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Chief Executive
Officer
Classic Stripes, LTD Sectors: Printing Search Completed
INTRODUCTIONThank you for your willingness to review the enclosed profile. I believe the following pages describe a relatively rare opportunity for an experienced leader who would thrive on building the North American sales and marketing arm for the world’s leading vehicular graphics suppliers.The following profile was written as the result of a several meetings with Mr. Sam Subramaniam, a principal investor and senior advisor and Board member of the Gamperlic who owns a majority stake in Classic Stripes, Ltd. The information shared has enabled us to understand the culture of the company, the personalities that make up the leadership team and the company’s capabilities, goals & objectives. I believe this is important for you to know because unlike our client, the HR practices and procedures within much of corporate America today emphasize hiring speed over quality and performance over values and cultural fit. These hiring practices are further perpetuated by headhunters, who by seeking to maximize revenue through a high volume of assignments, are eager to oblige client requests for little consulting, quick delivery of resumes and fast hires. The behavior of both groups encourage a never ending cycle of executive turnover, unfortunately at the expense of employees and shareholders. It also represents the antithesis of our approach which aims to thoroughly assess each client who retains our services and each individual desiring candidacy. Only then can we insure the right match has made those results in long-term economic value for clients and career satisfaction for the individuals our clients employ.
By documenting our findings in the enclosed profile, we hope to elicit positive responses from successful candidates. We trust the following pages will achieve this goal and would welcome the opportunity to talk with someone you know who meets most or all of the requirements described in this profile. As to how they can expect to be treated:
1. They can be assured of complete discretion on our part. Neither their comments nor any other information they might share with us will be distributed to anyone, including our client, without their permission.
2. We treat everyone the way we would want to be treated if our positions were reversed. This practically translates into doing what we say we are going to do in a timely manner, promptly returning phone calls and providing frequent and honest feedback to both candidates and clients.
As to our veracity in adhering to the above mentioned points, we would invite all interested parties to “check us out” by contacting anyone we have done business with before. You’ll find we are unusual: we would much rather conduct a handful of searches each year in an exceptional manner than executing many in an average or mediocre manner. Why? Because we feel it’s not only our mission, but our calling: To perform the highest quality, most ethical search work that results in an exceptional long-term value for both client and candidate. Thanks again for your willingness to review the following profile, and we appreciate your interest.
Jeffrey R Ketchum, President Automotive Recruiters International, Inc., a division of Lordstone Corporation. THE OPPORTUNITYClassic Stripes, Ltd., a highly profitable $50M vehicular graphics supplier growing at over 25% a year and located in Mumbai, India is on a mission – to be a dynamic, diversified, global company. As a result, the company is currently seeking to identify a President for its newly established North America business. The new team member will have the opportunity to creatively structure and build a North American based sales and marketing organization, while capitalizing on immediate market opportunities for increased revenues.Poised well for both entrance and rapid expansion within the North American market due to distinct cost and quality advantage over U.S. suppliers, Classic Stripes will offer the right candidate the ability to build a business in which they have an equity stake. As such, this could be a step up for a talented sales and marketing executive who is looking to advance their career and position in industry. Alternatively, the position would be well suited for seasoned president or general manager who would like to repeat their prior business successes, while building wealth in the process.This opportunity will offer the right candidate the ability to be a key part of a socially responsible international company, located in one of the world’s fastest growing developing economies. This being the case, the opportunity will offer a globally minded professional a tremendous amount of international exposure, while gaining visibility and notoriety on the world’s stage.Many reasons may lead an experienced business development professional to explore this very unique opportunity:· Perhaps a candidate is working within a larger company where they are a small spoke in a large wheel. What is attractive to them is the opportunity to work within a smaller company where they could play a key role in helping to develop and build the business.· Another candidate may be working for a company with less than optimal leadership at the helm or they may be employed by a company possessing limited advancement opportunities.· Still another individual may be attracted to the organizations market potential and their ability to help capitalize on this opportunity.The right candidate will be attracted to the company’s services, its people and the tremendous potential for growth. Classic Stripes, Ltd. expects North America business to grow from approximately $3 to $5 M in sales in a year to over $40 M within four to five years. This growth will be primarily driven by the company’s superior product capability combined with the ability to price aggressively to fair market share from incumbent players in North America. This is truly an exceptional opportunity for the right President.THE COMPANY
Classic Stripes, Ltd is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of automotive graphics, doming labels and signage’s, with capacities of approximately 10 million sets per year. The company is a complete solutions provider for all types of automotive screen printed graphics and is a direct on line, preferred supplier among several key customers. The firm’s product range includes automotive graphics, dashboard trims, car fresheners, air fresheners, automotive window films and signage solutions.
Classic Stripes was established in 1987 and currently employs over 300 people. The firm was founded by Mr. Kishore Musale, who represents and embodies the growing breed of young entrepreneurs in India who are relatively low-profile but hugely successful. Mr. Musale attended college in Canada and upon graduation returned to India and his family’s business that manufactured metal labels for two-wheelers. Soon thereafter, Mr. Musale recognized that the growth cycle of the businesses existing product line was in the downswing and so he began looking for new market opportunities. Sensing that the next big thing in his area of business would be motorcycle graphics, after travels to Japan, he saw this product area as being a natural progression from printing metal labels. As a result, he set up a manufacturing facility in a 10 ft X 10 ft space and one year later, his product was approved by the Japanese and he was off and running. The motorcycle market was booming and Kishore's foresight saw him setting up his first factory with 22,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space in the suburbs of Mumbai and by 2004 his third factory had been established.
Today the company is ISO-9001 certification and employs over 500 people. The company has production capacity of over 9 million motorbike decals per annum and is the largest manufacturer of 2-wheel graphics in the world. The company also produces Doming Labels and has a production capacity of over 2,00,000 Doming Labels per shift. The company has also invested in the state-of-the-art in-house design studio which caters to the requirements of the industry.
Classic Stripes has been recognized multiple times for being one of the Top 25 places to work in India. The firm maintains less than a 5 per cent attrition rate, much of which is due to several key principles, including:
THE POSITION
The position is described as a senior business development role in the short term, whereby the new President will drive sales migration and revenue growth. In the medium to longer term the position is described as a working leadership role whereby the President will build and manage a supporting sales, marketing and service organization to support future expansion. The President will be charged with recruiting, developing and motivating the North American team to facilitate the achievement of key business objectives for Classic Stripes.
The new President will be responsible for migrating work to Classic Stripes based upon their network of contacts and key relationships within the vehicular industries. They will need to be quite aggressive about getting new business in the short term, while establishing a formal sales and marketing function, which enables all targeted customers to be aware of Classic Stripes and their capabilities.
The new President will be responsible for the achievement of Classic Stripes sales, revenue and margin objectives in the North American Region. They will be the public “face” of Classic Stripes in North America and will represent the company at public, media and customer events.
The position will initially report to Mr. Sam Subramaniam who is an equity investor in Class Stripes. Mr. Subramaniam has been co-founder of a fund which made a series of investments in public and private companies across India. He was also a part of a team that built a $2 billion portfolio of investments in companies and real estate across India. Prior to these activities he was Vice President of Strategic Planning and Business Development at American Express where he worked closely with the global leadership team and the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer on strategic planning, restructuring, business development and investment decisions for the company. Prior to joining American Express, Mr. Subramaniam was a private wealth manager at Goldman Sachs and before that was an Associate Director at Cambridge Technology Partners, where he focused on firm restructuring and launching a financial services vertical. Prior to Cambridge Technology Partners, Mr. Subramaniam was a consultant with Booz | Allen | Hamilton for five years, where he served clients in the United States, Australia, Southeast Asia and India. Mr. Subramaniam was schooled in the United States and will initially play a key role is helping to support the launch of the business in North America.
The position will be based in the United States, with an exact location yet to be determined.
QUALIFICATIONS
The position is initially described as being revenue generating focused, meaning the new President must be able to migrate sales from their existing contacts and relationships to Classic Stripes. As such, the right candidate will have successfully developed and grown revenues for a manufacturer of vehicular (OEM) graphics.
The right candidate will have a depth of relationships within the vehicular industries and will be highly relational. They will be a master salesperson with a spark and passion for developing new business.
The right candidate for this position will be a quick study and will be able to quickly, yet proficiently understand Classic Stripes strengths and capabilities. After achieving this understanding by spending time in India, the candidate will then be tasked with developing, implementing and managing a North American sales and marketing strategy. As such, the right candidate will have previous experience in leading teams of successful sales and marketing personnel.
The new President will be genuine and will have a commitment to quality in all areas whether it be product quality or quality of relationships with customers or employees. They will have an entrepreneurial mindset and will run the business with a high degree of care and nuture as if they were majority owner.
The right candidate will be highly adaptable and understanding of foreign cultures. They will be sensitive to the cultural aspects of working for a foreign company headquartered in India. They will be appreciative and respectful of age and experience, regardless of title or position. The new President will be able to gently drive decisions within such an organization and will have a degree of patience in working with others. They will have worked well with their peers and contributed greatly to broader global strategies of their employers.
The new President will be a great communicator, yet they will have a listening ear when required.
THE LOCATION
The location is yet to be determined, but with shipping costs being an influencing factor, the ideal location would be near a port of entry, being it on the coast or in the Midwest.
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