Supply Chain & Operations Executive Search

Hire Leaders Who Can Deliver in the Real World

Operator-led executive search for CPG, food and beverage, and industrial manufacturing companies—backed by a 365-day performance guarantee.

Discuss a Hiring Brief

When a Leadership Gap Becomes an Operational Problem

Supply chain and operations leadership problems rarely remain confined to one department. They show up throughout the business—in excess inventory, missed production schedules, unreliable forecasts, supplier failures, rising costs, poor service levels, and teams trapped in constant reaction mode.

Growth Exposes Weak Processes

Processes and leadership structures that worked at one stage of the business often begin breaking as volume, customers, products, and operational complexity increase.

Critical Roles Stay Open

When an important position remains vacant, existing leaders absorb the additional workload. Strategic priorities stall while the organization concentrates on keeping daily operations moving.

The Wrong Hire Compounds the Problem

A candidate can look impressive on paper and still lack the judgment, leadership style, or hands-on ability the business requires. By the time the mismatch becomes clear, the company has lost time, money, and internal confidence.

Before beginning a search, we help the leadership team answer one essential question:

What specifically needs to be different 12 months after this person starts?

Executive Search Led by Someone Who Has Done the Work

Before founding Supply Chain Talent Advisors, Anthony Allen spent more than 20 years working inside supply chain and manufacturing operations.

He led procurement, planning, S&OP, inventory, warehousing, and operational teams across complex manufacturing and aerospace environments. He understands what happens when forecasts miss, suppliers fail, inventory grows, systems do not support the operation, and teams are expected to deliver without a clear process.

That experience changes how SCTA conducts a search.

Practitioner-Level Assessment

Candidates are evaluated for how they diagnose problems, make decisions, lead teams, and produce results—not simply whether their résumé contains the right titles and keywords.

Informed Market Guidance

Clients receive candid guidance about compensation, candidate availability, reporting structure, role scope, and whether expectations match what the market can realistically provide.

Credibility With Passive Candidates

Experienced supply chain and operations leaders are more willing to engage when they know the person contacting them understands their work, career decisions, and professional reputation.

20+ years of operational experience | 93% retention beyond year one | 365-day performance guarantee

Leadership Searches We Conduct

Supply Chain Talent Advisors recruits mid-to-senior and executive leaders across the functions responsible for moving products, managing costs, supporting customers, and scaling operations.

Supply Chain Leadership

Chief Supply Chain Officers, Vice Presidents, Directors, and senior functional leaders responsible for end-to-end supply chain performance.

Operations and Manufacturing

Chief Operating Officers, Vice Presidents of Operations, Plant Managers, Site Leaders, and operational excellence leadership.

Planning and S&OP

S&OP and SIOP leaders, demand and supply planning leaders, production planning leaders, and forecasting specialists.

Procurement and Strategic Sourcing

Procurement executives, purchasing leaders, category managers, strategic sourcing leaders, and supplier-management professionals.

Logistics and Distribution

Logistics, transportation, distribution, warehousing, network-design, and third-party logistics leadership.

Our search work supports CPG, food and beverage, industrial manufacturing, aerospace, and other operationally complex businesses throughout the United States.

How We Conduct a Search

A successful search begins by defining the business problem—not by collecting résumés.

1. Define Success

We meet with the hiring stakeholders to understand the business, leadership team, operational challenges, role scope, compensation, and expected outcomes.

Before approaching candidates, we establish what needs to be different six and 12 months after the new leader begins.

2. Map the Market

We identify target companies, adjacent industries, likely candidate backgrounds, and leaders whose experience aligns with the actual needs of the position.

Our search extends beyond active applicants to experienced professionals who are not monitoring job boards.

3. Assess the Candidates

Candidates are evaluated for technical capability, leadership judgment, communication, motivation, compensation, and alignment with the company’s operating environment.

Clients receive a small number of carefully selected candidates—not a stack of loosely matched résumés.

4. Guide the Decision

We remain involved throughout interviews, feedback, references, offer development, negotiation, resignation, and onboarding.

Clients receive candid information throughout the process, including when the market indicates the position, compensation, or expectations need to change.

A Search Structure Built Around the Role

Not every position carries the same level of complexity, urgency, or business risk. We recommend an engagement structure based on the seniority of the role, difficulty of the candidate market, and support the company needs throughout the process.

Engaged Search

Engaged search is appropriate for important mid-to-senior leadership positions requiring committed market outreach, candidate assessment, and priority attention.

The initial engagement confirms mutual commitment and allows us to begin dedicated search work rather than waiting for active applicants to appear.

Retained Executive Search

Retained search is designed for executive, confidential, and especially difficult assignments where the company needs comprehensive market coverage and a highly structured process.

These searches include extensive role calibration, market mapping, proactive candidate outreach, detailed assessment, regular progress communication, and support through selection and onboarding.

Select Contingency Search

Contingency arrangements may be considered selectively when the position, market, timing, and existing client relationship make the structure appropriate.

The 365-Day Performance Guarantee

Our standard executive-search agreement includes a 365-day performance guarantee.

Most recruiting guarantees expire after 90 days. We believe senior supply chain and operations leaders need time to navigate a complete operating cycle before their long-term fit can be properly evaluated.

If a covered placement does not remain with the company during the guarantee period, SCTA will conduct the replacement search without an additional professional search fee, subject to the terms of the agreement.

Proof Behind the Process

93% Retention Beyond the First Year

Ninety-three percent of SCTA placements have remained with their employers beyond the first year.

20+ Years of Operational Experience

Every search benefits from more than two decades of firsthand leadership experience across supply chain, planning, procurement, warehousing, manufacturing, and operations.

67 Conversations. Three Candidates Presented.

On one representative search, 67 potential candidates were considered before three were presented to the client.

The goal is not to generate the largest stack of résumés. It is to identify the small number of qualified, interested leaders whose experience and working style match the business.

Representative Searches

SCTA has successfully completed searches for:

• Chief Operating Officers
• Vice Presidents of Supply Chain
• Supply Chain Directors and Managers
• Plant and Site Leaders
• Procurement and Purchasing Leaders
• S&OP and Planning Leaders
• Logistics, Distribution, and Transportation Leaders
• Branch and Multi-Site Operations Leaders

Industry Credibility

Anthony Allen is an ASCM Certified Supply Chain Professional and has presented educational programs for the Association for Supply Chain Management, including analysis of ASCM’s Supply Chain Salary and Career Report.

His perspective combines operational leadership, current candidate-market knowledge, and firsthand experience advising companies through critical hiring decisions.

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Planning a Critical Leadership Hire?

If you are hiring—or considering hiring—a supply chain, operations, procurement, S&OP, logistics, or manufacturing leader, schedule a confidential conversation.

We can discuss the role, business situation, candidate market, compensation, and the most appropriate search approach. You do not need a completed job description to begin.