Confidential mandate

Chief Executive Officer — Interim, Aerospace Engineering GCC

Urgent / Replacement

A failed launch partner and sponsor exit require a twenty-four-month interim CEO to establish an aerospace engineering GCC, secure export controls and transfer a scaled centre.

The mandate

The selected launch partner failed export-control due diligence, and the global sponsor resigned days before the India entity was due to open. Forty-five transferred engineers are in temporary accommodation while work packages, licences and employer infrastructure remain unresolved.

The interim CEO must start within four weeks for twenty-four months, taking the centre from legal formation to stable scaled delivery. The role ends after a globally recruited permanent leader completes a three-month induction in the fully operational centre.

Handover requires 1,200 hired employees, all controlled-technology environments independently certified, ninety-five per cent milestone adherence across the first six programmes, and a successor who has chaired two global portfolio and one India board cycle.

The CEO may approve hiring within the workforce plan, award setup contracts below ₹4 crore and accept work packages that meet approved risk criteria. Site leases above ₹25 crore, defence-controlled scope and deviations from the global security architecture need board consent; the CEO cannot pursue external India revenue.

Aircraft certification authority, core product design ownership and global supplier selection are excluded. This centre is an internal engineering capability, not a regional business-development vehicle or independent design approval organisation.

Why this seat is open

Partner failure removed the planned operating route at the same moment executive sponsorship changed. The parent needs a leader able to create the legal, security and engineering institution together. A finite builder is preferred because the steady-state centre will require a different leadership profile after scale and accreditation.

What you will own

Establish the India entity, board calendar, delegation framework and statutory control environment for first operations.
Decide the build-versus-partner route for facilities, secure engineering zones and corporate services within approved capital.
Sequence work-package migration by export classification, engineering dependency, talent readiness and delivery exposure.
Hire the first three leadership layers against a capability architecture rather than inherited job-title demand.
Certify controlled-technology access, data segregation, visitor handling and supplier boundaries before programme intake.
Govern six lighthouse programmes through earned milestones, defect escape, utilisation and customer acceptance evidence.
Transfer board, portfolio and regulatory authority to the permanent CEO through a documented three-month induction.

Candidate qualifications

Twenty-eight-plus years in aerospace or defence engineering with prior P&L, delivery and regulated-site executive authority.
Built an Indian GCC or engineering centre above 750 employees from entity formation through stable programme delivery.
Operational knowledge of export controls, controlled technical data, aviation design assurance and secure facility accreditation.
Experience negotiating complex work migration with global business units that are reluctant to relinquish scope.
Proven ability to hire senior engineering leaders while creating an institution that does not depend on expatriate supervision.
Board-level command of India statutory, employment, tax, security and third-party operating risks.
Track record completing a builder mandate and transitioning gracefully to a steady-state chief executive.

Non-negotiables

Based onsite in Bengaluru within four weeks and available for regular global programme reviews.
Eligible to access controlled aerospace information after enhanced screening.
No board, consulting or financial interest in aerospace competitors or rejected launch partners.
Commits to the full twenty-four-month build and three-month executive induction.

49 words maximum. State your earliest start and any citizenship or assignment issue affecting controlled-data access.
49 words maximum. What GCC did you build, from what headcount to what scale, over which period?
49 words maximum. Which export-controlled work package did you refuse or delay, and why?

This mandate is confidential. The client is named only under a mutual NDA, and your own record is never listed, sold or shown to a company under your name until you release it for this specific mandate.