Chief Executive Officer - Commercial Laundry

Chief Executive Officer Opportunity At Surfside Commercial Laundry Surfside Commercial Laundry is seeking an experienced, hands-on Chief Executive Officer to lead our growing multi-location commercial laundry operation across Northwest Florida and South Alabama. Surfside currently operates five commercial laundry facilities, including two locations in Panama City Beach, Florida; one in Destin, Florida; one in Foley, Alabama; and one in Robertsdale, Alabama. Our facilities serve hospitality and other commercial customers in high-volume, time-sensitive environments where reliability, quality, equipment performance, labor efficiency, and customer service are critical. This is not a traditional corporate CEO position removed from daily operations. We are looking for an experienced commercial laundry operator and executive leader who understands the business from the plant floor to the P&L. The CEO will have overall responsibility for the performance of the company, including operations, plant leadership, engineering and equipment reliability, logistics, labor management, financial performance, customer relationships, safety, quality, capital planning, and long-term operational strategy. The successful candidate will be comfortable walking a plant floor, identifying a production bottleneck, discussing an equipment failure with maintenance personnel, reviewing labor productivity with a plant manager, analyzing a P&L, meeting with a key customer, and developing a long-term capital strategy—all within the same role. Significant commercial or industrial laundry leadership experience is required. What You Will Lead Multi-Site Operations Provide executive oversight and operational leadership for all five Surfside Commercial Laundry facilities. Establish consistent operating standards, expectations, procedures, and accountability across all locations. Ensure each facility achieves established goals for production, quality, labor efficiency, service, safety, equipment reliability, and profitability. Regularly visit and evaluate facilities throughout Florida and Alabama. Identify operational weaknesses and implement corrective action quickly. Standardize best practices across locations while recognizing the unique production and customer requirements of each market. Establish clear reporting structures and ensure plant leaders understand their responsibilities and performance expectations. Create a culture in which managers actively manage their operations rather than simply respond to daily problems. Ensure facilities are appropriately staffed and scheduled based on production volume and customer demand. Commercial Laundry Production & Process Management Use industry expertise to continuously improve productivity, throughput, quality, and cost per pound. The CEO will be expected to understand and actively manage key commercial laundry performance indicators, including: Pounds processed per labor hour/operator hour Pounds processed per production hour Labor cost per pound Total processing cost per pound Plant capacity and equipment utilization Rewash and reject rates Linen damage and loss Chemical consumption and cost Utility consumption Equipment downtime On-time completion and delivery Overtime Customer claims and service failures Production bottlenecks and workflow efficiency Evaluate workflows from soil sort through washing, drying, finishing, folding, packing, staging, and distribution to identify opportunities for improved efficiency. Develop processes that allow management to understand production performance in real time and respond before operational issues become customer-service issues. Engineering, Equipment Reliability & Preventive Maintenance Equipment reliability is a major priority for this position. The ideal candidate will have strong technical knowledge of commercial laundry equipment and/or significant experience managing engineering and maintenance functions within commercial or industrial laundry operations. Responsibilities will include: Establish and enforce comprehensive preventive maintenance programs across all facilities. Improve equipment uptime and reduce emergency repairs and production interruptions. Develop maintenance schedules and accountability systems for critical equipment. Evaluate the condition, performance, remaining useful life, and replacement needs of laundry equipment. Ensure maintenance records, parts inventories, service histories, and equipment documentation are properly maintained. Establish priorities for repair versus replacement based on operational and financial impact. Manage relationships with equipment manufacturers, service technicians, chemical providers, contractors, and other technical vendors. Ensure critical spare parts and supplies are maintained where appropriate. Develop contingency plans for major equipment failures and production disruptions. Work closely with plant leadership to prevent deferred maintenance from becoming operational emergencies. Evaluate new equipment and technology based on productivity, reliability, labor savings, utility consumption, lifecycle cost, and return on investment. Hands-on engineering, mechanical, electrical, controls, boiler, wastewater, or commercial laundry equipment experience is a significant advantage. Experience with equipment such as tunnel washers/CBWs, washer-extractors, dryers, ironers, feeders, folders, conveyors, finishing equipment, boilers, air compressors, water systems, chemical dispensing systems, and associated plant equipment is highly desirable. Financial & P&L Leadership Assume full accountability for the financial performance of Surfside Commercial Laundry. Develop and manage annual operating and capital budgets. Review financial results by facility and for the organization as a whole. Establish operating KPIs and scorecards that connect plant performance to financial results. Analyze labor, utilities, chemicals, linen, repairs, transportation, insurance, and other major operating expenses. Identify opportunities to improve EBITDA and operating margins without sacrificing quality or customer service. Establish appropriate purchasing controls and approval processes. Evaluate vendor contracts and negotiate pricing and service agreements. Develop business cases and ROI analyses for equipment and capital investments. Provide ownership with clear, concise reporting regarding operational performance, financial results, risks, capital needs, and strategic opportunities. Develop forecasts and operational plans based on volume, customer demand, seasonality, and business growth. Capital Planning & Operational Strategy Develop a forward-looking operational strategy that allows Surfside to grow efficiently and sustainably. Assess current and future production capacity. Develop long-term capital expenditure priorities. Evaluate equipment technology, automation, workflow design, plant layout, material handling systems, and opportunities to consolidate or improve processes. Participate in facility planning, equipment selection, workflow design, capacity modeling, and major capital projects. Work with engineers, architects, equipment manufacturers, contractors, vendors, and ownership on significant operational projects. Evaluate automation opportunities that can improve production capacity, labor efficiency, consistency, safety, and reliability. Ensure capital decisions consider both immediate operational needs and the company's long-term growth strategy. Experience participating in the design, expansion, relocation, modernization, or commissioning of a commercial laundry facility is highly desirable. Transportation & Logistics Ensure finished product moves efficiently and reliably between facilities and customers. Oversee transportation and delivery operations. Evaluate route efficiency, vehicle utilization, staffing, fuel usage, and delivery performance. Ensure appropriate scheduling and coordination between production and transportation teams. Develop contingency plans for production or transportation interruptions. Maintain appropriate fleet maintenance and replacement strategies. Ensure applicable DOT and safety requirements are followed. Improve communication between drivers, plant operations, customer service, and customers. Quality & Customer Service Create a culture in which quality and reliability are viewed as operational responsibilities—not simply customer-service issues. Establish companywide standards for finished linen quality. Track rejects, rewashes, stains, shortages, damages, misdeliveries, and customer complaints. Develop root-cause processes for recurring quality and service issues. Ensure corrective actions are implemented and measured. Maintain strong relationships with major customers. Participate directly in resolving significant customer concerns. Understand customer linen requirements, volumes, pars,