The CEO will have
full responsibility for the overall performance of the business, encompassing strategy, P&L, commercial growth, manufacturing operations, supply chain, procurement, finance, people and organisational development.
Given the organisation's next phase of growth, the ideal candidate will bring a
strong CFO / finance leadership background combined with broad commercial and operational exposure. The successful candidate must be able to move beyond traditional finance leadership and act as a true business leader — translating financial insights into commercial decisions, improving manufacturing economics, driving operational discipline and identifying new avenues for profitable growth.
This is a highly hands-on leadership role suited to an individual who is
commercially aggressive, financially astute, operationally minded and capable of building a high-performance organisation.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Business Strategy & Leadership
- Develop and execute the company's overall business strategy in alignment with the Board's vision and long-term objectives.
- Define clear strategic priorities for revenue growth, profitability, market expansion, operational excellence and organisational capability.
- Lead the business through its next stage of growth, transformation and professionalisation.
- Translate strategy into clear business plans, budgets, KPIs and measurable execution priorities.
- Establish a performance-driven culture with strong accountability across the leadership team.
- Identify opportunities for business diversification, new markets, partnerships, acquisitions and strategic investments.
2. Full P&L & Financial Leadership
- Assume full accountability for the company's P&L, cash flow, balance sheet and overall financial performance.
- Drive revenue growth, gross margin improvement, EBITDA growth and sustainable profitability.
- Leverage strong financial acumen to improve pricing, product profitability, customer profitability, cost structures and capital allocation.
- Establish robust budgeting, forecasting and management reporting processes to support faster and better business decisions.
- Identify opportunities for cost optimisation, working capital improvement and cash generation.
- Ensure disciplined management of CAPEX and evaluate investment decisions based on ROI and long-term strategic value.
- Strengthen financial controls, governance, risk management and business performance management.
3. Manufacturing & Operational Excellence
- Provide overall leadership to manufacturing operations, ensuring high standards of productivity, quality, cost, delivery and safety.
- Drive improvements in production efficiency, capacity utilisation, yield, wastage, labour productivity, energy consumption and manufacturing costs.
- Work closely with the Operations and Plant leadership teams to improve OEE, reduce downtime and optimise production planning.
- Ensure manufacturing capacity and capabilities are aligned with current and future demand.
- Lead automation, technology adoption, process improvement and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Evaluate and optimise manufacturing footprint, capacity expansion and capital investment requirements.
- Ensure the business operates with appropriate food safety, quality and regulatory standards.
4. Commercial & Business Growth
- Lead the development and execution of the company's commercial strategy across key customer segments and channels.
- Drive revenue growth through customer acquisition, account development, pricing strategy, product portfolio optimisation and market expansion.
- Strengthen relationships with key customers, distributors, principals, suppliers and strategic partners.
- Identify opportunities to expand into new markets, geographies, product categories and customer segments.
- Improve product and customer profitability through disciplined commercial and financial analysis.
- Partner with Sales, Marketing and R&D to strengthen the product portfolio and develop new
- products aligned with market demand.
- Monitor industry, consumer and competitor trends and translate market opportunities into actionable business strategies.
5. Supply Chain, Procurement & Working Capital
- Oversee the effectiveness of end-to-end supply chain, including demand planning, procurement, inventory, warehousing and logistics.
- Optimise raw material sourcing, supplier performance, purchasing costs and inventory levels.
- Improve working capital through better inventory management, receivables discipline and supplier terms.
- Ensure supply chain resilience and continuity of critical raw materials and packaging.
- Work closely with Procurement and Operations to improve total landed cost and supply chain efficiency.
6. Food Safety, Quality & Regulatory Compliance
- Maintain the highest standards of food safety, product quality and regulatory compliance across the organisation.
- Ensure the business maintains appropriate certifications and compliance with relevant food manufacturing, Halal, GMP, HACCP and other applicable standards.
- Establish a strong quality and food safety culture throughout the organisation.
- Ensure appropriate controls are in place to manage product quality, customer complaints, recalls, audits and regulatory risks.
- Work closely with QA/QC, Technical and Operations teams to continuously improve product quality and manufacturing standards.
7. Organisation & People Leadership
- Build, develop and retain a high-performing senior management team.
- Establish clear accountability, KPIs and performance expectations across all functions.
- Strengthen organisational structure, talent management and succession planning in line with business growth.
- Develop a culture of ownership, performance, continuous improvement and commercial accountability.
- Coach and mentor functional leaders while ensuring the organisation remains agile and execution-focused.
- Lead organisational transformation where required to support scale and future growth.
8. Board & Stakeholder Management
- Act as the key link between management and the Board, providing clear and timely updates on business performance, risks and strategic initiatives.
- Present business plans, budgets, forecasts, investment proposals and strategic recommendations to the Board.
- Build strong relationships with shareholders, financial institutions, customers, suppliers, regulators and other key stakeholders.
- Ensure the company operates with a high standard of corporate governance, transparency and integrity.
Requirements
Experience
- Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, Economics, Engineering or a related discipline. MBA or relevant professional qualification is an advantage.
- 15+ years of progressive leadership experience, preferably with significant exposure to food manufacturing, FMCG or consumer products.
- Strong CFO / Finance Director / senior finance leadership background with demonstrated progression into broader business leadership.
- Proven experience in full P&L ownership and enterprise-level decision making.
- Strong exposure to manufacturing operations, supply chain, procurement and commercial functions.
- Experience leading a business transformation, turnaround, scale-up or growth agenda will be highly advantageous.
- Experience dealing with Boards, shareholders, banks, investors and other senior stakeholders.
- Regional or international exposure will be an advantage.
