Regional Chief Executive Officer — Speciality-Materials Portfolio

The mandate

A recent strategy review exposed redefinition of the regional portfolio after uneven market performance within a privately held multi-site industrial manufacturing group. The immediate arena is the speciality-materials portfolio during a plant-productivity gap. For mandate 472, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Regional Chief Executive Officer operating perimeter covers approximately US$8,550 million in manufacturing and commercial portfolio, with activity spanning several speciality-materials portfolio customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Regional Chief Executive Officer Manufacturing remit carries direct influence over roughly 3,525 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The board and its investment committee want a Regional Chief Executive Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the speciality-materials portfolio. The Regional Chief Executive Officer Manufacturing seat must resolve a plant-productivity gap, while preserving the underlying strengths of the speciality-materials portfolio. For mandate 472, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Regional Chief Executive Officer’s first year on the speciality-materials portfolio is expected to end with profitable regional growth and sharper market choices. In mandate 472, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

The Regional Chief Executive Officer — Speciality-Materials Portfolio requirement was not included in the approved hiring calendar. It became urgent after a plant-productivity gap created an immediate need for one accountable owner of the speciality-materials portfolio. 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 Regional Chief Executive Officer value-creation thesis for the speciality-materials portfolio, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately US$8,550 million in manufacturing and commercial portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Regional Chief Executive Officer Manufacturing organisation of about 3,525 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the speciality-materials portfolio economics and execution constraints created by a plant-productivity gap, with Regional Chief Executive Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Regional Chief Executive Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the speciality-materials portfolio; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Show personal ownership of a whole-enterprise choice involving capital, customers and leadership, not merely sponsorship of a functional programme in mandate 472.
• Build the Regional Chief Executive Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the speciality-materials portfolio, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Manufacturing organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the speciality-materials portfolio baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to redefinition of the regional portfolio after uneven market performance, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Regional Chief Executive Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the speciality-materials portfolio, 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 speciality-materials portfolio trend against profitable regional growth and sharper market choices, 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 Regional Chief Executive Officer’s agreed first-year speciality-materials portfolio value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Regional Chief Executive Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the speciality-materials portfolio’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Regional Chief Executive Officer mandate’s highest-priority speciality-materials portfolio risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical speciality-materials portfolio talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Regional Chief Executive Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Regional Chief Executive Officer-owned improvement in the speciality-materials portfolio operating constraint behind a plant-productivity gap, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 472: 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 CEO, Area President or multi-country Business Head in a privately held Manufacturing or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the speciality-materials portfolio, your Regional Chief Executive 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 industrial manufacturing, engineering, chemicals, automotive components or process industries will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Regional Chief Executive Officer brief.

As a Regional Chief Executive Officer candidate, you bring 28+ years of progressive Manufacturing 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$4,950 million and led an organisation of at least 2,475 people.

For mandate 472, the board wants two transitions: a difficult speciality-materials portfolio portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a plant-productivity gap. As the prospective Regional Chief Executive Officer for this speciality-materials portfolio, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 472 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Regional Chief Executive Officer must be based in Chicago; international relocation is supported, but this Manufacturing role is not designed as a remote appointment.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of Regional CEO, Area President or multi-country Business Head, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Manufacturing governance forum.
• Proven Regional Chief Executive Officer ownership of at least US$4,950 million and leadership of no fewer than 2,475 employees in a comparable speciality-materials portfolio context.
• One completed Manufacturing or adjacent-sector example of redefinition of the regional portfolio after uneven market performance with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from industrial manufacturing, engineering, chemicals, automotive components or process industries; experience that is purely functional and lacks Regional Chief Executive Officer-level speciality-materials portfolio consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Chicago location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 472.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Regional Chief Executive Officer package is US$600,000–850,000 base + annual incentive and long-term equity, calibrated to the final speciality-materials portfolio scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 472 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Regional Chief Executive Officer appointment in Chicago, centred on the speciality-materials portfolio, offers regular exposure to the board and its investment committee. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 472.

Confidentiality

Client identity is withheld at this stage and will be disclosed under mutual confidentiality after an initial fit discussion for mandate 472. Rounded ranges and blended context prevent this document from being used to triangulate the organisation for mandate 472.