Interim Chief Operating Officer VP of Operations

A sponsor-backed manufacturer needs an operating leader on site now because the seat is empty because the thesis is behind schedule or because the plan calls for structural change the incumbent team has never executed. You take the chair and run the plant network while the permanent search runs in parallel or the transformation completes.

Mandates vary by portfolio company. Common versions include modernizing plant layout and material flow consolidating two or three sites into one standing up a nearshore footprint to replace offshore capacity or simply installing the daily management discipline that makes the rest of the plan possible.

• Full P&L and operational accountability across one or more manufacturing sites
• Safety quality delivery and cost performance against a sponsor-approved operating plan
• Plant consolidation or footprint change: sequencing equipment moves customer qualification downtime management
• Layout and flow redesign to lift throughput without capital where possible
• Offshore-to-nearshore transitions including supplier qualification and dual-running periods
• Stabilizing and developing the existing leadership team you will likely be assessing your own successor
• Weekly reporting cadence to the CEO board and sponsor operating partner

Establish a factual operating baseline within three weeks. Identify the constraint. Publish a ranked value-lever list with sizing owner and confidence level. Get the top three moving.

• 15 years in manufacturing operations with at least 5 in a plant manager VP Ops or COO seat
• Direct experience carrying a P&L in a private-equity-owned or otherwise leveraged environment
• At least one completed plant consolidation relocation or major footprint change
• Fluency in lean operating systems you can run a tiered daily management structure not just describe one
• Comfort operating without a full staff a clean data set or a long runway
• Willingness to be on site five days a week

Strong plus: prior interim work; multi-site network experience; nearshoring into Mexico or Central America; union environment experience.