Executive Search Success Story: Building the Mexico Leadership Team for a U.S. Automotive Supplier’s Greenfield Manufacturing Campus in the Bajío

How JRG Partners executed a confidential, multi-role North American and Mexico executive search strategy that equipped a U.S. automotive components supplier with the bilingual country, plant, supply chain, quality, and human resources leadership required to build and launch a $380M greenfield campus in central Mexico, meet OEM launch dates, and establish a sustainable local operating model.

The Challenge

A U.S. automotive supplier had won OEM programs requiring production in Mexico under USMCA content rules and committed to a $380M greenfield campus in the Bajío, its first operation in the country. The company had no Mexico leadership, no local supply base, no understanding of Mexican labor law, union dynamics, or the new labor justice framework, and OEM launch dates that could not move. It needed bilingual leaders who could build a plant to its global standards while operating credibly in Mexico. Executive leadership identified several critical vulnerabilities threatening the campus:

• No Mexico leadership, legal entity operations, or local operating experience
• OEM launch dates fixed under program awards with USMCA content requirements
• No local supply base and a localization requirement to meet content rules and reduce logistics cost
• IATF 16949 certification and OEM launch readiness required before start of production
• Mexican labor law, union representation, and labor justice requirements the company had never navigated
• A 1,400-person workforce to recruit and train in a competitive regional labor market

Recognizing that the campus required experienced Mexico leadership seated early, the Chief Operating Officer and board engaged JRG Partners to recruit a Vice President & Country Manager for Mexico, Plant Director for Campus Operations, Director of Supply Chain & Localization, Director of Quality & Launch, and Director of Human Resources & Labor Relations for Mexico. The company required an executive search partner with deep nearshoring expertise and an established network of bilingual manufacturing leaders in Mexico.

Why They Chose JRG Partners

Nearshoring & Mexico Manufacturing Focus

JRG Partners maintains a dedicated practice serving manufacturers establishing or expanding operations in Mexico, with deep recruiting expertise across country management, plant leadership, supply chain localization, quality, and Mexico human resources. This focus ensured an immediate understanding of greenfield start-ups, OEM launch requirements, labor law, and the bilingual leadership profiles that succeed in Mexico.

Mexico Talent Network

Our firm maintains an established network of bilingual, bicultural manufacturing executives across the Bajío, Monterrey, Saltillo, and border regions, and of U.S. executives with documented Mexico operating experience.

Multi-Role Execution

Our team specializes in running coordinated country, plant, supply chain, quality, and human resources searches in parallel, ensuring leaders are selected as a complementary unit aligned to a single launch plan.

Our Executive Search Strategy

Phase 1 — Launch Plan Alignment

Our consultants partnered directly with the Chief Operating Officer, program leadership, and board to review the campus plan, OEM launch schedule, localization targets, labor strategy, and corporate standards, defining five leadership profiles sequenced to construction and launch milestones.

Phase 2 — Talent Identification & Mapping

Our research team performed an extensive talent mapping initiative targeting country managers, plant directors, supply chain, quality, and human resources leaders at automotive suppliers and manufacturers operating in Mexico who had led documented greenfield start-ups and OEM launches. Over 400 executives were systematically assessed across these sectors.

Phase 3 — Candidate Engagement

Priority during outreach was given to bilingual leaders with a documented history of starting up greenfield plants in Mexico, launching OEM programs on schedule, localizing supply bases to meet content rules, achieving IATF 16949 certification, and managing Mexican labor relations and workforce build under current law. Only candidates meeting these strict performance baselines advanced.

Phase 4 — Selection Process

Finalists presented launch plans to the Chief Operating Officer and executive committee, completed structured leadership assessments in English and Spanish, and underwent reference verification focused on quantified start-up, launch, and workforce outcomes in Mexico.

Key Outcomes

• 400+ automotive and manufacturing executive profiles with Mexico experience mapped across North America.
• Successfully placed a synchronized Mexico leadership tier spanning country management, plant operations, supply chain, quality, and human resources within seven months.
• Met every OEM launch date on schedule.
• Achieved 55% regional content with 60 qualified Mexican suppliers.
• Achieved IATF 16949 certification before start of production.
• Built a 1,400-person workforce with turnover 40% below regional benchmarks.