Chief Operating Officer - Consumer Durables/Paints

Key Responsibilities:

1. Enterprise Operations:

• Lead end-to-end business operations to deliver growth, profitability, productivity, and execution excellence.
• Translate strategic priorities into operational plans with clear accountability and governance.
• Drive enterprise-wide operating rhythm through Monthly Business Reviews (MBRs), KPI dashboards, and cross-functional execution.

2. Manufacturing Excellence:

• Lead all manufacturing operations with accountability for safety, quality, productivity, cost, capacity utilization, and asset reliability.
• Drive Lean Manufacturing, TPM, automation, digitization, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Improve plant efficiency, throughput, yield, and overall manufacturing competitiveness.

3. Supply Chain & Procurement:

• Own integrated planning, sourcing, procurement, logistics, warehousing, and distribution.
• Improve inventory productivity, forecast accuracy, supplier performance, and working capital.
• Build a resilient, agile, and cost-efficient supply chain.

4. Customer Fulfilment:

• Deliver best-in-class order-to-delivery performance in partnership with the Commercial team.
• Improve service levels, dealer experience, order fulfilment, and customer responsiveness.
• Drive operational excellence across the complete customer fulfilment cycle.

5. Transformation & Business Excellence:

• Lead enterprise transformation initiatives, including digital manufacturing, automation, process redesign, analytics, and operational governance.
• Institutionalize a culture of continuous improvement and data-driven decision-making.
• Drive simplification, standardization, and scalability across the organization.

6. Leadership:

• Build a high-performance execution culture anchored in accountability, collaboration, speed, and ownership.
• Develop leadership capability, succession pipelines, and future operational talent.
• Serve as a strategic thought partner to the MD & CEO and the Board on business performance, operational risks, and long-term capability building.

Key Performance Metrics:

The COO will be accountable for enterprise performance across the following metrics:

1. Financial:

• EBITDA Margin
• Gross Margin
• Manufacturing Cost per Unit
• Fixed Cost Productivity
• Procurement Savings
• Working Capital
• Inventory Days
• Cash Conversion Cycle
• Return on Capital Employed (ROCE)

2. Manufacturing:

• Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
• Capacity Utilization
• Yield Improvement
• First Pass Yield (FPY)
• Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ)
• Scrap & Rejection Rates
• Energy Cost per Unit
• Manufacturing Cycle Time
• Safety (LTIFR/Zero Harm)

3. Supply Chain:

• On-Time In-Full (OTIF)
• Forecast Accuracy
• Inventory Turns
• Supplier Performance
• Logistics Cost as % of Sales
• Warehouse Productivity
• Order Cycle Time

4. Customer:

• Order Fill Rate
• On-Time Delivery
• Customer Complaint Resolution
• Dealer Satisfaction
• Customer NPS/CSAT

5. Transformation & People:

• Strategic Project Delivery
• Digital Adoption
• Productivity Improvement
• Leadership Bench Strength
• Critical Talent Retention
• Employee Engagement
• ESG & Sustainability Targets

Candidate Profile:

1. Experience:

• 20-25 years of progressive leadership experience with at least 10 years in senior enterprise operations.
• Proven track record of leading large manufacturing and supply chain businesses with P&L responsibility.
• Demonstrated success in operational transformation, productivity improvement, cost optimization, and organizational scaling.
• Experience presenting to Boards and leading cross-functional business transformation.

2. Preferred Industry Background:

• Building Materials, Ceramics, Tiles, Cement, Paints, Industrial Manufacturing, Consumer Durables, Engineering, Process Industries, or comparable asset-intensive businesses.

3. Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering from a reputed institution.
• MBA or equivalent postgraduate qualification preferred.

4. Leadership Competencies:

• Enterprise Leadership, Strategic Execution, Operational Excellence, Financial & Commercial Acumen, Manufacturing & Supply Chain Leadership, Customer Orientation, Digital & Business Transformation, Data-Driven Decision Making, Change Leadership, Talent Development, High Integrity with Strong Bias for Action.

Success Profile:

The successful candidate will have demonstrated the ability to:

• Build high-performing operational organizations.
• Deliver sustainable improvements in EBITDA and ROCE.
• Scale businesses while improving quality, productivity, and customer experience.
• Lead complex transformations with measurable business impact.
• Build leadership teams that consistently outperform.
• Operate effectively with promoters, Boards, investors, and senior leadership teams.

Preferred Candidate:

• Age: Below 48 years.
• High-energy, execution-oriented leader with the maturity to partner with the MD & CEO while challenging the status quo constructively.
• Capable of evolving into a CEO role over the medium term through sustained business performance, strategic thinking, and leadership capability.