Company Name

Westrock Coffee

Search Job Title

Senior Vice President, Operations

Client Profile

Westrock Coffee Company, headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, is a fully integrated provider of coffee, tea, flavors, extracts, and ingredient solutions—spanning origin sourcing in East Africa and Latin America through roasting, packaging, and extract production in the U.S. In 2024, Westrock generated $850.7 million in annual net sales, a slight decline of approximately 1.6% from the prior year. However, it rebounded in early 2025, posting $213.8 million in first‑quarter revenue, an 11.1% year-over-year increase compared to Q1 2024. Behind these results, the company’s growth was led by momentum in both its core Beverage Solutions segment and its high-margin Sustainable Sourcing & Traceability business—highlighting robust commercial traction as it scales new capability at its Conway, Arkansas facility.

Role Objectives & Challenges

Our client was seeking a uniquely qualified leader to oversee multi-site operations across several recently acquired locations. In addition to operational oversight, they required a transformational executive with deep experience in the beverage manufacturing sector—someone capable of driving automation, scaling production, and delivering results in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.

This leader would be responsible for optimizing the company’s integrated supply chain across multiple sites, managing facilities, driving efficiency, reducing costs, and ensuring the highest standards of quality and food safety. Beyond day-to-day operations, the SVP would also play a key role in supporting and implementing the company’s ambitious sustainability initiatives, including programs such as Farmer Direct Verified® and Raíz Sustainability™. A critical part of the role would involve scaling operations to support Westrock Coffee’s rapid growth while maintaining its longstanding mission and values.

However, filling this role came with significant challenges. The global coffee supply chain is inherently complex, vulnerable to market volatility, and often impacted by unpredictable factors such as climate events and transportation disruptions. The SVP not only needed to navigate these challenges but also lead the integration of new facilities into an established supply chain framework. Furthermore, the role required attracting and retaining top-tier talent in a competitive labor market—all while aligning sustainability efforts with financial performance. Embracing innovative technologies and managing accelerated growth added even more complexity to this critical leadership position.

Our Approach to Solve the Search

To successfully fill the search, we knew we needed to broaden our initial scope. The level of expertise required was extensive, which meant diversifying not only the industries we sourced from but also the geographic regions. We needed someone with a holistic understanding who could develop and execute a strategy across the entire operation—including manufacturing, supply chain, sales, and finance.

Because the position reported directly to C-level leadership, the candidate needed to demonstrate strong leadership skills, the ability to assess the current state of inherited locations, and a strategic, analytical approach to scaling and improving operations. Change management was also a critical requirement for this role. We leveraged our internal database to generate a high-quality slate of candidates, complementing that with outreach to passive talent.

After analyzing the national talent landscape within the industry, we identified a strong concentration of qualified candidates within the first week of the search. Partnering with executive HR leadership, we confirmed the final talent pool selection. Once the accuracy and diversity of the talent pool were validated, we launched customized outreach campaigns to engage the most promising candidates.

The Hire & Results

Within the first month of the search, we delivered a diverse slate of finalist candidates from a pool of experienced executive leaders. The selected candidate came from a global organization where he oversaw multiple sites and brought strong experience in change management and operational right-sizing. All candidates were thoroughly vetted based on their supply chain leadership experience, confirmed interest in the role, and willingness to relocate to the required location. The search was successfully completed, and we also provided the client with valuable insight into the current nationwide landscape of executive leadership within their specialized industry.