Executive Search Success Story: Recruiting a Chief Transformation Officer to Lead a $500M Enterprise Transformation at a Publicly Traded Industrial Conglomerate Under Activist Pressure

How JRG Partners executed a confidential North American executive search that equipped a publicly traded diversified industrial company with a Chief Transformation Officer and transformation office leadership capable of delivering a $500M cost and portfolio transformation committed to investors, with results tracked and reported quarterly under activist scrutiny.

The Challenge

A diversified industrial company had underperformed peers for five years when an activist investor took a position and secured board seats. The board and new CEO committed publicly to a $500M run-rate cost reduction, portfolio simplification including two divestitures, and margin targets to be reported quarterly. The company had run improvement programs before that faded after initial savings; segment presidents resisted enterprise initiatives; procurement and manufacturing footprint were managed segment by segment; and the company had no transformation office or leader with the authority and credibility to deliver against an investor commitment. Executive leadership identified several critical vulnerabilities threatening the commitment:

• A public $500M transformation commitment with quarterly investor reporting and activist board members
• Prior improvement programs that faded after initial savings
• Six segment presidents with autonomy and resistance to enterprise-wide initiatives
• Procurement and manufacturing footprint managed segment by segment with no enterprise view
• Two divestitures to execute alongside the cost program
• No transformation office, methodology, or leader with enterprise authority

Recognizing that the commitment required a transformation leader with the credibility to work across segments and with the board, the CEO and board engaged JRG Partners to recruit a Chief Transformation Officer, supported by a Vice President of Transformation Management Office and a Vice President of Procurement & Footprint Transformation. The company required an executive search partner with deep transformation leadership expertise and access to executives who had delivered investor-committed programs.

Why They Chose JRG Partners

Chief Transformation Officer Practice Focus

JRG Partners maintains a dedicated practice recruiting Chief Transformation Officers and transformation office leadership for public companies, private-equity-backed businesses, and large private enterprises. This focus ensured an immediate understanding of transformation governance, value tracking, stakeholder management, and the leadership profiles that deliver committed results rather than fading programs.

Investor-Committed Program Experience

Our firm has extensive experience recruiting transformation leaders who have delivered publicly committed cost and margin programs under activist and board scrutiny, with a clear understanding of what credible quarterly reporting requires.

Operating and Consulting Talent Access

Our team has access to both operating executives who have led enterprise transformations and former consulting partners with operating experience, allowing clients to weigh both profiles.

Our Executive Search Strategy

Phase 1 — Transformation Mandate Alignment

Our consultants partnered directly with the CEO, board transformation committee, and Chief Financial Officer to review the investor commitment, segment dynamics, prior program history, and governance requirements, defining the Chief Transformation Officer profile and authority, and two supporting roles.

Phase 2 — Talent Identification & Mapping

Our research team performed an extensive talent mapping initiative targeting transformation leaders at industrial and diversified public companies, operating executives who had led enterprise cost programs, and former consulting partners with documented operating results. Over 310 executives were systematically assessed.

Phase 3 — Confidential Candidate Engagement

Priority during outreach was given to leaders with a documented history of delivering $300M-plus enterprise transformations against public commitments, building transformation offices with rigorous value tracking, driving enterprise procurement and footprint programs across autonomous segments, and reporting credibly to boards and investors. Outreach was conducted under strict confidentiality. Only candidates meeting these strict performance baselines advanced.

Phase 4 — Selection Process

Finalists presented transformation approaches to the CEO and board transformation committee, including activist-nominated directors, completed structured leadership assessments, and underwent reference verification focused on quantified, audited transformation outcomes.

Key Outcomes

• 310+ transformation, operating, and consulting executive profiles mapped across North America.
• Placed a Chief Transformation Officer within 50 days and a transformation office leadership team within four months.
• Delivered $520M in run-rate savings within 24 months against a $500M commitment.
• Consolidated $3.5B of spend and eleven plants.
• Closed two divestitures on schedule.
• Expanded operating margin 400 basis points and resolved the activist engagement.