Chief Executive Officer - Personal Care Products - (Private Equity)

Chief Executive Officer - Personal Care Products - (Private Equity)

EXECUTIVE SEARCH ANNOUNCEMENT      

Chief Executive Officer

Our client is a fast-growing branded personal care products company, recently acquired by a highly successful private equity investor, who has a tremendous track record of acquiring middle market FMCG companies and exponentially growing top line and EBITDA against organic and inorganic value creation strategies.

The company has a strong track record of profitability and superior customer/retail retention while generating revenues of ~$300M annually with excellent net sales growth and EBITDA margin. The Chief Executive Officer is expected to lead the PE-owned organization toward continued success and a >2Xgrowth (organic and inorganic) objective over the next 3-4 years; driving operational efficiencies, organizational effectiveness, profitability, customer growth & retention, and executing future growth plans.

The company's products are available at major US retail partners in Mass, Drug, Grocery, Dollar/Value, Specialty Retail (Ulta, Sephora), e-commerce channels including Amazon and is available in multiple countries worldwide.

The CEO will initially manage the growing platform business and must be capable of leading a much bigger portfolio business, as multiple global brand acquisitions are a critical part of the value creations plan. While the PE firm and the CEO will work together to identify meaningful and accretive acquisitions (a few are already in queue), this leader's success hinges on his or her capability to immediately and seamlessly integrate the new business(es) resulting in maximized brand position, exponential revenue growth, operational efficiencies and cost savings. Real growth will come from his or her ability to optimize white space.

The CEO will be an omnichannel expert who is a strong general manager, intellectually curious, a strong leader and executor; an analytical learner who embraces change and sees opportunity where others see limitations; s/he will bring humility and confidence. The ideal CEO is a pro-active, consumer fanatic, ready and willing to do whatever it takes to discover/explore new brands and retail concepts. Ideally, s/he will bring the PE firm an evolving list of initiatives having already assessed probability and viability. The CEO will be an accountable partner who believes in (and is driven by) equity value creation.

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Title:             Chief Executive Officer (JH20621)

Reports to:  Board of Directors

Location:     Midwest Major Metro

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Position Summary

We seek a successful personal care products Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to guide the overall strategic direction of this omni-channel company to build the company for the future: driving brand awareness, market share, and overall revenue growth and profitability. In addition to driving broad operational transformation and excellence in the existing business, the CEO will be responsible for formulating an actionable plan for future expansion. This will involve expanding the brand across all channels of distribution both domestically and internationally and developing a robust digital/ecommerce channel, while preserving and enhancing the brand's equity.

The CEO will be a strong team/culture-builder, lead a world-class team, and articulate a strategic path to overall growth. She/he must also bring the ability to nurture a creative business; it is expected that this leader will be closely involved in the strategic brand development, product strategy, design, merchandising and marketing of the companies brands.

This leader will manage and improve high-level relationships with key commercial partners and elevate the company to a world class operating standard. The CEO will ensure that all decisions related to the business are aligned with the company's financial objectives and consistent with the essence of the brand.

The CEO will have a proven track record of profitably growing businesses and/or brands, coupled with the ability to inspire and align the organization to execute against a vision and roadmap for growth. He/she will bring a performance-orientation and strong business acumen to deliver consistent results in the short-term while also activating and refining the company strategy needed to achieve long-term growth plans. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

♦ Be a highly accessible and visible leader, and a great communicator who serves as a face of the company to customers, team members, and all equity holders; provide clear and concise on-going communication to the Board and with all constituents; foster a culture of transparency.

♦ Develop the vision and architect the plan to build a global brand that is consistent with the company's heritage and DNA.

♦ Build and nurture an "A" level consumer-centric culture and organization that is laser focused on understanding, developing and delighting the brand's consumers and driving them to the store/online for purchase.

♦ Configure people, processes, systems and technology to support and execute strategy, including leading operational excellence that will support the customer and consumer journey.

♦ Assess the current organization and define the necessary talent, organizational structure, roles & responsibilities, infrastructure, and processes/procedures needed to elevate the company to a highly efficient, world class operating entity.

♦ Foster an environment of collaboration that breaks down functional silos and assures the team works together to make 1+1+1 equal more than the sum of its parts.

♦ Ensure that the company is able to align its strategy and tactics by developing, producing, marketing, distributing and selling its products with operating excellence/efficiency.

♦ Execute the business value creation plan and achieve financial targets, which was the basis for the brand investment, reflecting the company's short and long-term objectives for growth and profitability. Communicate progress towards these goals.

♦ Act as the brand champion, clearly articulating the brand essence, strategy and priorities to all internal and external audiences and constituents.

♦ Develop and execute an appropriate multi-channel distribution strategy and relevant trade relationships to maximize opportunity worldwide.

♦ Refine and articulate a specific marketing voice and position that resonates with both domestic and international customers.

♦ Develop a product strategy and innovation plan that refines the current line and expands the portfolio into new segments. Identify new product opportunities and craft a cohesive product "story" for existing as well as new innovations. Evaluate and pursue new innovations that anticipate and capitalize on market trends with the goal of creating innovative, leading products that ensure strong customer and consumer demand.

♦ Guide and support an in-house digital team to create a superior digital/ecommerce experience, both meeting financial targets and enhancing brand engagement. Includes development of best-in-class Social Media influencer marketing and resulting earned media value and drive to conversion.

♦ Identify M&A and other growth opportunities that support the creation of a broad Personal Care Products Platform.

Ideal Experience

♦ Proven success as a CEO/President/General Manager building a global branded, image-oriented business in a consumer-facing multi-channel environment.

♦ Deep knowledge of the Mass Market Channels

♦ Significant experience within the personal care products is preferred, but open to equivalent experience in other FMCG, including food/beverage, household and/or consumer healthcare products

♦ Innovation/new product development with high churn product commercialization through omni-channel (mass, drug, grocery, dollar and e-commerce)

♦ Intellectual curiosity and passion around consumer research, insights and data analytics that deliver products and service that meets the consumers ever changing and heightening insatiable expectations.

♦ Brings both a creative perspective and a rational business mind.

♦ Agile and adept at P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow management; track record of success driving top and bottom-line financial performance and asset efficiency.

♦ Has attracted, developed and motivated high performing teams made up of strong "A" players.

♦ Has led organizations through periods of change and challenge.

♦ Experience in adding structure, process and accountabilities to an organization and scaling-up operations to meet expected growth in a controlled and efficient way.

♦ Significant experience and demonstrated success as a senior leader both in an academy company environment and within a smaller, entrepreneurial brand/company.

♦ An intrinsic understanding of product quality, an affinity for digital and ecommerce, and an appreciation of the company brands and its unique value proposition.

♦ Experience partnering with a private equity firm is highly preferred.

Client Project Leads

If you or anyone you know feel qualified and meet the requirements outlined in this executive summary, please contact Joe Hunt joehunt@huntsearch.com, Cyndi Johnson cjohnson@huntsearch.com or your search consultant.