Chief Product Officer — Aftermarket Franchise

The mandate

The investment committee has withheld further expansion pending clarity on a broad portfolio lacking clear product accountability within a institutionally backed integrated automotive and components manufacturer. The immediate arena is the aftermarket franchise during a warranty-cost challenge. For mandate 297, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Chief Product Officer operating perimeter covers approximately US$14,100 million in regional revenue and programme portfolio, with activity spanning several aftermarket franchise customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Chief Product Officer Automotive remit carries direct influence over roughly 1,500 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors want a Chief Product Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the aftermarket franchise. The Chief Product Officer Automotive seat must resolve a warranty-cost challenge, while preserving the underlying strengths of the aftermarket franchise. For mandate 297, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Chief Product Officer’s first year on the aftermarket franchise is expected to end with portfolio coherence, product economics and customer adoption. In mandate 297, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is an urgent replacement for the Chief Product Officer — Aftermarket Franchise seat following an accelerated leadership transition. Interim accountability is in place for the aftermarket franchise, but the board wants a permanent appointment within 6–8 weeks because a warranty-cost challenge cannot remain under split ownership. The predecessor’s outcome is being handled neutrally and professionally. The external search remains confidential until the preferred candidate and transition plan are agreed.

What you will own

• Set the Chief Product Officer value-creation thesis for the aftermarket franchise, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately US$14,100 million in regional revenue and programme portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief Product Officer Automotive organisation of about 1,500 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the aftermarket franchise economics and execution constraints created by a warranty-cost challenge, with Chief Product Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Chief Product Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the aftermarket franchise; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have owned portfolio economics, roadmap choices and adoption across a multi-product customer base in mandate 297.
• Build the Chief Product Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the aftermarket franchise, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Automotive organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the aftermarket franchise baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to a broad portfolio lacking clear product accountability, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Chief Product Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the aftermarket franchise, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable aftermarket franchise trend against portfolio coherence, product economics and customer adoption, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the Chief Product Officer’s agreed first-year aftermarket franchise value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Chief Product Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the aftermarket franchise’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Chief Product Officer mandate’s highest-priority aftermarket franchise risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical aftermarket franchise talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Chief Product Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Chief Product Officer-owned improvement in the aftermarket franchise operating constraint behind a warranty-cost challenge, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 297: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a Chief Product Officer, SVP Product or Product Business GM in a institutionally backed Automotive or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the aftermarket franchise, your Chief Product Officer track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from automotive, industrial manufacturing, mobility, components or engineering services will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Chief Product Officer brief.

As a Chief Product Officer candidate, you bring 22–28 years of progressive Automotive or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 22-28 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of US$8,200 million and led an organisation of at least 1,050 people.

For mandate 297, the board wants two transitions: a difficult aftermarket franchise portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a warranty-cost challenge. As the prospective Chief Product Officer for this aftermarket franchise, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 297 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief Product Officer must be based in Detroit; international relocation is supported, but this Automotive role is not designed as a remote appointment.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of Chief Product Officer, SVP Product or Product Business GM, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Automotive governance forum.
• Proven Chief Product Officer ownership of at least US$8,200 million and leadership of no fewer than 1,050 employees in a comparable aftermarket franchise context.
• One completed Automotive or adjacent-sector example of a broad portfolio lacking clear product accountability with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from automotive, industrial manufacturing, mobility, components or engineering services; experience that is purely functional and lacks Chief Product Officer-level aftermarket franchise consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Detroit location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 297.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief Product Officer package is US$430,000–575,000 base + annual incentive and equity, calibrated to the final aftermarket franchise scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 297 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief Product Officer appointment in Detroit, centred on the aftermarket franchise, offers regular exposure to the chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 297.

Confidentiality

Client identity is withheld at this stage and will be disclosed under mutual confidentiality after an initial fit discussion for mandate 297. Rounded ranges and blended context prevent this document from being used to triangulate the organisation for mandate 297.