Managing Director – Regional Business — Aftermarket Franchise

The mandate

A change in the economics of the sector has made urgent several country operations requiring a single commercial and operating owner within a institutionally backed integrated automotive and components manufacturer. The immediate arena is the aftermarket franchise during a regional profitability recovery. For mandate 285, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Managing Director – Regional Business operating perimeter covers approximately US$10,000 million in regional revenue and programme portfolio, with activity spanning several aftermarket franchise customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Managing Director – Regional Business Automotive remit carries direct influence over roughly 2,450 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors want a Managing Director – Regional Business who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the aftermarket franchise. The Managing Director – Regional Business Automotive seat must resolve a regional profitability recovery, while preserving the underlying strengths of the aftermarket franchise. For mandate 285, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Managing Director – Regional Business’s first year on the aftermarket franchise is expected to end with portfolio profitability, leadership consistency and selective expansion. In mandate 285, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is a newly created Managing Director – Regional Business — Aftermarket Franchise seat approved as part of the next operating model; it is not an incumbent replacement. The board is running a planned 4–6 month search so the appointee can join ahead of the next capital and talent cycle. Current leaders retain their existing accountabilities until the aftermarket franchise remit is formally activated. Confidentiality protects organisation design choices while the board compares external and adjacent-sector talent.

What you will own

• Set the Managing Director – Regional Business 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$10,000 million in regional revenue and programme portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Managing Director – Regional Business Automotive organisation of about 2,450 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 regional profitability recovery, with Managing Director – Regional Business-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Managing Director – Regional Business operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the aftermarket franchise; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have led a country, division or operating entity with direct commercial, people and governance accountability in mandate 285.
• Build the Managing Director – Regional Business’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 several country operations requiring a single commercial and operating owner, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Managing Director – Regional Business 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 profitability, leadership consistency and selective expansion, 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 Managing Director – Regional Business’s agreed first-year aftermarket franchise value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Managing Director – Regional Business forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the aftermarket franchise’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Managing Director – Regional Business 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 Managing Director – Regional Business’s direct reports.
• A quantified Managing Director – Regional Business-owned improvement in the aftermarket franchise operating constraint behind a regional profitability recovery, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 285: 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 Regional MD, Area President or multi-country General Manager in a institutionally backed Automotive or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the aftermarket franchise, your Managing Director – Regional Business 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 Managing Director – Regional Business brief.

As a Managing Director – Regional Business candidate, you bring 28+ years of progressive Automotive or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 28-plus experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of US$5,800 million and led an organisation of at least 1,725 people.

For mandate 285, the board wants two transitions: a difficult aftermarket franchise portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a regional profitability recovery. As the prospective Managing Director – Regional Business for this aftermarket franchise, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 285 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Managing Director – Regional Business 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 Regional MD, Area President or multi-country General Manager, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Automotive governance forum.
• Proven Managing Director – Regional Business ownership of at least US$5,800 million and leadership of no fewer than 1,725 employees in a comparable aftermarket franchise context.
• One completed Automotive or adjacent-sector example of several country operations requiring a single commercial and operating owner 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 Managing Director – Regional Business-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 285.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Managing Director – Regional Business package is US$600,000–850,000 base + annual incentive and long-term equity, calibrated to the final aftermarket franchise scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 285 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Managing Director – Regional Business 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 285.

Confidentiality

To protect the board, incumbent team and candidate, the organisation remains unnamed until a confidential conversation confirms mutual relevance for mandate 285. The operating facts have been rounded and blended expressly to remove identifying signals for mandate 285.