EVP – Customer Operations — Precision-Engineering Division

The mandate

A precision-engineering division is shifting castings, electronics and special processes from a concentrated incumbent supply base to qualified sources in several countries. Procurement owns the commercial transitions and engineering owns technical approval, but no executive owns what customers experience while parts, documentation and lead times change. Order acknowledgements, qualification samples, field modifications and shortage messages are being managed in separate teams. A new EVP – Customer Operations will connect those activities into one defensible promise.

The remit spans approximately 1,850 employees and material partners across customer planning, order management, programme operations, delivery assurance, customer quality coordination, installation readiness and service transition. The role reports to the Group Chief Executive or designated sponsor. Sales owns relationship strategy, supply chain owns suppliers and factories own output; the EVP has authority over the customer-operating system and escalates any promise that cannot be supported by technical and capacity evidence.

Supplier transfer is not complete when a purchase order moves. Customer-specific qualifications may depend on process location, sub-tier source, inspection method or production history. The customer leader will create an obligation map by programme and serial effectivity, showing required disclosure, consent, sample, evidence and timing. Internal approval cannot be presented as customer approval where the contract says otherwise.

Bridge inventory requires joint decisions. Building too little risks line-down; building too much can strand parts against an obsolete design or expiring shelf life. The EVP will ensure customer forecasts, engineering confidence, supplier ramp and cash exposure are considered together. Where customers request exceptional buffers, the team should negotiate ownership, cancellation and storage terms rather than silently absorbing risk.

Communication must state what is known, what remains under test and when the next evidence will arrive. Generic reassurance destroys trust when dates move. Account-specific recovery rooms will combine shortages, technical concessions, documentation and shipment priority. Conflicting messages from sales, quality and programme teams should be resolved before reaching customers.

The role also owns fair allocation when supply is constrained. Priorities will consider safety, contractual consequence, customer production impact, available substitutes and long-term relationships. Revenue size alone is inadequate. Each decision needs recorded rationale and legal or export-control input where required.

This is a planned new seat created before the main transfer wave. Capable functional leaders exist, but the board wants single customer-operating accountability rather than another coordination committee. The hybrid Singapore role will travel frequently to customer, supplier and production locations.

What you will own

• Build one programme view of customer obligations, qualifications, orders, shortages and acceptance.
• Govern customer-facing readiness for supplier and sub-tier changes.
• Decide bridge inventory and allocation with commercial, technical, supply and finance leaders.
• Create truthful escalation and communication for disrupted programmes.
• Improve order confirmation, documentation, delivery and installation hand-offs.
• Establish customer recovery governance that closes root causes, not merely complaints.
• Define performance across promise reliability, qualification, service and cash exposure.
• Develop programme and customer-operations leaders with authority close to decisions.

The first 12 months

In the first 60 days, review the twenty largest customer programmes, map supplier-transfer obligations and identify commitments lacking qualification or capacity support. Meet selected customer operations and quality leaders directly. Put interim approval on high-risk date changes, allocations and bridge builds and define a single source of truth for each programme.

By month six, deploy customer readiness gates for all priority transfers, agree evidence-led communication calendars and resolve the largest disputed forecasts or buffers. Consolidate order, shortage and qualification governance and strengthen programme leadership where interfaces remain weak. Customers should see fewer changes and faster, more precise answers.

At twelve months, achieve 96% adherence to confirmed customer dates, complete 95% of required qualifications before transferred supply enters production and reduce conflicting promise escalations by 70%. Line-down incidents attributable to an undisclosed sourcing change should be zero. Bridge inventory must remain within the approved risk envelope, while customer complaints concerning documentation or change notification fall by 40%.

What the sponsor will measure

• Customer commitments supported by qualification and capacity facts.
• Supplier transfers completed without hidden obligation or line-down risk.
• Bridge and allocation choices balancing continuity, cash and fairness.
• One coherent message across sales, quality, engineering and operations.
• Faster root-cause resolution and fewer repeat customer escalations.
• Customer-operating leaders trusted to make evidence-based decisions.

The person

You bring 22–28 years in customer operations, programme management, supply-chain delivery or division leadership in aerospace, electronics, medical devices, semiconductor equipment or precision industrial products. You have managed customer continuity through supplier or footprint change where qualification and serial configuration mattered.

Your prior scope should include at least 1,200 employees and partners, S$1.5 billion of programme value or a similarly demanding international portfolio. Evidence must include a customer line-down you prevented, an allocation decision and a supplier transfer whose technical approval differed from customer acceptance. You can work fluently with contracts, engineers, factories and senior customer teams.

Compensation and terms

The base range is S$360,000–480,000 plus annual incentive linked to confirmed-date performance, qualification, customer continuity, working capital and leadership. This permanent hybrid Singapore appointment reports to the Group Chief Executive or designated executive sponsor and requires international travel. Notice up to six months may be considered against the transfer sequence.

Confidentiality

The division, supplier moves, customer programmes, qualifications and allocations remain confidential. Further details follow credential and conflict checks and a signed undertaking. Applicants must not contact customers, suppliers or employees to infer the enterprise or its sourcing programme.