Managing Director

The Client

Our client is a market-leading consumer products business with an enviable reputation, strong financial foundations and a longstanding position within a highly competitive sector.

Led by an entrepreneurial ownership team, the business has achieved sustained success through a combination of product innovation, operational excellence and an exceptional customer proposition. It is now seeking a Managing Director to lead the next phase of its journey, enhancing organisational capability, strengthening commercial resilience and building the infrastructure required for long-term sustainable growth.

This is a rare opportunity to lead a respected, profitable and highly regarded business that enjoys a significant position with one of the UK's largest retail organisation

The Role

the Managing Director will assume full responsibility for the overall leadership, performance and strategic direction of the business.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading the development and delivery of the company's strategic and commercial objectives.
• Providing clear leadership to an established senior management team.
• Driving operational excellence across sourcing, supply chain, customer service and commercial functions.
• Building greater organisational capability, succession planning and leadership strength.
• Enhancing business processes, governance, reporting and decision-making disciplines.
• Maintaining strong financial performance, profitability and cash generation.
• Balancing entrepreneurial pace with increasing operational maturity and rigour.

A critical aspect of the role will be the stewardship of the company's most important commercial relationship.

The business enjoys a highly significant trading partnership with a small number of major national retailers. Success in this role will require:

• Executive-level ownership of this strategic account.
• Building trusted relationships with senior customer stakeholders.
• Protecting and strengthening a highly valuable commercial partnership.
• Working closely with commercial teams to maximise long-term value creation from the relationship.

The Person

We are seeking a commercially astute Managing Director, General Manager or Divisional Managing Director with experience leading complex consumer, retail, product-led, sourcing, distribution or manufacturing businesses.

You will bring:

• Proven P&L leadership experience.
• A track record of leading senior leadership teams.
• Experience delivering growth, operational improvement and organisational development.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen.
• The ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution.
• Experience operating successfully within entrepreneurial, founder-led or privately-owned environments.
• Credibility with boards, owners, customers and senior stakeholders alike.

You are likely to have:

• Managed or overseen relationships with major UK retail accounts at executive level.
• Experience navigating customer concentration and dependency within a commercial model.
• The ability to build influence with senior retail decision-makers.
• A sophisticated understanding of customer, margin and operational trade-offs.
• Strong negotiation, relationship management and stakeholder engagement skills.
• The judgement to challenge constructively whilst protecting long-term partnerships.

Above all, we are looking for an authentic and credible leader who can inspire confidence, build high-performing teams and guide a successful business through its next stage of evolution.