Company Name
Metrea
Search Job Title
The Head of Global Procurement
Client Profile
Metrea is a fast-growing aerospace and national security services provider delivering effects-as-a-service across multiple mission domains, including airborne ISR, aerial refueling, special mission aviation, electronic warfare, and secure communications. The company designs, builds, and operates highly specialized aviation platforms, ranging from newly acquired aircraft to heavily modified legacy planes with complex obsolescence and maintenance requirements. Operating across North America, Europe, Africa, India, and the Asia-Pacific region, Metrea manages a global supply base and mission-critical operations that demand speed, reliability, and precision. With approximately 1,000 employees, the organization sits in what leadership described as its “awkward teenage years”—no longer a small, scrappy startup, but not yet a fully mature enterprise. The company was at an inflection point where building scalable leadership, processes, and systems had become essential to sustaining growth.
Role Objectives & Challenges
The Head of Global Procurement role was newly created as part of a broader effort to mature Metrea’s supply chain and logistics leadership structure. Reporting to the Head of Global Supply Chain and Logistics, this position was designed to serve as a cornerstone leadership hire and one of the foundational pillars of the evolving operations organization. The role carried global responsibility for both tactical and strategic procurement, overseeing supplier management, complex negotiations, regulatory compliance, and the development of a procurement organization capable of supporting a rapidly expanding, mission-driven business.
Metrea’s procurement organization was transitioning from a smaller, highly tactical function into a more strategic, enterprise-level capability. The company needed a leader who could professionalize and standardize procurement processes while remaining hands-on enough to engage directly with purchase order challenges, supplier issues, and day-to-day execution. The mandate included developing meaningful KPIs, maturing business management processes, improving supplier management practices, and building a more capable and scalable team. At the same time, the Head of Global Procurement needed to understand the full business context, including SIOP and S&OP, working capital, payment terms, and the downstream effects procurement decisions have on cash flow and mission readiness.
This role required a rare balance. Metrea needed someone who had seen what “good” and “mature” looked like inside large, established aerospace or aviation organizations, but who was not dependent on heavy infrastructure or bureaucracy to operate effectively. The leader had to be comfortable operating in ambiguity, helping the organization grow through its adolescence without losing the agility that made it successful. Industry experience was non-negotiable due to the extreme complexity of Metrea’s operations, which include buying and operating new aircraft, heavily modifying used platforms, and maintaining aircraft that are more than sixty years old with significant obsolescence challenges. The procurement leader also needed the credibility to negotiate multi-year, high-dollar supplier agreements involving legal teams, while simultaneously mentoring a developing team with uneven levels of experience.
Our Approach to Solve the Search
SCM Talent Group partnered closely with the hiring manager, Head of Global Supply Chain and Logistics, and with VP of Talent Acquisition, to fully understand the intent behind the role and the long-term vision for the procurement function. From the outset, it was clear that industry experience would be the primary filter. The search focused locally on candidates with deep aerospace and aviation backgrounds who had led strategic sourcing initiatives across both large, established organizations and smaller, growth-oriented environments.
Rather than limiting the search to traditional defense contractors or OEMs, SCM Talent Group intentionally widened the aperture to include candidates from major airlines, aviation service providers, and specialized parts manufacturers. This allowed access to leaders who understood regulatory rigor and supplier complexity but were also capable of adapting best practices to a more entrepreneurial, service-based model. Because Metrea operates globally and across diverse mission sets, candidates were evaluated on their ability to manage complex SKU environments, supplier risk, obsolescence, and cost negotiations in situations where parts are rarely standardized or repeatedly purchased. The search emphasized identifying a well-rounded procurement leader who could roll up their sleeves with the team while also representing procurement at the executive level with confidence and strategic clarity.
The Hire & Results
SCM Talent Group conducted the search in close partnership with Metrea’s leadership, benefiting from an engaged and highly responsive hiring team. An initial slate of four qualified candidates was presented, all of whom met the stringent aerospace and procurement leadership requirements. Two candidates advanced to final interviews, and an offer was successfully extended and accepted within thirty days of the search kickoff.
The selected leader brought a unique and highly relevant background, including experience in academia combined with prior roles supporting major airlines and aviation manufacturing organizations. This blend of perspectives aligned well with Metrea’s need for both disciplined process development and adaptive, growth-oriented thinking. The hire added immediate credibility to the procurement function and provided the leadership necessary to mentor the existing team, stabilize supplier relationships, and build the foundational capabilities required for Metrea’s next phase of growth. With this placement, Metrea secured a procurement leader capable of guiding the organization through its maturation while preserving the agility and mission focus that define the company’s culture.
