SVP – Product and Markets — Speciality-Materials Portfolio

The mandate

Customer and operating evidence now point to a product portfolio that no longer maps cleanly to customer economics within a multinational-owned multi-site industrial manufacturing group. The immediate arena is the speciality-materials portfolio during a footprint consolidation. For mandate 478, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The SVP – Product and Markets operating perimeter covers approximately US$7,350 million in manufacturing and commercial portfolio, with activity spanning several speciality-materials portfolio customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The SVP – Product and Markets Manufacturing remit carries direct influence over roughly 1,475 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The board and its investment committee want a SVP – Product and Markets who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the speciality-materials portfolio. The SVP – Product and Markets Manufacturing seat must resolve a footprint consolidation, while preserving the underlying strengths of the speciality-materials portfolio. For mandate 478, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The SVP – Product and Markets’s first year on the speciality-materials portfolio is expected to end with portfolio focus, adoption and lifecycle profitability. In mandate 478, 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 SVP – Product and Markets — Speciality-Materials Portfolio seat, established because a footprint consolidation now requires one accountable executive rather than distributed ownership. The board has classified the appointment as urgent and intends to move from qualified shortlist to offer within 6–8 weeks. Interim governance protects the speciality-materials portfolio, but it is not a substitute for a permanent appointee. The external search remains confidential to avoid unnecessary disruption before the appointment is agreed.

What you will own

• Set the SVP – Product and Markets 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$7,350 million in manufacturing and commercial portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the SVP – Product and Markets Manufacturing organisation of about 1,475 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 footprint consolidation, with SVP – Product and Markets-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one SVP – Product and Markets operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the speciality-materials portfolio; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Show end-to-end ownership of a material platform or value stream, including budget, talent and measurable operating outcomes in mandate 478.
• Build the SVP – Product and Markets’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 a product portfolio that no longer maps cleanly to customer economics, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal SVP – Product and Markets 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 portfolio focus, adoption and lifecycle profitability, 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 SVP – Product and Markets’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 SVP – Product and Markets 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 SVP – Product and Markets 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 SVP – Product and Markets’s direct reports.
• A quantified SVP – Product and Markets-owned improvement in the speciality-materials portfolio operating constraint behind a footprint consolidation, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 478: 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 SVP Product, Product Line GM or Commercial Product Head in a multinational-owned Manufacturing or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the speciality-materials portfolio, your SVP – Product and Markets 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 SVP – Product and Markets brief.

As a SVP – Product and Markets candidate, you bring 22–28 years of progressive Manufacturing or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 22-28 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of US$4,250 million and led an organisation of at least 1,025 people.

For mandate 478, the board wants two transitions: a difficult speciality-materials portfolio portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a footprint consolidation. As the prospective SVP – Product and Markets for this speciality-materials portfolio, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 478 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The SVP – Product and Markets 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 SVP Product, Product Line GM or Commercial Product Head, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Manufacturing governance forum.
• Proven SVP – Product and Markets ownership of at least US$4,250 million and leadership of no fewer than 1,025 employees in a comparable speciality-materials portfolio context.
• One completed Manufacturing or adjacent-sector example of a product portfolio that no longer maps cleanly to customer economics 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 SVP – Product and Markets-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 478.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated SVP – Product and Markets package is US$320,000–420,000 base + annual incentive, calibrated to the final speciality-materials portfolio scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 478 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The SVP – Product and Markets 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 478.

Confidentiality

This search is being conducted without naming the client for mandate 478. Identifying information will follow only when both sides elect to proceed under confidentiality; nothing in the published mandate should be treated as a clue to ownership or brand for mandate 478.