COO Search: Commissioning a Second Manufacturing Plant
An operations lead who had commissioned a site before and would not treat the existing plant as a problem to be fixed.
The brief
A family-owned manufacturer opening a second plant wanted an operations lead who had commissioned a site before and would not treat the existing one as a problem to be fixed.
The search
The scorecard put commissioning experience and cultural continuity level with each other, which ruled out several otherwise strong candidates early and saved everyone time.
The outcome
Ranking cultural continuity level with commissioning experience removed several technically strong candidates at an early stage. In a family-owned business that is not a compromise — an operator who arrives determined to overhaul the original site loses the workforce before the second plant opens, and the search starts again a year later.
What we track on a search like this
- Time to shortlist — measured from Position Profile sign-off, not from the first conversation.
- Shortlist depth — a short list of genuine finalists rather than a long list to filter down.
- Retention at twelve months — reviewed with the client a year after the start date.
Representative engagement. Client and candidate details are withheld for confidentiality.