Our client is a highly visible business unit within a multi-billion dollar company. The organization is a market-leading $125 million provider of manufacturing-related software and solutions, primarily for the automotive, consumer products and pharmaceutical industries. The company is a provider of solutions from the plant-floor level to the enterprise interface level.
Opportunity:
Our client is searching for a technically grounded executive with an understanding of marketing and overall business management within a matrix organization. The selected candidate may assume the role of COO, and thus must possess a combination of strong business skills and a proven track record of customer/employee relationship management experience. Reporting to the President of the company, this individual shall manage the company’s overall software operations, including its cutting-edge solutions-oriented software business and its packaged software business, with a total P&L of approximately $125M and several direct reports within this matrix environment. This high-profile executive must successfully execute a global business solutions strategy focused on the delivery of general software applications and services.
Job Scope:
- Focus our client company’s high-quality engineering resources to reduce time-to-market for innovative new software products.
- Play a major role in the recruitment and retention of top engineering talent as well as the integration of software resources secured through acquisition.
- Provide technical support to sales and geography managers in securing major projects.
- Provide software support to all other corporate business units.
- Spearhead the development of new information management tools, particularly in areas such as statistical process control, data reporting/analysis, constraint-based scheduling, batch process management, and collaborative automation system design.
- Collaborate with business leaders to achieve targeted profitability, time-to-market objectives, quality standards, and customer satisfaction for new product investments.
- Anticipate and resolve potential conflicts between client company’s operating units and line/staff departments related to business solutions products and services.
- Foster a climate of diversity and teamwork, rewarding and recognizing high performance with open, honest communication that supports company values.
- Optimize the use of internal and external resources, including people, capital, facilities, and suppliers to exceed forecasted business goals.
Experience / Education Required:
- Proven track record growing a software business and managing a high-growth business P&L.
- Significant exposure to manufacturing, specifically in the automotive, consumer products and pharmaceutical industries.
- Knowledge of general business software applications, preferably in areas such as system planning / implementation, manufacturing system design, and database specification/design.
- Experience in software development, engineering management and project management.
- Significant experience working directly with customers to identify market needs/trends.
- B.S. in engineering, computer science or a related field. Advanced degree preferred.
- Minimum of 10 years of experience building and leading a large-scale, high performance software development organization with a focus on manufacturing applications.
- Experience creating complex software systems with a high degree of scalability and open interfaces to other third-party products.
- Background directing the full product development cycle, from defining the specifications, to assembling the team, allocating the resources, and tracking cost, schedule, and performance to meet milestones.
- Interactions directly with customers to identify market needs/trends.
- Experience recruiting top software development talent.
