Vice President, Product Management

Vice President, Product Management

The Duravent Group is a recognized global technology leader in the HVAC industry, first-to-market with innovations in venting systems. Founded in 1956, our $500 million + company is headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, and has 15 locations across Canada, Mexico and the United States. Duravent leads with best-in-class design and manufacturing capabilities, world-class distribution networks, and customer-first service and support. We ensure quality and drive safety through scientifically proven materials and unequaled engineering. Duravent acquired Grand Rapids-based Hart & Cooley in 2021. A leader in the HVAC industry since 1901, the Hart & Cooley acquisition brings a legacy of quality and service, robust manufacturing and distribution capabilities, and a suite of trusted brands into the Duravent family. As a combined company, Duravent is uniquely positioned as the next generation leader in interior climate technology industry. Our team of passionate professionals needs you! Come join us and help us build for the future!

Our team is currently seeking a Vice President – Product Management. This will be a full-time, hybrid role with onsite expectations at our Innovation Center located in Grand Rapids, MI. Travel estimated at 25%.

The Vice President of Product Management is responsible for driving excellence across product management operations, category performance, and strategic growth initiatives. This leader owns the development and execution of category strategies that align customer needs, competitive differentiation, and financial performance within a private ownership environment. This role requires a hands‑on leader and coach who sets high standards for product management rigor, customer intimacy, financial ownership, and strategic clarity. The VP of Product Management establishes best practices, builds strong product leaders, and ensures that product strategy is clearly articulated, aligned, and executed across the enterprise.

Product Management Excellence & Operational Leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop the Product Management organization by establishing and reinforcing best practices across all product management disciplines, including:
• Category Management: Own the holistic view of each product category, ensuring portfolio alignment to channel needs, customer segments, and long‑term business strategy.
• P&L Ownership & Margin Discipline: Drive accountability for category‑level financial performance, including revenue, margin, and cost structure, with a strong focus on margin protection and improvement.
• Technical Product Acumen: Ensure deep technical understanding of products, applications, and the systems in which they operate, enabling credible decision‑making and effective collaboration with Engineering and Operations.
• Customer & Account Knowledge: Establish expectations for advanced customer knowledge, including familiarity with key and strategic accounts and a practical understanding of how to engage and serve them effectively.
• Competitive Intelligence: Maintain deep, current knowledge of competitors, their portfolios, and their value propositions, ensuring product strategies are grounded in market reality.
• KPI Definition & Performance Tracking: Define, implement, and monitor meaningful KPIs to measure category health, execution effectiveness, and strategic progress.

Customer Understanding & Market Insight

• Establish deep customer centricity as a core expectation of the product management team by ensuring rigorous and consistent application of:
• Persona development and customer journey mapping
• Problem discovery and solution validation
• Voice‑of‑Customer (VOC) synthesis across channels and segments
• Direct customer engagement, including time in the field with customers, channel partners, and end users
• Ensure insights are translated into actionable product and portfolio decisions.

Category Strategy, Vision & Growth Planning

• Own and drive the strategic vision and growth roadmap for each category by embedding best‑practice strategic frameworks and disciplined planning, including:
• Market sizing, projections, gap analysis, SWOT, and related tools to assess current performance and future opportunity
• Integration of customer and market insights into strategy development
• Development of 5‑year category roadmaps supported by rigorous business case analysis
• Clear, compelling communication of category vision through structured storytelling and executive‑level narratives
• Ensure strategy is consistent, data‑driven, and aligned with enterprise growth objectives.

Executive Communication & Organizational Influence

• Represent the Product Management organization at the senior leadership level by:
• Clearly communicating category strategies, priorities, and progress to executive leadership
• Preparing and coaching Product Management leaders to effectively present their strategies and recommendations to senior leadership
• Ensuring product strategy is aligned, understood, and supported across functions

Leadership & Ownership Mindset

• Model and reinforce strong leadership behaviors across the Product Management function, including:
• Confident decision‑making in environments of uncertainty and incomplete data
• Clear ownership and accountability for outcomes
• Ongoing coaching, mentoring, and talent development
• Build a culture of responsibility, transparency, and continuous improvement.

Strategic Initiatives & Enterprise Priorities

• Play a leading role in advancing critical strategic initiatives by:
• Actively leading and contributing to initiative strategy, execution, and cross‑functional alignment
• Serving in a consultative capacity to identify potential M&A opportunities that could accelerate or strengthen strategic initiatives
• Applying disciplined business metrics to evaluate ideas, pathways, and investment trade‑offs within each initiative

Leadership Profile

• The successful candidate will be a strategic yet practical product leader who combines strong commercial instincts, customer empathy, and financial discipline. This individual thrives in a privately owned environment where clarity, accountability, and results matter.

Required What We're Looking For:

• Bachelor's degree in business, engineering or related field. MBA is desired
• 10+ years of Product Management / Product Strategy experience, including 5+ years of team leadership experience.
• 5+ years of experience in a high-volume manufacturing environment
• Located within a commutable distance from our Grand Rapids, MI Facility
• Authorized for work within the U.S. without requiring visa sponsorship

Additional / Preferred

• Product Management experience in the building material product industry
• Strong technical background with the ability to understand and communicate technical concepts to a non-technical stakeholder
• Strong understanding of product financial metrics and the ability to develop business cases and ROI analysis for new product initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams and manage complex projects.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with experience reporting to senior leadership.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a data-driven approach to decision-making.

What We Offer

• 401(k) with 4% match
• 13 Paid Holidays
• Paid Vacation
• Paid Personal Time Off
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• Long Term Disability Insurance
• Short Term Disability Insurance (variable per state)
• Life Insurance
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Employee Assistance Plan

EEOC Statement

Duravent is an equal opportunity employer committed to making employment decisions solely on valid job requirements. We provide employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, creed, genetic information, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, disability or veteran status.