Director of Finance And Accounting

Director of Finance and Accounting | Precision Electroplating Manufacturer | Owned by a Global Engineering Group

Highlights:

- Newly created role and the top finance seat in the company

- Reports directly to the CEO

- Century-old, family-led precision manufacturer

- U.S. operation plus a new greenfield plant in Mexico

- Owned by a publicly listed global engineering group with 130 locations in 50+ countries

Introduction

Valor Front has been retained by a well-established, Chicago-area precision manufacturer to identify its first Director of Finance. Our client is a recognized leader in specialized metal finishing and serves blue-chip OEMs across the automotive, aerospace, medical and electronics markets. Our client is part of a publicly listed global engineering group. It keeps its own leadership team and entrepreneurial culture, backed by the parent company's investment capital and international network.

About the Role

This is a newly created position. It is the top finance role in the company and, at our client's scale, the CFO-equivalent for the business. Reporting directly to the CEO, the Director of Finance will lead the finance organization across U.S. and Mexico operations and serve as the CEO's financial partner on pricing, capital investment, precious-metals strategy and the build-out of a new plant in Mexico. The role is both hands-on and strategic. The right leader can step into the close when needed and is just as comfortable walking the plating lines as presenting to the parent company.

What You Will Do

• Own the P&L, balance sheet and cash for the U.S. and Mexico entities
• Lead the monthly, quarterly and annual close and monthly group reporting to the parent company
• Lead the annual budget and periodic forecasts, analyzing key drivers and variances and presenting actionable insight to leadership
• Lead and develop the accounting team through coaching, training, goal setting and regular feedback
• Establish and enforce financial policies, procedures and internal controls
• Own precious-metals accounting and strategy, including pricing pass-through, surcharge mechanisms, hedging or consignment, and scrap and recovery
• Oversee inventory accounting, standard costing and physical inventory; analyze job and line profitability and labor and overhead absorption
• Lead fixed asset accounting and capacity and capex analysis for a plant operating at capacity
• Build and lead the finance function for the new Mexico plant, including statutory and tax compliance with outside advisors, transfer pricing, foreign currency accounting and USMCA documentation
• Partner with Sales on pricing, quoting, and customer and product margin analysis
• Oversee working capital, cash forecasting and capex funding
• Manage the annual external audit
• Own the ERP and drive reporting automation, KPI dashboards and continuous improvement in processes and controls

What You Bring

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance or a related field; active CPA and/or MBA a plus
• 10-15 years of progressive accounting and finance experience in manufacturing, including time as a Controller and advancement to a Director, Plant or Division finance leadership role
• Experience owning finance for a $30-150M site or division with 100-500 employee
• Hands-on experience with a foreign subsidiary, ideally Mexico, including transfer pricing, statutory reporting and foreign currency accounting
• Strong knowledge of U.S. GAAP, internal controls and manufacturing cost accounting; IFRS exposure helpful
• Experience reporting to a publicly listed or private equity-owned parent company
• Background in metal finishing, plating, heat treatment, precision metals, electronic components, or Tier 1/2 automotive or aerospace supply; precious-metals experience a strong plus
• Proven ability to lead and develop an accounting team, including coaching an established Controller
• Hands-on, floor-present leadership style; comfortable in a family culture with a long-tenured workforce
• Excellent communicator who can explain financial information to financial and non-financial audiences
• Advanced Excel skills and ERP experience required

Why This Opportunity

This is a rare combination: the stability and culture of a long-established, family-led business, with the capital, reach and growth plans of a global parent. Our client's Chicago plant runs at capacity in a market where demand exceeds supply, and its new Mexico operation is scaling up. Its finishes go into safety-critical products such as vehicle braking and control systems, aircraft and implantable medical devices, so the work matters.

As the first Director of Finance, you will set the standard for how finance operates and partners with the business. You will have direct access to the CEO and real influence on growth decisions. The role is designed to grow, with a path to VP Finance or multi-site finance leadership across the parent company's expanding North American network.

Location: On-site, Chicago, IL (Northwest Side); Chicago-area candidates preferred

Travel: Approximately 15%, primarily to Mexico

Call to Action:

This search is being conducted exclusively by Valor Front. To express interest or learn more, please apply with 100% confidentiality.