Managing Director

Wetherby Partners Executive Search is partnering with a dynamic, innovative company within the Industrial Technology sector. With an impressive track record and aggressive growth outlook, reinforced through a commitment to ongoing investment and innovation, the company is seeking an inspirational Managing Director to lead its UK headquartered business in the Nottingham area. This is a significant opportunity within a top-tier private equity-owned company, poised for future expansion.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

The Managing Director will provide transformational leadership in all aspects of the business and operations and will serve as a key strategist and catalyst for continued aggressive and sustained growth, financial performance, operational efficiency, and innovation.

Strategic Leadership:

v Develop and lead the company’s strategic vision and growth plan ensuring alignment with market dynamics, technological advancements, and customer needs.

v Provide strategic leadership working collaboratively with all cross functional departments and teams to ensure that strategic planning and key initiatives are executed successfully and meet company financial objectives.

v Develop and execute business strategy for multiple market segments across varied channels globally and oversee customer development efforts to drive new business, increase market penetration and market share growth.

v Evaluate potential inorganic, M&A opportunities, business climate, define opportunities, and mitigate risks. 

Operational Excellence:

v Lead all global operational aspects, including commercial, product development, manufacturing, supply chain, and quality assurance to drive efficiency and profitability optimization. 

v Build a culture of operational excellence throughout the organization via best practices, lean methodologies, and continuous improvement to ensure efficient day-to-day operations to meet customer and market demands. 

v Drive a culture of focus on operational and customer excellence, agility, and responsiveness through rigorous execution.

Business Development and Execution:

v Spearhead business development initiatives, fostering strong relationships with key stakeholders, partners, and customers. 

v Stay ahead of market growth by identifying and championing new market opportunities and adjacencies, product innovation and differentiation while exploring new or underutilized channels and services.

v Organize global team efforts across organizational boundaries to deliver cutting-edge technology solutions and services.

Innovation and Technology Leadership: 

v Provide leadership in driving the company’s products and service capabilities. Collaborate on multi-generational product development, roadmap, and technology innovation. 

v Drive innovation within the company, staying updated on product, service, industry and manufacturing trends and technological advancements.

Financial Management:

v Oversee capital structure, manage cash flow, and optimize working capital to support operational needs and long-term growth.

v Lead and oversee financial outcomes, encompassing both short-term and long-term strategic planning, budget management, cash flow maintenance, profit enhancement, revenue expansion, adherence to operational blueprints and projections, as well as initiatives to improve working capital and strengthen balance sheet positions.

v Establish and maintain appropriate systems and processes for measurement of metrics and Key Performance Indicators that clearly support the long-term strategy for the organization.

Team Leadership and Development:

v Provide strategic leadership within the company ensuring the team is operating in a collaborative, focused, and engaged manner.

v Build and lead a high-performing team that is built on innovation, collaboration, ownership, accountability, and disciplined execution.

v Continue to foster and build a positive, high performance, culture with a strong commitment to the professional development, empowerment, and support of the team.

v Continuous focus on developing and elevating top talent, succession planning, and ensuring the successful placement of the next generation of leaders. 

Stakeholder Engagement:

v Cultivate strong and transparent working relationships ensuring open communication with executive sponsorship, management, functional leadership teams and Board of Directors.

v Build strong customer and partner relationships, ensuring a keen understanding of needs, marketplace, brand loyalty and commitment. 

Professional Experience & Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have demonstrated success in driving a high growth business, business unit or division, ideally within a best-in-class mid-sized, B2B technology-oriented company. The candidate should possess a minimum of 15 years of professional experience, demonstrating a capacity for crafting strategies that yield quantifiable results, underpinned by data-driven insights. Experience in general management with full P&L responsibility, leading a similarly complex, sized, and global organization is required.

Additional Qualifications & Skills

v Entrepreneurial, innovative, and visionary executive who possesses passion and leadership ability to propel a company to the forefront in performance, EBITDA growth, and working capital optimization.

v A consistent record of leadership, including setting a clear vision, navigating business challenges, and leading, inspiring and galvanizing high-performing teams with creativity, strategic insight, adaptability, and empathy.

v Skilled in innovating and launching new product and/or service offerings.

v A solid process-oriented approach is essential, with excellent knowledge of strategy development, deployment, continuous improvement, and disciplined execution.

v Strategic but hands on, in-the-trenches leader with strong intellectual curiosity and ability to influence and drive outcomes. 

v Ability to analyze processes, enact change, and think strategically and operationally to achieve business goals and elevate organizational performance.

v Strong commercial and financial acumen and the ability to understand business implications of decisions. Ability to exercise sound judgement and decision making and adapt to new opportunities and changing conditions.

v Excellent interpersonal and executive presentation skills with the ability to communicate, influence and partner effectively with a variety of internal and external stakeholders.

v Demonstrates a results-oriented management style. 

v Exhibits a high level of ethics, integrity, and personal accountability.

Education

Minimum bachelor’s degree. MBA or advanced degree highly preferred.

Why Join?

This is an exceptional opportunity to join a rapidly growing company within top-tier Private Equity and to be at the forefront of technology and innovation. As the Managing Director, you will have the unique opportunity to shape the future of the organization and make a significant impact on growth trajectory. Our client offers a highly competitive compensation package to include bonus, equity, and executive benefits. Relocation assistance will be provided. 

• Interested candidates are invited to submit their CV and cover letter to lbarnaby@wetherbypartners.com, detailing their relevant experience.