President & CEO

Job Description

President & CEO – Manufacturing Company

Chicago Metro Area | Full-Time | Executive Leadership

Posted by Flying Horse Capital on behalf of a strategic partner

About Flying Horse Capital

Flying Horse Capital is a Dallas-based permanent capital firm that acquires and holds lower-middle-market founder- and family-owned businesses. We invest with no exit timeline, partnering with operators to build durable companies that last for generations.

About Our Partner

This search is being conducted on behalf of one of our longtime strategic partners, a firm that shares our philosophy. They invest in U.S.-based founder- and family-owned businesses and operate on a long-term hold model. They don't buy companies to flip them. They buy companies to build them, protect their legacy, and grow them the right way.

Our partner has a long-standing track record of success, a disciplined approach to capital, and a deep bench of experience supporting leadership teams through growth.

The Opportunity

Our partner is seeking a President & CEO to lead one of its manufacturing businesses in the Chicago metro area. The company has an established foundation: loyal customers, a skilled workforce, and a reputation built over years of doing things the right way. The next chapter is about growth.

This is an organic growth mandate. The business doesn't need a turnaround artist or a financial engineer. It needs a builder with a sales mentality: a leader who wins customers, opens new markets, and creates a culture where everyone understands their role in growing the business.

The right leader will have full authority to run the company, the backing of patient capital, and a meaningful ownership stake in the value they create.

What You'll Do

Strategy & Leadership

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• Own full P&L responsibility and set the strategic direction of the business
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• Develop and execute a multi-year growth plan in partnership with ownership
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• Serve as the face of the company to customers, employees, suppliers, and the community
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• Lead capital allocation decisions, including investments in capacity, equipment, technology, and people
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Revenue Growth

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• Drive organic top-line growth as the company's chief seller
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• Deepen and expand relationships with existing customers; grow share of wallet
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• Identify and win new customers, verticals, and geographic markets
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• Build or rebuild the sales function, including talent, process, pipeline discipline, compensation, and CRM
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• Strengthen pricing strategy and margin management
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• Personally lead key customer relationships and strategic pursuits
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Operations

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• Ensure the operational backbone can support growth: capacity, throughput, quality, safety, and on-time delivery
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• Drive continuous improvement across manufacturing, supply chain, and procurement
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• Modernize systems and reporting where needed without losing what makes the business work
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People & Culture

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• Build, develop, and retain a high-performing leadership team
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• Honor the culture and legacy of the business while raising the bar on accountability and performance
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• Create a workplace where top talent wants to stay and grow
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• Develop a succession bench beneath the leadership team
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Financial Stewardship

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• Partner with finance leadership on budgeting, forecasting, and KPI management
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• Report performance to ownership with transparency and candor
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• Manage working capital and cash flow with discipline
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Your First 12–18 Months

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• Learn the business deeply: customers, employees, operations, and financials
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• Build trust with the team and key customers
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• Assess the leadership team and sales organization; make the necessary talent moves
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• Deliver a clear, ownership-aligned growth strategy
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• Establish sales process, pipeline visibility, and a cadence of KPIs
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• Show early momentum in new customer wins and revenue growth
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What You Bring

Experience

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• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience, including P&L ownership as a President, CEO, GM, or division head
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• Background in manufacturing, industrial products, or a related B2B environment strongly preferred
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• A proven track record of driving organic revenue growth, not just managing costs
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• Experience in lower-middle-market, founder-led, family-owned, or privately held businesses
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• Experience building or transforming a sales organization
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Leadership Qualities

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• A seller at heart; you enjoy being in front of customers and closing business
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• Hands-on and low-ego; equally comfortable on the shop floor, in a customer meeting, and in the boardroom
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• A builder's mindset with a long-term orientation
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• Strong financial acumen; you understand how the business makes money and where it can make more
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• A talent magnet who attracts, develops, and retains strong people
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• High integrity and genuine respect for the legacy of founder-built businesses
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• Clear, direct communicator with ownership, employees, and customers
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Education & Location

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• Bachelor's degree required; MBA or equivalent experience a plus
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• Based in the Chicago metro area or willing to relocate
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Compensation & Ownership

This role is built for an operator who wants to share in the value they create.

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• Competitive base salary
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• Annual performance bonus tied to growth and profitability
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• Equity options in the business
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• Co-investment rights alongside the firm in future investments
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• Operating Partner pathway: for the right candidate, an opportunity to grow into a broader Operating Partner role supporting the firm's portfolio and future acquisitions
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• Comprehensive benefits package
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Why This Role Is Different

Most CEO roles come with a clock: a three-to-five-year hold, a sale process, and a new owner with a new playbook. This one comes with a runway.

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• Permanent capital: no forced exit, no short-term pressure to flip
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• Real authority: you run the company; ownership supports, not micromanages
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• Real ownership: equity and co-invest rights that let you build personal wealth alongside the firm
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• Room to grow: a path beyond one company into a broader operating partner role
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• Proven partner: a long-standing track record of building successful businesses
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If you want to actually build something, own a piece of it, and be part of a firm with a long history of success, this is the modern path.

Hiring Process

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1. Initial conversation with Flying Horse Capital
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2. Interviews with the partner firm's leadership
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3. Site visit and meetings with the company's team
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