Executive Search Success Story: Placing a VP of Quality to Eliminate Customer Escapes and Cut Cost of Quality for a Tier 1 Automotive and Aerospace Components Supplier

How JRG Partners executed a confidential North American executive search that equipped a publicly traded precision components supplier serving automotive and aerospace OEMs with the VP of Quality and quality engineering leadership required to exit OEM controlled-shipping status, reduce customer escapes, cut cost of quality across eight plants, and protect new program awards.

The Challenge

A publicly traded precision components supplier had been placed on controlled-shipping status by a major automotive OEM after a series of customer escapes, while an aerospace customer had issued a corrective action request following a nonconforming delivery. Cost of quality across the company’s eight plants exceeded 6% of revenue, warranty and sorting charges were mounting, and new program awards were being withheld pending quality improvement. The quality organization was plant-centric with no corporate standards, and the incumbent quality leader had been removed. Executive leadership identified several critical vulnerabilities threatening the business:

• Controlled-shipping status with a major automotive OEM and a formal corrective action request from an aerospace customer
• Customer escapes at more than three times the OEM target, with sorting and containment costs escalating
• Cost of quality exceeding 6% of revenue across scrap, rework, warranty, and containment
• Eight plants with inconsistent quality systems, inspection practices, and problem-solving discipline
• Advanced product quality planning and launch quality weak, driving early-life escapes on new programs
• New program awards withheld by both automotive and aerospace customers

Recognizing that recovery required an experienced OEM-facing quality executive, the CEO and COO engaged JRG Partners to recruit a VP of Quality, supported by a Director of Quality Engineering & APQP and a Director of Customer Quality & Plant Quality Systems. The company required an executive search partner with deep automotive and aerospace expertise and access to quality leaders who had exited controlled-shipping status and transformed cost of quality across multi-plant networks.

Why They Chose JRG Partners

Automotive and Aerospace Quality Expertise

JRG Partners possesses deep recruiting expertise across automotive and aerospace Tier 1 suppliers, precision manufacturers, and OEM supplier quality organizations, including quality, quality engineering, and customer quality leadership. This domain knowledge ensured an immediate understanding of controlled-shipping dynamics, OEM escalation processes, launch quality, and the cost of quality levers in precision manufacturing.

Customer Quality Recovery Experience

Our team specializes in identifying quality leaders who have restored OEM confidence, exited controlled-shipping and corrective action status, and built corporate quality systems that sustain performance across plants.

Public Company Quality Leadership

Our firm has extensive experience recruiting quality executives for publicly traded manufacturers, with a clear understanding of warranty exposure, customer concentration risk, and the program award implications of quality performance.

Our Executive Search Strategy

Phase 1 — Customer Quality & Cost Review

Our consultants partnered directly with the CEO, COO, CFO, and customer-facing program leadership to review escape data, OEM escalation status, cost of quality composition, plant quality maturity, and launch quality performance. This review defined a VP of Quality profile combining OEM recovery leadership, multi-plant quality system transformation, and cost of quality discipline.

Phase 2 — Talent Identification & Mapping

Our research team performed an extensive talent mapping initiative targeting quality leaders at automotive and aerospace Tier 1 suppliers, precision manufacturers, and OEM supplier quality organizations who had led documented controlled-shipping exits and cost of quality transformations. Over 300 executives were systematically assessed across these sectors.

Phase 3 — Candidate Engagement

Priority during outreach was given to leaders with a documented history of exiting OEM controlled-shipping status, reducing customer escapes, cutting cost of quality, standardizing quality systems across plants, and strengthening advanced product quality planning for launches. Only candidates meeting these strict performance baselines advanced.

Phase 4 — Selection Process

Finalists presented an OEM recovery and cost of quality plan to the CEO and COO, completed structured leadership assessments, and underwent reference verification focused on quantified escape, cost, and customer outcomes.

Key Outcomes

• 300+ automotive and aerospace quality leader profiles mapped across North America.
• Placed a VP of Quality with proven OEM recovery experience in 48 days.
• Exited controlled-shipping status and closed an aerospace corrective action within seven months.
• Reduced customer escapes by 75% to below OEM targets.
• Cut cost of quality from over 6% to under 3% of revenue.
• Restored new program awards from both automotive and aerospace customers.