers’/clients’ needs. Quickly follows up on customer/client contacts and complaints. Monitors and acts on measures of customer/client satisfaction.

Strategic Approach – Develops a strategic plan to realize the vision. Revises strategy in light of changing circumstances. Takes a long-term view of organizational success. Works to clarify long term organizational goals. Able to stand back from immediate problems in order to focus on more far reaching ideas.

Commercial Acumen – Applies appropriate commercial and financial principles; Understands situations in terms of costs, profits, added-value and return on investment; Imagines future possibilities. Thinks broadly and investigates a wide-range of alternatives in developing a vision for the future. Selects the most promising vision from a range of alternatives and communicates this vision to others.

Leading Change – Acts as a catalyst for change and stimulates others to change; Challenges the status quo and champions new initiatives; Develops an effective action plan to implement change and monitors results; Recognizes when change is necessary

Integrity, Sincerity and Transparency – Inspires trust and supports others through own authenticity and following up on commitments; Maintains high ethical standards both personally and professionally; shows consistency among principles; Direct and transparent

Preferred Experience / Education

The following indicates specific industry, academic and functional experience/qualifications that are important to the successful achievement of the identified responsibilities and performance deliverable:

• Proven experience as a General Manager or President of a manufacturing business
• Minimum of 15 years of experience including custom or low volume/high mix manufacturing processes
• Experience in implementing best practices in operations, quality systems, and engineering
• Significant change management, business transformation experience within mid-sized and private businesses.
• Take charge orientation.
• Experience in striking a balance between substantive yet measured change that moves the organization forward without risking its future.
• Complementary business experience that can be leveraged in the current role and for future growth opportunities.
• A track record of success distinguished by having cultivated positive working relationships with staff, peers and superiors.
• Excellent communication and analytical skills.
• Strong leadership abilities.
• A dynamic and self-motivated person with structured working style who can achieve results without much supervision.
• Experience in complex ERP/manufacturing/business systems and their utilization
• Proven experience working with and developing high performance teams
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, business or finance, or combination of work history and education..

Remuneration & Benefits

• Competitive base pay and variable incentive plan. 

If interested, please contact:

Robert Hebert StoneWood Group, Toronto Bus: 416-365-9494 Ext. 777 [email protected]