Background
The company, founded fifteen years earlier by a brilliant, highly intuitive, serial entrepreneur, had just been acquired by a private equity firm from the founder who would be exiting day-to-day management but remain on the board. With strong financial performance driven by its innovative use of manufacturing technology, outstanding new product development record, and high quality brand, the company had built long-standing and valued partner relationships with its retailer customers. However, the business had yet to create the disciplined business processes and other infrastructure necessary for supporting ongoing rapid organic and acquisitive growth.
The Challenge
Recruit a CEO who could take the reins of a product-driven company from a charismatic, instinctive founder and build out the infrastructure without disrupting core competencies of design brilliance and manufacturing innovation to ensure sustainable long-term growth. To accomplish this, the CEO would have to possess both the presence and finesse to build broad organizational acceptance for the impact of profound change on business and operational processes. With a mission to more than double revenues within five years, the CEO would also have to bring a remarkable track record of organically growing consumer products companies and brands along with strong customer relationships across a broad spectrum of top-tier retailers.
Results
Within two and a half years the new CEO had almost doubled revenues to over $200 million through global organic expansion and the acquisition of two businesses that took the company into adjacent market segments. He also strengthened business processes while blending tribal knowledge and gut instinct with greater fact-based decision making. To support team and infrastructure development, we also recruited the SVP Global Sales, GM/President for one of the newly acquired businesses and the corporate VP Human Resources.
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