Executive Search Success Story: Securing a VP of Supply Chain to Transform Materials Management and Inventory for an Aviation MRO and Aftermarket Provider

How JRG Partners executed a confidential North American executive search that equipped a private-equity-backed aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul provider with the VP of Supply Chain and materials leadership required to reduce aircraft-on-ground delays, rationalize excess rotable and consumable inventory, build a compliant global parts sourcing network, and support the sponsor’s turnaround-time and margin objectives.

The Challenge

A private-equity-backed aviation MRO provider serving airline, cargo, and business aviation customers from four maintenance facilities was losing customers to turnaround-time failures driven by parts availability. Materials were managed independently at each facility, inventory had grown to more than $95M with substantial excess and obsolete stock, and parts sourcing relied on spot buying at premium prices. Customer aircraft sat on the ground waiting for parts while unused inventory accumulated elsewhere in the network. Executive leadership identified several critical vulnerabilities threatening the value-creation plan:

• Parts-driven delays accounting for more than 40% of turnaround-time failures and aircraft-on-ground events
• Inventory exceeding $95M across four facilities with more than 30% excess or obsolete
• No network-level materials visibility, forecasting, or inter-facility transfer process
• Spot buying and brokered parts inflating material costs and creating traceability risk
• Repair vendor network unmanaged, with turnaround times and quality varying widely
• Sponsor expectations for turnaround-time improvement, working capital release, and margin expansion

Recognizing that the turnaround required a strategic supply chain executive, the CEO and sponsor engaged JRG Partners to recruit a VP of Supply Chain, supported by a Director of Materials & Inventory Management and a Director of Strategic Sourcing & Repair Vendor Management. The company required an executive search partner with deep aviation aftermarket expertise and access to supply chain leaders who had transformed materials management across multi-site MRO networks.

Why They Chose JRG Partners

Aviation MRO and Aftermarket Expertise

JRG Partners possesses deep recruiting expertise across MRO providers, airline technical operations, aerospace aftermarket distributors, and OEM services organizations, including supply chain, materials, and sourcing leadership. This domain knowledge ensured an immediate understanding of rotable economics, traceability requirements, repair vendor dynamics, and the link between parts availability and turnaround performance.

Materials Transformation Experience

Our team specializes in identifying supply chain leaders who have built network-level materials management, rationalized excess inventory, and reduced aircraft-on-ground events across multi-site maintenance operations.

Private Equity Value-Creation Alignment

JRG Partners has extensive experience serving aerospace-focused private equity sponsors and portfolio companies, with a clear understanding of working capital targets, customer retention risk, and the urgency of supply chain leadership placements.

Our Executive Search Strategy

Phase 1 — Materials & Turnaround Review

Our consultants partnered directly with the CEO, sponsor operating partners, CFO, and facility general managers to review turnaround-time failure data, inventory composition, sourcing practices, and repair vendor performance. This review defined a VP of Supply Chain profile combining MRO materials transformation, inventory optimization, and compliant sourcing leadership.

Phase 2 — Talent Identification & Mapping

Our research team performed an extensive talent mapping initiative targeting supply chain leaders at MRO providers, airline technical operations, aftermarket distributors, and OEM services organizations who had led documented materials transformations across multi-site networks. Over 260 executives were systematically assessed across these sectors.

Phase 3 — Candidate Engagement

Priority during outreach was given to leaders with a documented history of reducing parts-driven turnaround failures, rationalizing rotable and consumable inventory, building network-level materials planning, establishing compliant strategic sourcing, and managing repair vendor networks. Only candidates meeting these strict performance baselines advanced.

Phase 4 — Selection Process

Finalists presented a materials transformation and turnaround-time improvement plan to the CEO and sponsor, completed structured leadership assessments, and underwent reference verification focused on quantified turnaround, inventory, and cost outcomes.

Key Outcomes

• 260+ aviation MRO and aftermarket supply chain leader profiles mapped across North America.
• Placed a VP of Supply Chain with proven multi-site MRO materials experience in 47 days.
• Reduced parts-driven turnaround failures by 65% and materials-related aircraft-on-ground events to near zero.
• Released $31M in working capital through inventory rationalization.
• Reduced material costs by 12% through compliant strategic sourcing.
• Cut component repair turnaround by 30% through managed repair vendor programs.