COO – Regional Operations — Process-Manufacturing Network

The mandate

Following two years of uneven execution, the board is addressing regional delivery split across incompatible operating models within a multinational-owned multi-site industrial manufacturing group. The immediate arena is the process-manufacturing network during an automation investment cycle. For mandate 494, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The COO – Regional Operations operating perimeter covers approximately €11,650 million in manufacturing and commercial portfolio, with activity spanning several process-manufacturing network customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The COO – Regional Operations Manufacturing remit carries direct influence over roughly 1,675 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors want a COO – Regional Operations who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the process-manufacturing network. The COO – Regional Operations Manufacturing seat must resolve an automation investment cycle, while preserving the underlying strengths of the process-manufacturing network. For mandate 494, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The COO – Regional Operations’s first year on the process-manufacturing network is expected to end with one operating system, service reliability and scalable capacity. In mandate 494, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is an urgent replacement for the COO – Regional Operations — Process-Manufacturing Network seat following an accelerated leadership transition. Interim accountability is in place for the process-manufacturing network, but the board wants a permanent appointment within 6–8 weeks because an automation investment cycle cannot remain under split ownership. The predecessor’s outcome is being handled neutrally and professionally. The external search remains confidential until the preferred candidate and transition plan are agreed.

What you will own

• Set the COO – Regional Operations value-creation thesis for the process-manufacturing network, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately €11,650 million in manufacturing and commercial portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the COO – Regional Operations Manufacturing organisation of about 1,675 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the process-manufacturing network economics and execution constraints created by an automation investment cycle, with COO – Regional Operations-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one COO – Regional Operations operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the process-manufacturing network; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have carried end-to-end delivery accountability across multiple sites, channels or markets with quantified service and cost outcomes in mandate 494.
• Build the COO – Regional Operations’s three-year succession and capability plan for the process-manufacturing network, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Manufacturing organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the process-manufacturing network baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to regional delivery split across incompatible operating models, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal COO – Regional Operations portfolio and organisation choices for the process-manufacturing network, 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 process-manufacturing network trend against one operating system, service reliability and scalable capacity, 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 COO – Regional Operations’s agreed first-year process-manufacturing network value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A COO – Regional Operations forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the process-manufacturing network’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the COO – Regional Operations mandate’s highest-priority process-manufacturing network risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical process-manufacturing network talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the COO – Regional Operations’s direct reports.
• A quantified COO – Regional Operations-owned improvement in the process-manufacturing network operating constraint behind an automation investment cycle, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 494: 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 COO, Operations President or Delivery Executive in a multinational-owned Manufacturing or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the process-manufacturing network, your COO – Regional Operations 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 COO – Regional Operations brief.

As a COO – Regional Operations 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 €6,750 million and led an organisation of at least 1,175 people.

For mandate 494, the board wants two transitions: a difficult process-manufacturing network portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during an automation investment cycle. As the prospective COO – Regional Operations for this process-manufacturing network, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 494 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The COO – Regional Operations must be based in Rotterdam; 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 COO, Operations President or Delivery Executive, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Manufacturing governance forum.
• Proven COO – Regional Operations ownership of at least €6,750 million and leadership of no fewer than 1,175 employees in a comparable process-manufacturing network context.
• One completed Manufacturing or adjacent-sector example of regional delivery split across incompatible operating models 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 COO – Regional Operations-level process-manufacturing network consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Rotterdam location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 494.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated COO – Regional Operations package is €330,000–450,000 base + annual incentive and LTI, calibrated to the final process-manufacturing network scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 494 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The COO – Regional Operations appointment in Rotterdam, centred on the process-manufacturing network, 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 494.

Confidentiality

The client name, precise footprint and transaction history are outside this brief for mandate 494. They will be shared with qualified candidates under a mutual undertaking, and the composite facts here must not be reverse-engineered or circulated for mandate 494.