CEO

Chief Executive Officer

The Opportunity

A Fresno-based food manufacturer has engaged us to recruit an operationally focused Chief Executive Officer. This leader will continue improving profitability, strengthening cost discipline, embedding accountability throughout the business, and positioning the company for continued growth.

The company is seeking a leader to strengthen day-to-day operations, develop the team, and support growth. This person will establish clear priorities, improve efficiency, and build a culture of accountability across the organization.

Operational Leadership

• Lead sales, marketing, manufacturing, supply chain, procurement, maintenance, logistics, and quality performance.
• Hold plant and operating leaders accountable for measurable improvement in throughput, yield, waste, downtime, and labor productivity, using lean and continuous-improvement methods.
• Maintain rigorous food safety, product quality, workplace safety, and regulatory compliance. Ensure procedures, training, documentation, and corrective actions are consistently followed.
• Build a culture in which commitments are tracked, problems are addressed promptly, and leaders follow through. Coach and develop the team, clarify responsibilities, and address performance gaps.
• Establish the company’s operating cadence and KPI framework, ensuring ownership is cascaded from the leadership team through the plant organization.
• Assess the plant and operating leadership team, strengthen the organization structure, clarify decision rights, and build succession and bench strength.
• Set multi-year operations strategy, including capacity planning, automation, make-versus-buy decisions, and footprint needs to support the growth plan.
• Chair the executive S&OP process, balancing customer commitments, capacity, inventory, and working capital at the leadership level.
• Prioritize capital between maintenance, reliability, automation, and growth projects. Approve business cases and hold leaders accountable for on-time, on-budget delivery and promised returns.
• Report operating performance, risks, and improvement plans to ownership.

  Financial Performance

• Own company performance and partner closely with the CFO on budgets, forecasts, financial reporting, cash flow, working capital, and internal controls.
• Understand manufacturing costs at a detailed level and improve margins through disciplined management of materials, labor, overhead, inventory, and product and customer profitability.
• Translate financial and operating data into timely decisions, corrective actions, and clear reporting to ownership.

  Profitable Growth and Capital Investment

• Lead the sales team in retaining and expanding existing accounts, developing new customers, and managing a disciplined pipeline that converts available capacity into profitable revenue.
• Align pricing, customer commitments, production capabilities, and service levels. Build key customer and supplier relationships and ensure growth supports margin and cash objectives.
• Execute the strategic plan with ownership. Evaluate additional production lines and capital projects using clear business cases, implementation plans, and return expectations.

  Experience and Qualifications

• Proven manufacturing leadership with meaningful P&L responsibility as a CEO, President, General Manager, COO, or comparable executive.
• Demonstrated success improving operational performance, controlling costs, and delivering results.
• Deep knowledge of plant operations and supply chain, with measurable results in productivity, throughput, quality, and margin improvement.
• Experience changing operating behaviors through KPIs, clear ownership, regular performance reviews, and accountability at every level.
• Food manufacturing experience and an understanding of food safety and quality systems preferred. Manufacturing experience is required.
• Strong financial judgment and the ability to interpret financial statements, understand cost drivers, and work closely with a CFO.
• Ability to lead a sales process and commercial team.
• Experience executing capital projects and expanding capacity.
• Clear communication, sound judgment, and the confidence to make difficult decisions while building trust with employees, customers, and ownership.
• Comfort using ERP systems, operating dashboards, and financial analysis to guide decisions. Bachelor’s degree required; an advanced degree is preferred.