Joint Managing Director – Operations — Trading And Supply Organisation

The mandate

A multinational-owned trading and supply organisation is moving into a joint leadership model. Commercial and operational decisions are tightly linked, but the proposed split will fail if responsibility for terminals, transport, inventory, service and project readiness remains negotiable at each issue. The board seeks a Joint Managing Director – Operations who can define the operating half of the model and make the interface work under pressure.

The perimeter covers approximately ₹31,700 crore in operated assets and trading portfolio and 900 employees and material partners. Accountability includes terminals and logistics, supply operations, inventory execution, customer service, project-to-operations readiness, maintenance, contractor performance, resilience and operating talent. The commercial joint leader owns market positions and customers; risk retains independent limits. This role owns physical fulfilment, operational acceptance and transparent escalation where commercial and operating interests diverge.

The major project affects capacity, routes, systems or product handling across the existing network. Recovery cannot be judged on construction completion alone. Competent people, procedures, permits, maintenance, emergency response, inventory and customer transition must be ready before operating acceptance.

Joint leadership requires explicit reserved and shared decisions. Consensus is valuable, but deadlock cannot delay safety, contractual or continuity action.

Why this seat is open

This is a planned replacement with a four-to-six-month succession period. The incumbent continues normal authority and will transfer project, network and partner knowledge. The board is assessing candidates confidentially so employees, customers and the other joint leader receive coordinated communication. No hidden project or conduct issue prompted the change.

What you will own

• Define operating, commercial, shared and escalated decision rights.
• Recover the project through controlled operating-readiness gates.
• Integrate logistics, inventory, terminals and customer fulfilment.
• Improve maintenance, contractor and service reliability.
• Build resilience across alternate routes and capacity constraints.
• Develop operating leaders and successors under the joint model.

The leadership charter will specify authority for capacity allocation, maintenance outages, inventory, customer prioritisation, capital, incidents, pricing exceptions and commitments. It will include escalation time, evidence and final arbiter. The two leaders will review shared outcomes but retain individual accountability. Employees should never need to shop a decision between offices.

Project recovery will use readiness rather than percentage completion. Engineering and construction evidence, commissioning, controls, procedures, competence, spares, permits and emergency plans will have accountable acceptors. The JMD can withhold operational acceptance even when contractual milestones create pressure. Residual defects will be ranked, funded and governed after handover.

Network execution will connect nominations, sourcing, inventory, transport, terminals and customer delivery. Constraints and alternative routes will be visible early enough for commercial action. The operations team will distinguish losses caused by market choice, scheduling, asset reliability and partner performance so corrective decisions reach the right owner.

Inventory will be governed by purpose and location. Operating minimums, strategic cover, in-transit volume and commercial positions require different owners and tolerances. The JMD will not release stock whose service role is unacknowledged, nor protect excess inventory under a vague resilience label.

Operating data will have one agreed cut through the joint model. Capacity, inventory, loss, delay and customer fulfilment must reconcile before the leadership review. Where commercial and operating systems differ, the JMD will assign the authoritative source and a dated correction path. Persistent reconciliation will be treated as an operating risk, not clerical inconvenience.

Contractor and partner operations will have clear service, competence, safety, maintenance, data and recovery duties. Multi-year relationships will not excuse weak performance. Where a critical route or terminal depends on one provider, the JMD will test alternative capacity and crisis authority with the commercial leader.

The first 12 months

Within 75 days, the JMD will validate the recovery path, map shared decisions and assess network leadership. The board will receive a signed leadership charter, immediate readiness gaps and critical continuity actions.

By month eight, the project should pass approved readiness gates, four shared decision pathways should operate within agreed times and two major network constraints should have tested alternatives. Customer and inventory reporting will reconcile with commercial forecasts.

At year-end, fulfilment reliability should exceed 95%, priority-asset availability improve 10% and inventory variance remain within approved tolerance. Project transition must produce no high-severity operating event, while 75% of pivotal operations roles have verified emergency cover.

What the board will measure

• Joint leadership that resolves rather than multiplies interfaces.
• Safe, evidence-led project acceptance.
• Reliable physical fulfilment and inventory control.
• Network resilience supported by tested alternatives.
• Strong operations leadership and succession.

The person

You are a Managing Director, COO or trading-and-supply operations leader with more than 28 years of experience. You have carried accountable scope above ₹18,400 crore and led at least 900 people. Your record includes terminals, logistics, inventory, projects and commercial interfaces.

The board will test a shared-leadership deadlock you resolved, a project you refused to accept and a supply disruption managed without obscuring ownership. You must be collaborative without becoming ambiguous. Pure commercial or project leadership without ongoing physical operations will not qualify.

This onsite New Delhi role requires regular asset, partner, customer and board travel.

Compensation and terms

Fixed compensation is ₹5.0–7.5 crore plus performance variable and LTI. Measures include project readiness, fulfilment, asset reliability, inventory, resilience and succession. Long-term terms follow standard vesting and confirmed scope.

Confidentiality

The enterprise, leaders, assets, project, customers and supply positions are confidential. Further information follows qualification and an undertaking. Rounded scale and composite context protect identity.