CTO – Product and Engineering — Aftermarket Franchise

The mandate

The board has concluded that incremental adjustment will not resolve product engineering requiring a step-change in pace without compromising reliability within a listed integrated automotive and components manufacturer. The immediate arena is the aftermarket franchise during an electric-vehicle portfolio shift. For mandate 291, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The CTO – Product and Engineering operating perimeter covers approximately US$15,650 million in regional revenue and programme portfolio, with activity spanning several aftermarket franchise customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The CTO – Product and Engineering Automotive remit carries direct influence over roughly 925 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors want a CTO – Product and Engineering who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the aftermarket franchise. The CTO – Product and Engineering Automotive seat must resolve an electric-vehicle portfolio shift, while preserving the underlying strengths of the aftermarket franchise. For mandate 291, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The CTO – Product and Engineering’s first year on the aftermarket franchise is expected to end with release confidence, architecture health and engineering productivity. In mandate 291, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

The CTO – Product and Engineering — Aftermarket Franchise requirement was not included in the approved hiring calendar. It became urgent after an electric-vehicle portfolio shift created an immediate need for one accountable owner of the aftermarket franchise. Interim coverage protects essential decisions, but split ownership cannot continue through the next operating gate. The board intends to move from qualified shortlist to offer within 4–6 weeks while preserving confidential, evidence-led diligence.

What you will own

• Set the CTO – Product and Engineering 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$15,650 million in regional revenue and programme portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the CTO – Product and Engineering Automotive organisation of about 925 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 an electric-vehicle portfolio shift, with CTO – Product and Engineering-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one CTO – Product and Engineering operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the aftermarket franchise; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have made consequential architecture and engineering trade-offs while scaling release throughput and reliability in mandate 291.
• Build the CTO – Product and Engineering’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 product engineering requiring a step-change in pace without compromising reliability, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal CTO – Product and Engineering 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 release confidence, architecture health and engineering productivity, 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 CTO – Product and Engineering’s agreed first-year aftermarket franchise value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A CTO – Product and Engineering forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the aftermarket franchise’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the CTO – Product and Engineering 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 CTO – Product and Engineering’s direct reports.
• A quantified CTO – Product and Engineering-owned improvement in the aftermarket franchise operating constraint behind an electric-vehicle portfolio shift, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 291: 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 CTO, SVP Engineering or Product Technology Head in a listed Automotive or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the aftermarket franchise, your CTO – Product and Engineering 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 CTO – Product and Engineering brief.

As a CTO – Product and Engineering candidate, you bring 18–22 years of progressive Automotive or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 18-22 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of US$9,100 million and led an organisation of at least 650 people.

For mandate 291, the board wants two transitions: a difficult aftermarket franchise portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during an electric-vehicle portfolio shift. As the prospective CTO – Product and Engineering for this aftermarket franchise, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 291 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The CTO – Product and Engineering 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 CTO, SVP Engineering or Product Technology Head, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Automotive governance forum.
• Proven CTO – Product and Engineering ownership of at least US$9,100 million and leadership of no fewer than 650 employees in a comparable aftermarket franchise context.
• One completed Automotive or adjacent-sector example of product engineering requiring a step-change in pace without compromising reliability 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 CTO – Product and Engineering-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 291.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated CTO – Product and Engineering 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 291 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The CTO – Product and Engineering 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 291.

Confidentiality

The organisation will be identified only after reciprocal interest and a confidentiality undertaking for mandate 291. The market, scale and situation in this brief are intentionally composite and are not a coded description of a named enterprise for mandate 291.