Strategic CSO — Manufacturing transformation & growth (India)

Position overview

Gladwin International Leadership Advisors is representing a confidential organisation in Manufacturing & Industrial on a senior CSO leadership mandate anchored in India. The remit explicitly spans Continental Europe, Middle East, Africa.

This is a strategic transformation mandate at CXO level — equal parts operating leadership, change orchestration, and investor / board narrative ownership.

Expect to partner closely with technology and risk leaders — the enterprise strategy is increasingly inseparable from data and resilience.

Context you will inherit

• Market & sector: Attracting top talent to manufacturing careers that compete with the glamour and compensation of technology and services sectors
• Geographic spine: Primary hub India with explicit corridor responsibility across Continental Europe, Middle East, Africa.
• Organisation stage: Working capital, liquidity, and funding mix are under scrutiny alongside headline revenue growth.
• Stakeholders: Stakeholders span board or regional executive committee, global functional heads, JV partners, and strategic account buyers.
• Secondary lens: ESG and EHS leadership — meeting the sustainability and safety expectations of global customers and institutional investors

The mandate (12–24 month arc)

1. Advantage diagnosis: Separate structural advantage from cyclical tailwinds — be honest in board conversations.
2. Capability building: Decide what must be owned vs. partnered — avoid strategy that assumes impossible skills overnight.
3. War gaming: Regular exercises on competitor responses to our major moves.
4. Capital markets story: Align external narrative with internal strategy choices — no gap for activists to exploit.
5. Regulatory foresight: Early warning on rule changes that reshape economics of the sector.
6. Integration thesis: On deals, clarity on sources of value — revenue, cost, capability — with named owners.

Responsibilities (representative)

• Facilitate corporate strategy process — options, choices, and capital implications.
• Run strategic initiative PMO across the enterprise or region.
• Build M&A theme development and early diligences with corp dev.
• Deliver competitive and market intelligence to the executive committee.
• Support board strategy discussions with crisp materials and scenarios.

Leadership profile

• Strategy craft: Experience framing corporate choices with analytical rigour and executive alignment.
• Judgment: High signal-to-noise under pressure; ethical clarity; willingness to halt initiatives that break risk appetite.
• Communication: Executive presence in English; additional languages valued where market-relevant.
• Education: Strong undergraduate grounding; MBA / advanced degree / professional qualification common at this level.
• Geographic muscle: Comfort operating from India with regular engagement across Continental Europe, Middle East.

Team & culture

Silos are real. Your job is to design forums and incentives so product, technology, risk, and commercial leaders solve problems together instead of optimising local KPIs.

Success measures (examples)

• Value creation: EBITDA / cash trajectory vs. owner or board case — especially under stress scenarios.
• Execution: On-time delivery of named transformation milestones; reduction in repeat incidents or audit findings.
• Leadership: External hires and internal promotions that stick; reduction in key-person concentration.
• Innovation: Launched offers or capabilities that move the needle on differentiation, not pilots that stall.

First 90 days (orientation arc)

• Days 1–30: Map cash, covenant, and customer concentration risks before announcing initiatives.
• Days 30–60: Align owners and board on a 12-month value story — financial and non-financial.
• Days 60–90: Launch two quick operational fixes that build credibility with frontline managers.
• Deep-dive on talent — who is load-bearing, who is blocking, where external hire is mandatory.
• Socialise a simple KPI tree so every function sees how their metrics roll up.

Stakeholder map (illustrative)

• Internal: Executive committee, functional peers, shared services leads, and programme PMOs.
• External: Key suppliers, technology partners, and joint-venture boards where applicable.
• Board / owners: Expect deep dives on risk, liquidity, talent, and transformation — slides light, substance heavy.

Travel & mobility

Role requires face-to-face presence in the primary hub with regular regional travel; remote-only not viable.

Compensation

Package aligned to CSO benchmarks in Manufacturing & Industrial — typically fixed, variable, benefits, and mobility where applicable. Structure detailed at shortlist.

Application status

This mandate is no longer accepting new applications. The search progressed through Q4 2025 and closed for submissions in February 2026. We retain this posting for transparency on the type of leadership work we carry in Manufacturing & Industrial and India. For similar active mandates, browse open roles or submit a general profile through executive search inquiry.

Reference: manufacturing-industrial · CSO · India · Gladwin International Leadership Advisors