China CEO — Logistics (Regional Leadership)

Position overview

Gladwin International Leadership Advisors is representing a confidential organisation in Logistics & Supply Chain on a senior CEO leadership mandate anchored in China. The remit explicitly spans Malaysia, Canada, USA.

This is a sector or practice-head mandate combining deep domain credibility with commercial ownership of a vertical P&L or global practice line.

Expect a mandate where credibility is earned in rooms with customers and regulators, not only in headquarters workshops.

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Context you will inherit

• Market & sector: Sustainability in logistics — EV fleet transition, green warehousing, and Scope 3 emissions reporting are becoming leadership requirements from major shipper clients
• Geographic spine: Primary hub China with explicit corridor responsibility across Malaysia, Canada, USA.
• Organisation stage: ESG and conduct expectations from owners and regulators are now hard constraints on how growth is pursued.
• Stakeholders: Owners may include PE operating partners, a promoter family office, or public-market investors — each with different tempo and KPIs.
• Secondary lens: Cold chain professionalisation — building temperature-controlled logistics operations that meet pharmaceutical GMP and food safety standards requires specialised technical and operational leadership

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The mandate (12–24 month arc)

1. Strategic choices: Exit or de-prioritise low-conviction bets; reallocate capital and talent to the segments with durable advantage.
2. Customer & brand: Rebuild trust in priority accounts; ensure delivery reliability and commercial discipline match the brand promise.
3. Operating tempo: Install a weekly / monthly operating rhythm that forces cross-functional decisions instead of serial escalations.
4. Risk & resilience: Partner with risk and legal so growth initiatives do not outpace control design — especially in regulated adjacencies.
5. Talent density: Recalibrate performance standards; move decisively on mis-hires in leadership roles.
6. Owner alignment: Keep PE / board / family owners aligned on timing, value creation plan, and downside scenarios.

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Responsibilities (representative)

• Reset performance standards for the leadership population; act quickly on chronic underperformance.
• Align global programmes with local market reality — avoid copy-paste transformation.
• Represent the enterprise to investors, lenders, or PE partners with conservative, credible forecasts.
• Drive inclusion in succession and promotion decisions — measurable outcomes, not statements.
• Balance short-term recovery actions with investments that compound over three to five years.

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Leadership profile

• Judgment: High signal-to-noise under pressure; ethical clarity; willingness to halt initiatives that break risk appetite.
• Strategic judgment: Evidence of clear portfolio choices — what to scale, fix, or exit — in Logistics & Supply Chain.
• Education: Strong undergraduate grounding; MBA / advanced degree / professional qualification common at this level.
• Communication: Executive presence in English; additional languages valued where market-relevant.
• Geographic muscle: Comfort operating from China with regular engagement across Malaysia, Canada.

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Team & culture

Expect some fatigue from prior change programmes. Your success depends on simpler priorities, fewer initiatives, and leaders who model accountability. Culture is how decisions get made when spreadsheets disagree — you set that tone.

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Success measures (examples)

• Value creation: EBITDA / cash trajectory vs. owner or board case — especially under stress scenarios.
• Execution: On-time delivery of named transformation milestones; reduction in repeat incidents or audit findings.
• Leadership: External hires and internal promotions that stick; reduction in key-person concentration.
• Innovation: Launched offers or capabilities that move the needle on differentiation, not pilots that stall.

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First 90 days (orientation arc)

• Days 1–30: Map cash, covenant, and customer concentration risks before announcing initiatives.
• Days 30–60: Align owners and board on a 12-month value story — financial and non-financial.
• Days 60–90: Launch two quick operational fixes that build credibility with frontline managers.
• Deep-dive on talent — who is load-bearing, who is blocking, where external hire is mandatory.
• Socialise a simple KPI tree so every function sees how their metrics roll up.

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Stakeholder map (illustrative)

• Internal: Executive committee, functional peers, shared services leads, and programme PMOs.
• External: Key suppliers, technology partners, and joint-venture boards where applicable.
• Board / owners: Expect deep dives on risk, liquidity, talent, and transformation — slides light, substance heavy.

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Travel & mobility

Travel weighted to priority markets and quarterly global or regional forums; flexibility for crisis windows.

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Compensation

Package aligned to CEO benchmarks in Logistics & Supply Chain — typically fixed, variable, benefits, and mobility where applicable. Structure detailed at shortlist.

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Application process

Gladwin International is managing this search confidentially. Shortlisted candidates will engage in structured conversations with the firm’s partners before client introduction. Please apply through the careers portal with a concise note on why this geography, sector, and remit fit your trajectory.

We review every submission personally; unsolicited outreach to the end client is discouraged and may disqualify candidacy.

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Reference: logistics-supply-chain · CEO · China · Gladwin International Leadership Advisors