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Chief Operating Officer (Operational transformation)
THE CHALLENGE
We were mandated by a mid-cap PE House to appoint a Chief Operating Officer to one of its portfolio companies; a high-precision UK manufacturer of transmissions and powertrains with a long heritage in motorsport and, more recently, hypercars.
Despite its enviable technology and market position, the business faced operational and strategic challenges that were typical of scaling from motorsport heritage to broader, higher-growth markets. The business had an Operations Director who was excellent at the fire-fighting and managing the day-to-day operations, but there was a real need for a more strategic and seasoned COO to come on board to focus on the driving the strategy of the function.
We were therefore asked to find a suitable COO who had the following key experiences and attributes:
- Experience in turning around manufacturing operations (ideally machining) from small batch size firefighting to more stable higher volume
- Not only manufacturing but also planning (S&OE) experience as this integration was a big missing piece
- Senior operational leader that can operate at par with the CEO and guide the whole organization
- Able to build up and develop all layers in the operations team
- Bring in a culture of performance management and accountability
- Lead the thinking on the manufacturing strategy, e.g., number of locations, where to invest Capex, manufacturing approach, etc.
The key challenge was to find someone who had a demonstrable track record in doing all of the above in a low volume, high specification environment.
THE SOLUTION
In order to solve this challenging problem, we needed to dig deep into our network of relevant players in the automotive industry. In addition, we needed to expand our net and conduct thorough research into other adjacent industries including, Marine, Aerospace and other industrial, engineering led organisations to uncover the relevant talent.
We then had to assess potential candidates extremely well using our acid test criteria which we agreed with the client from the outset, to ensure they had the capability and credibility, along with the commercial nous and track record of providing strategic leadership in order to succeed as the business looked to grow both organically and inorganically ultimately towards an exit in the next 4-5 years.
THE RESULT
Within a short timeframe, we were successful with a fantastic placement who not only came highly recommended by several reputable people in the motorsport industry who had first-hand experience of working with him and rated him highly, but the consistent feedback was that he had the potential and capability to step up into a Chief Executive position in the long-term.
The impact
Comment from the CEO of the business:
“The COO role is critical to delivering operational excellence, enhancing efficiency, supporting revenue growth, and upholding the high standards of delivery expected by our company’s global customer base. X, who I have worked with in the past, brings a wealth of experience in engineering, operations, and strategic transformation, making him well-placed to support our business’ ambitious plans for the future.”
