Our customer is the Dutch subsidiary of a Swiss based food manufacturing Group with in total 1600 employees. The company is renowned for its unique and innovative food products. Tailor-made products and services are distributed worldwide in record time for a wide spectrum of customer needs. In the OpCo in the Netherlands, they produce for numerous retailers and brand owners throughout Europe. Producing for the upper market operational excellence is key. This means high output with structure and standardization for the daily routine whilst obtaining flexibility to handle changes. Recently an essential step of transformation has been successfully realiszed. Now our customer is looking for a managing director who will lead the company to the next level.

A challenging combination of plant management and company responsibility in an international setting. You steer the business, run the plant and are fully P&L responsible. You will lead your team to realize the growth strategy of 30% turnover growth within the coming years and an EBITDA target of at least double digits. Main drivers: development of new business in all strategic channels of our customer, stimulating innovation that generates promising new products and improvement of the plant’s output, efficiency, and profitability. Continuous improvements in Sales, Innovation, Production and Supply Chain are an ongoing process. Being a part of the steering Board, which directs the three sister companies and their common sales, innovation and SCM teams.

As a managing director you:

• provide leadership, vision and execution power to your team and partners.
• will be representing our customer both internally and externally and take care of all yearly and long-term budgets and achievements. Compliance with governance, HQ, Legal and other requirements is your responsibility.
• are familiar with the corresponding financial reporting, both locally and corporate wise.
• will report to the Group management in Switzerland and contribute to a lively exchange of strategic/operational information and activities.

You are an inspirational, dynamic and experienced personality with strong leadership skills and hands-on mentality, who is stimulated by the culture of an international operating family-owned business. With high implementation and enforcement capacity you combine both line management and hands on operational management skills. Further development of a cooperative culture with a focus on fast growth combined with continues improvement will be your main delivery.

Furthermore, as a professional:

• Bsc/Msc level (ideally in food engineering/mechanical engineering) preferably combined with an MBA
• Proven management experience in a manufacturing/food processing environment, experience with Sales and P&L responsibility desired
• Advanced understanding of how to develop and lead high performing teams and ability to create a thriving plant in a dynamic work environment.
• Ability to see and balance the local and the leading Group’s needs.
• Good negotiator.
• Fully proficient in Dutch (favourable native), English and German.

As a person:

• Self-confident, extroverted, and open with persuasive communication skills.
• Easy going and accessible for all levels of employees
• Thinks and acts in solutions.
• Balanced and steady character.
• Hard working executive with entrepreneurial spirit.
• Knows when to bend not to bow.
• Natural leader in a compact team

Harry Nauta
Phone:       +31 (0)6 29 50 40 30
Email:         nauta@triceps.nl

Or

Nico Brokking
Phone:       +31 (0)6 21 25 35 40
Email:         brokking@triceps.nl