Executive Director - Managing Director

Executive Director

Market-Leading British Manufacturer

Yorkshire | UK and European remit

Six Figure basic salary, EBITDA-linked bonus, executive benefits and relocation support

A market-leading, privately owned British manufacturer is appointing an Executive Director to help shape and deliver its next stage of sustainable, profitable growth.

The business has built an exceptional position within its sector through a respected consumer brand, broad product portfolio, complex UK manufacturing capability and long-standing relationships across dealers, distributors, strategic partners and end customers.

This is a broad enterprise leadership role connecting customer demand, channel strategy, product development, manufacturing capability, structural cost and organisational culture, with accountability for whole-business performance.

The successful individual will protect the strengths and heritage of an established British manufacturer while bringing the commercial ambition, manufacturing intelligence and leadership required to improve revenue quality, margin, EBITDA and cash.

The Role

Operating as a peer within the C-suite, the Executive Director will lead across customers, channels, markets, brand, product, cost and profitable growth.

The role carries leadership responsibility for multiple sales teams and significant influence across marketing, product development, manufacturing, supply chain and the wider leadership agenda.

Operating with genuine autonomy, the Executive Director will:

• Lead and align sales teams across multiple product categories and routes to market.
• Develop the UK dealer and distributor strategy, improving segmentation, standards, retail sell-through, stock turn and channel profitability.
• Build a focused international growth plan, with direct accountability for developing customers, importers, distributors and dealers across continental Europe.
• Select the appropriate route-to-market model for each territory, ensuring the product, pricing, service and warranty proposition is commercially viable.
• Lead strategic relationships with major fleet customers, leisure operators and other key accounts.
• Own customer segmentation, brand development, marketing priorities and lead-generation effectiveness.
• Act as the commercial voice within product design, range architecture, specification and new-product development.
• Translate customer demand into reliable inputs for manufacturing, supply-chain and capacity planning.
• Use market, supplier and material intelligence to shape pricing, product availability and customer commitments.
• Challenge BOM cost, product complexity and design decisions to ensure growth is buildable, serviceable and profitable.
• Remove structural cost through improvements to product design, specification, sourcing, process, productivity and complexity.
• Improve product mix, gross margin, EBITDA and cash generation.
• Identify, validate and scale new revenue streams across products, services, rental, aftermarket and the wider customer lifecycle.
• Build leadership capability and strengthen accountability, collaboration and performance across the organisation.

The Executive Director will play a central role in:

• Improving the productivity and profitability of established dealer and distribution channels.
• Building country-specific European growth plans through importers, distributors, dealers and strategic accounts.
• Deepening fleet partnerships and securing longer-term replacement programmes.
• Developing adjacent markets and applications for existing and new product categories.
• Growing rental, accessories, service plans, warranties, upgrades and connected customer services.
• Simplifying product ranges, options, specifications and pricing to reduce complexity and improve profitability.
• Ensuring commercial growth can be delivered reliably by manufacturing and supply-chain operations.

Candidate Profile

The appointment requires a commercially accomplished enterprise leader who understands how branded products are designed, manufactured, marketed and sold through multiple channels.

The successful candidate will combine commercial judgement with manufacturing intelligence and the emotional maturity to operate effectively within an established, privately owned organisation. They will be comfortable with freedom and accountability, setting direction and creating momentum without unnecessary dependency.

Essential Experience

• Commercial leadership of a substantial branded manufacturing business, division or product portfolio.
• Responsibility for multiple sales teams and more than one route to market.
• Experience of dealer, distributor, franchise, fleet or strategic-account channels.
• Material influence over product design, portfolio strategy and new-product introduction.
• Evidence of improving revenue quality, gross margin, EBITDA and cash, rather than pursuing volume alone.
• A track record of removing structural cost through cross-functional changes to product, BOM, sourcing, process, productivity and complexity.
• Success in identifying and scaling new revenue streams alongside established core sales.
• A strong understanding of manufacturing economics, forecasting, supply-chain volatility, material inflation and design for manufacture.
• Experience adapting sales, pricing and product strategies in response to changing global market conditions.
• Direct responsibility for building customers and channels across continental Europe.
• Experience appointing and managing importers, distributors and dealers, developing key accounts and localising propositions.
• C-suite credibility and the potential to progress into broader group leadership.
• The ability to succeed in an autonomous culture while creating enterprise-wide accountability and trusted relationships.

A European language, ideally French, would be advantageous but is not essential. The non-negotiable requirement is proven international customer and channel-development experience.

Regular travel across the UK and continental Europe will be required.

Reward Package

• Six Figure, dependent upon experience and track record.
• Executive EBITDA-linked bonus scheme.
• Executive benefits package, pension and car or car allowance.
• Relocation support where required.

How to Explore the Opportunity

This confidential appointment is being managed exclusively by Elevation Recruitment Group. Initial conversations will be exploratory and handled with complete discretion.

Suitable candidates will receive further information regarding the organisation, business context and assessment process following an initial discussion and NDA where appropriate.