Executive Search Success Story: Building an Automation Leadership Team for Automated Packaging, Palletizing, and Warehousing at a Dairy and Cheese Manufacturer

How JRG Partners executed a confidential, multi-role North American executive search strategy that equipped a dairy cooperative’s cheese and cultured products business with the automation, packaging engineering, warehouse automation, digital manufacturing, and operations leadership required to automate high-care packaging, palletizing, and cold-chain warehousing across nine plants, cutting labor dependence and improving service to retailers.

The Challenge

A dairy cooperative’s manufacturing business depended on manual packaging, case packing, palletizing, and cold storage operations in rural locations where it could no longer staff shifts. Retailers were penalizing missed deliveries, overtime and temporary labor costs had risen 40%, packaging changeovers limited the SKU flexibility retailers demanded, and the cooperative board had approved a $260M modernization program spanning packaging automation, robotic palletizing, automated cold storage, and manufacturing execution systems. Its engineering organization had delivered process equipment for decades but had never led integrated automation on this scale. Executive leadership identified several critical vulnerabilities threatening the program:

• Unstaffed shifts in rural plants with overtime and temporary labor costs up 40%
• Retailer penalties for missed deliveries and limited SKU flexibility
• A $260M modernization program with no integrated automation leadership
• Manual cold storage and material handling creating bottlenecks and safety exposure
• No manufacturing execution system to connect automated lines, warehouses, and planning
• Plant leadership experienced in process operations but not automated environments

Recognizing that the program required leadership from automated food and packaging environments, the Chief Executive Officer and cooperative board engaged JRG Partners to recruit a Vice President of Automation & Advanced Manufacturing, Vice President of Packaging Engineering, Vice President of Warehouse & Material Handling Automation, Vice President of Digital Manufacturing & MES, and Vice President of Manufacturing Operations. The company required an executive search partner with deep food automation expertise and access to leaders who had automated packaging and warehousing at scale.

Why They Chose JRG Partners

Food & Beverage Automation & Robotics Focus

JRG Partners maintains a dedicated practice serving food and beverage manufacturers deploying automation and robotics, with a clear understanding of packaging automation, warehouse automation, manufacturing execution systems, and the leadership profiles that modernize multi-plant operations.

Packaging and Warehouse Automation Experience

Our firm has extensive experience recruiting executives who have automated high-care packaging, palletizing, and cold-chain warehousing in dairy, beverage, and refrigerated food environments.

Cooperative and Member-Owned Experience

Our team works routinely with cooperatives and member-owned food businesses, with a clear understanding of board governance, rural plant locations, and member expectations.

Our Executive Search Strategy

Phase 1 — Modernization Program Alignment

Our consultants partnered directly with the Chief Executive Officer, chief operating officer, and board to review labor and service data, the program scope, plant layouts, systems landscape, and engineering capability, defining five executive profiles aligned with the modernization program.

Phase 2 — Talent Identification & Mapping

Our research team performed an extensive talent mapping initiative targeting automation, packaging engineering, warehouse automation, digital manufacturing, and operations executives at dairy and food manufacturers, packaging automation companies, warehouse automation providers, and cold-chain operators who had led documented automation programs. Over 400 executives were systematically assessed across these sectors.

Phase 3 — Candidate Engagement

Priority during outreach was given to leaders with a documented history of automating packaging and palletizing across multiple food plants, deploying automated storage and AGV systems in cold environments, implementing manufacturing execution systems integrated with automation, and running automated plant operations with lean workforces. Only candidates meeting these strict performance baselines advanced.

Phase 4 — Selection Process

Finalists presented modernization plans to the Chief Executive Officer and board, completed structured leadership assessments, and underwent reference verification focused on quantified automation, labor, and service outcomes.

Key Outcomes

• 400+ dairy and food manufacturing, packaging, and automation executive profiles mapped across North America.
• Successfully placed a synchronized leadership tier spanning automation, packaging engineering, warehouse automation, digital manufacturing, and operations within seven months.
• Cut packaging changeover time by 50% and enabled 40% more SKUs.
• Reduced warehouse injuries by 65% through automated cold storage and AGVs.
• Reduced overtime and temporary labor costs by 55%.
• Raised on-time delivery from 91% to 98.7% and delivered $70M in annualized savings.