Company Name
Confidential
Search Job Title
President
Client Profile
The company is a leader in HVAC/R wholesale distribution, operating under a co-op model. It is part of a larger corporate conglomerate that leverages a shared services model spanning a network of distribution centers, centralized procurement, information technology and related functions. We were awarded this search based on the success of a previous President search SCM Talent Group completed for a different entity of the company. Our client is a multi generational family-run business. We were asked to work closely with the direct descendants of its founders for this executive search. They sought an external leader to help the business expand, marking the first time in the company’s history that leadership would be handed over to someone outside of the family. We are grateful to have been entrusted with such a critical and transitional executive search.
Role Objectives & Challenges
The primary objective of the President role was to position the company to scale and double in size within the next three years. The successful candidate needed to enhance the company’s culture, operating system, and lead strategic planning efforts to capture market share and integrate future acquisitions. In addition, the candidate was expected to own the overall P&L responsibility and bring in best practices to modernize the company, with a strong focus on elevating leadership while strengthening the overall talent bench.
The unique challenge of this search lay in finding a candidate who could take over from family leadership for the first time in three generations, without disrupting the business they had established over many years. The company needed guidance on what to look for in an external hire, making this a highly consultative process for our search team.
Our Approach to Solve the Search
We approached this search by working closely with the co-owners to define the ideal candidate profile, guiding them through the process of fulfilling a leadership position of this scale for the first time. Our team provided consultation on cultural fit, skills, competencies, and leadership traits, helping them to nail down the desired outcome for the role.
Our sourcing strategy focused on three main areas:
Director competitors i.e. wholesale distributors of HVAC/R products to identify candidates with highly relevant industry, market and product experience.
HVAC manufacturers with their own distribution channels.
Best-in-class wholesale distributors, which is the sourcing channel that yield the successful hire.
We placed a strong emphasis on finding candidates with experience in elevating organizational culture, strategic planning, and operations, especially in companies with similar values and family-run dynamics.
The Hire & Results
The search process took approximately six months from kickoff to the candidate’s acceptance. We successfully placed a candidate from Chicago, who relocated out west to the client's headquarters, where he had family ties.
The candidate's background included leading several corporate functions and significant operations with a large, best-in-class wholesale distributor of industrial products, in addition to serving in the C suite for a smaller, family-owned company. This combination of experience, along with a very tight cultural fit, made the candidate a perfect fit for the role.
Throughout the interview process, there was strong harmony between the candidate and the leadership team, resulting in a unanimous hiring decision. The leadership team rated the candidate a 10 out of 10, and the transition has already contributed to significant growth and operational improvements within the company.
This successful placement highlights our ability to match candidates with not only the functional, technical and leadership competencies required for success, but also the cultural fit needed to lead a family-run business into a new era of growth.
