Executive Search Success Story: Placing an Interim COO to Execute a Twelve-Month Operational Turnaround Ahead of a Private-Equity Exit
How JRG Partners executed a confidential interim executive search that equipped a private equity sponsor and its industrial products portfolio company with an interim Chief Operating Officer who stabilized deteriorating plant performance, delivered a twelve-month operational turnaround, and produced the data-backed performance story the sponsor needed for a sale process, without the time or commitment of a permanent hire the buyer would want to make themselves.
Engagement Snapshot
| Client | Confidential — private-equity-backed industrial products manufacturer with $310M in annual revenue and five plants, in year four of its hold period (name withheld at client’s request) |
| Industry | Industrial Manufacturing — Private Equity Portfolio Company — encompassing interim operations leadership, multi-plant turnaround, operational excellence, exit preparation, and buyer diligence support |
| Geography | North America — interim candidate sourcing from JRG Partners’ network of experienced interim COOs and operations executives |
| Engagement | Interim COO placement — twelve-month operational turnaround and exit-readiness mandate, structured to transition to the buyer’s leadership at close |
| Roles Searched | Interim Chief Operating Officer, with interim Director of Operational Excellence |
| Talent Assessed | 85+ interim operations executives evaluated for industrial turnaround and exit experience |
| Timeline | Interim COO engaged within 16 days; turnaround delivered and sale process launched at month twelve |
The Challenge
A private equity sponsor planned to sell an industrial products manufacturer within eighteen months, but operating performance had deteriorated: on-time delivery had fallen, scrap and overtime were rising, and EBITDA was tracking below the exit model. The incumbent operations leader had been removed, and the sponsor faced a dilemma — a permanent COO hire would take months and likely be replaced by the buyer, but the company needed experienced operations leadership immediately to produce a credible turnaround before diligence. Executive leadership identified several critical vulnerabilities threatening the exit:
- EBITDA tracking more than 15% below the exit model with eighteen months to a planned sale
- On-time delivery below 80% and scrap and overtime costs rising across five plants
- An operations leadership vacancy following a removal, with plant managers operating without direction
- A permanent COO search that would consume months and produce a hire the buyer might not retain
- No operational excellence infrastructure or performance data buyers would find credible
- Sponsor need for a demonstrable, documented turnaround before launching the sale
Recognizing that the situation called for an interim rather than permanent executive, the sponsor’s operating partner and the CEO engaged JRG Partners to place an interim COO with industrial turnaround and exit experience on a twelve-month mandate, supported by an interim Director of Operational Excellence. The sponsor required a search partner with a ready bench of proven interim operations executives who could deliver results on an exit timeline.
Why They Chose JRG Partners
Interim and Fractional Executive Practice
JRG Partners maintains a dedicated interim and fractional executive practice with an established bench of experienced interim COOs and operations executives available for rapid deployment, structured for defined-term mandates with clear deliverables.
Private Equity Exit-Readiness Experience
Our team has extensive experience serving private equity sponsors preparing companies for sale, with a clear understanding of when an interim executive is the right answer, what buyers scrutinize in diligence, and how to structure interim mandates that end cleanly at close.
Industrial Turnaround Expertise
Our interim network includes operations executives who have delivered multi-plant turnarounds in industrial manufacturing, bringing operating systems, cost discipline, and performance data buyers find credible.
Our Executive Search Strategy
Phase 1 — Mandate Design
Our consultants partnered directly with the operating partner, deal team, and CEO to define the interim mandate: stabilize plant leadership, restore delivery performance, reduce scrap and overtime, build operational excellence infrastructure and performance data, and support buyer diligence, with a twelve-month term ending at the sale process launch.
Phase 2 — Interim Candidate Identification
Our team evaluated more than 85 interim operations executives from our network, prioritizing leaders with documented multi-plant industrial turnarounds delivered on private equity exit timelines. Three candidates were presented within one week.
Phase 3 — Interim Selection & Deployment
The selected executive completed interviews with the CEO, operating partner, and board and was engaged within 16 days, with a turnaround plan and monthly sponsor reporting cadence agreed before start.
Phase 4 — Turnaround Execution & Diligence Support
The interim COO led the turnaround with sponsor reporting, built the operational data room, and presented operations to buyers during the sale process, transitioning to the buyer’s leadership at close.
Results Delivered
JRG Partners successfully completed the interim mandate, delivering a documented operational turnaround and a clean transition at the sale.
- Interim COO Deployed: A former COO who had led three private-equity-backed industrial turnarounds through exit was engaged within 16 days.
- Delivery Restored: On-time delivery rose from below 80% to above 95% within nine months.
- Costs Reduced: Scrap fell by 40% and overtime by more than half through standardized operating practices and daily management across all five plants.
- EBITDA Recovered: EBITDA returned to the exit model within twelve months, with a documented run-rate buyers could verify.
- Diligence Supported: Operational excellence infrastructure and performance data gave buyers a credible, verifiable performance story, and the interim COO presented operations in management meetings.
- Clean Transition at Close: The sale completed at a valuation reflecting the turnaround, and the interim mandate concluded with a structured handover to the buyer’s operations leadership.
Key Outcomes
- Interim COO engaged within 16 days on a defined twelve-month mandate.
- 85+ interim operations executives evaluated for industrial turnaround and exit experience.
- Raised on-time delivery from below 80% to above 95%.
- Reduced scrap by 40% and overtime by more than half across five plants.
- Returned EBITDA to the exit model within twelve months with verifiable data.
- Supported a completed sale and transitioned cleanly to the buyer’s leadership.
Need an Interim COO or Operations Executive for a Turnaround or Exit?
JRG Partners places interim and fractional COOs, CFOs, CMOs, CIOs, and other C-suite executives for private-equity-backed, privately held, and public companies across industrial, consumer, healthcare, services, and technology sectors in North America — rapidly, confidentially, and structured to the mandate.
Connect with our interim and fractional executive search experts today to discuss your mandate.
Connect With Our Interim & Fractional Executive Search Experts