Executive Search Success Story: Securing a VP of Quality to Transform Field Quality and Reduce Warranty Cost for a Consumer Durables and Equipment Manufacturer

How JRG Partners executed a confidential North American executive search that equipped a privately held consumer durables and outdoor equipment manufacturer with the VP of Quality and reliability leadership required to reverse rising warranty costs and field failures, build a reliability engineering and design quality function, strengthen global supplier quality, and protect brand reputation and dealer relationships.

The Challenge

A privately held consumer durables and outdoor equipment manufacturer with a strong brand and dealer network had seen warranty cost double over three years as new product introductions reached the field with reliability problems. Dealer satisfaction was declining, consumer reviews were deteriorating, and sourcing shifts to new global suppliers had introduced component quality failures. Quality was organized around manufacturing inspection with no reliability engineering, design quality, or structured supplier quality capability. Executive leadership identified several critical vulnerabilities threatening the brand:

• Warranty cost doubling over three years to more than 3.5% of revenue
• Field failure rates on recent product launches well above historical levels and competitor benchmarks
• No reliability engineering or design quality function influencing new product development
• Component failures from new global suppliers with inadequate qualification and ongoing quality controls
• Dealer satisfaction and consumer review scores declining, threatening brand position
• Quality organization focused on inspection rather than prevention across design, supply, and manufacturing

Recognizing that brand protection required a modern quality executive, the CEO and ownership engaged JRG Partners to recruit a VP of Quality, supported by a Director of Reliability & Design Quality Engineering and a Director of Global Supplier Quality. The company required an executive search partner with deep consumer durables and equipment expertise and access to quality leaders who had built reliability and supplier quality functions that reduced warranty cost at scale.

Why They Chose JRG Partners

Consumer Durables and Equipment Quality Expertise

JRG Partners possesses deep recruiting expertise across consumer durables, outdoor equipment, appliance, and powersports manufacturers and global supplier quality organizations, including quality, reliability, and supplier quality leadership. This domain knowledge ensured an immediate understanding of warranty economics, reliability engineering in product development, global supplier qualification, and the dealer and consumer dimensions of field quality.

Prevention-Based Quality Transformation Experience

Our team specializes in identifying quality leaders who have shifted organizations from inspection to prevention, building reliability, design quality, and supplier quality capabilities that reduce field failures before products ship.

Privately Held Business Experience

Our firm has extensive experience serving privately held manufacturers, evaluating leadership style and cultural fit alongside technical credentials to ensure a durable placement.

Our Executive Search Strategy

Phase 1 — Field Quality & Warranty Review

Our consultants partnered directly with the CEO, ownership, head of engineering, and head of operations to review warranty and field failure data, new product development quality practices, supplier qualification gaps, and dealer feedback. This review defined a VP of Quality profile combining reliability engineering leadership, global supplier quality, and warranty transformation.

Phase 2 — Talent Identification & Mapping

Our research team performed an extensive talent mapping initiative targeting quality and reliability leaders at consumer durables, outdoor equipment, appliance, and powersports manufacturers and global supplier quality organizations who had led documented warranty and field quality transformations. Over 285 executives were systematically assessed across these sectors.

Phase 3 — Candidate Engagement

Priority during outreach was given to leaders with a documented history of reducing warranty cost, building reliability and design quality functions embedded in product development, establishing global supplier qualification and ongoing quality controls, and improving dealer and consumer quality experience. Only candidates meeting these strict performance baselines advanced.

Phase 4 — Selection Process

Finalists presented a field quality and warranty transformation plan to the CEO and ownership, completed structured leadership assessments, and underwent reference verification focused on quantified warranty, reliability, and supplier outcomes.

Key Outcomes

• 285+ consumer durables and equipment quality and reliability leader profiles mapped across North America.
• Placed a VP of Quality with proven warranty transformation experience in 50 days.
• Reduced warranty cost from over 3.5% to under 1.8% of revenue.
• Built reliability and design quality engineering into new product development.
• Cut field failure rates on new launches by 60%.
• Recovered dealer satisfaction and consumer review scores to historical levels.