One of the leading full service material handling dealerships in the country that leases, sells, and services a variety of electric and internal combustion forklifts and other commercial products has retained our firm to help in their search for a Chief Operating Officer.  The company is an employee-owned company and backed by a highly respected private equity group.  This profitable and fast growing company is seeking a strong operations management professional who will provide leadership and oversight management of the company’s day-to-day operations. 

Based in the southwest, the company primarily operates in the western markets of Arizona, Nevada, Utah and California, with additional operations in Mexico.  The company represents various fork lift manufacturers and is widely recognized as an industry leader within its core markets.  While selling and leasing equipment is at the forefront of its business model, the company is focused on profitably servicing its installed base.  Illustrative of its service focus, service technicians make up over 50% of the company’s workforce. 

The company’s operations are organized along five principal lines of business: Equipment (New & Used Sales); Parts, Service; Storage Products & Systems (SPS); and Rental (short and long-term) – that work together to provide the most attractive value proposition to those requiring material handling equipment and services in the Southwest market.  The company has grown organically and by acquisitions and has annual revenues of more than $100MM and 400+ employees.  

Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the successful candidate will lead a team responsible for strategic and tactical operations management, as well as the development, design, operations, and improvement of the systems that create and deliver the company’s products and services.  He/she will be a key member of the management team, will work closely with the various operating segments and physical locations of the company and will interface directly with board members. 

Key qualifications include:

•   a minimum of 20 years’ professional experience with a significant portion managing a P&L for a multi-state industrial product distribution and services company, division, or region; material handling distribution, sales, and technical services experience would be a strong plus; 

•   a strategic and creative business development mindset; someone who can think outside the box to find ways to profitably grow a company including properly assessing and analyzing new business initiatives, product offering enhancement, new business and product roll-outs, mergers and acquisitions, carve-outs, IT upgrades, and inventory management initiatives;

•   strong managerial and operational credentials with a bottom line orientation – will understand that running a distribution and services business requires constant attention to cash flow; a problem solver who will make smart, analytically-sound decisions based on return on investment and profit potential;

•   tremendous leadership ability; the bent for taking responsibility, moving ahead, motivating and encouraging others; a strong mentor and coach who has an eye for talent; a highly participative management style who can devote the energy, passion, and intelligence to continue to grow the company as the industry leader; must have the ability to influence others and orchestrate teams without direct oversight;

•   creative solid sales and marketing expertise; will posses strong customer focused relationship abilities at the highest level;

•   an entrepreneurial spirit with flexibility and curiosity; the ability to handle different operating functions and tasks ranging from strategic planning to tactical analysis of business results;

•   excellent communications and interpersonal skills; a team builder who will be effective in building strong partnerships and credibility at all levels of the company, as well as with customers, suppliers, and Board members;

•   solid educational credentials; a BA or BS from a highly regarded college or university; an engineering degree or MBA would be a plus.

This is an excellent opportunity. An attractive compensation package, including base salary, bonus, and equity options, will be tailored to the successful candidate’s requirements.