REASON FOR THE SEARCH

They have integrated two businesses and need someone to come on board and support the transition.

THE PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM

Ventoux Industrial Holdings invests in the industrial and manufacturing sectors. They are a broad-based manufacturing and industrial holding company with a long-term buy-and-build strategy. They buy, improve, and grow privately held and family businesses throughout the United States.

THE PORTFOLIO COMPANY

WB Powell operates as a licensed contract fabricator and installer of custom high-end architectural woodworking and millwork for commercial building projects. The business operates out of a 40,000 sq ft facility in California and has a distinct focus on high quality.
WB Powell operates under tight timescales and stringent demands and is on course for tremendous growth. The portfolio company has a hard work ethic at the core of its culture, allowing each person autonomy whilst keeping quality standards very high.

THE SEARCH REQUIREMENTS

• Experience at GM/COO level at a Millwork facility
• Strong commercial acumen and a track record of new customer and revenue growth
• Demonstrate knowledge of the customer base
• Experience working for a $10M+ in revenue at a Millwork company
• Experience in helping to drive initiatives and change in businesses
• Good knowledge and exposure to the manufacturing environment

WHY RAW SELECTION

The portfolio company needed this candidate to have 3 to 5 years Millwork experience at Operational Director or General Manager level, and to be based in LA.
Ventoux Partners were looking to merge WB Powell with another business, and therefore were in need of a General Manager to start as soon as possible.
This urgent search began due to a previous employee handing in their notice.
Whilst working on this search, Raw Selection discovered that because Architectural Millwork is a very specialised industry, we did not have many suitable candidates in the current talent pool.
However, Raw Selection overcame these challenges by finding as many similar companies and competing businesses in the LA area and approaching all relevant employees via multiple methods of communication.

THE PROCESS

To secure the candidate, Raw Selection followed their extensive 15-step process to ensure a great match was found for the vacancy.
Upon starting this search, Raw Selection’s Principal, Jack Burns, worked closely with the hiring manager and other key team members to build out a full picture of the company, the employees, the culture, and exactly the type of profile that was needed to succeed in this position.
After conducting over 40 screening calls, Raw Selection identified a great profile who was subsequently hired for the role.
Raw Selection followed our extensive 15-step search process, identifying 641 potential profiles which were then fully assessed and cut down to a shortlist of 6, all of whom had been fully interviewed and measured for culture fit.
Overall, this was a very successful search for Raw Selection, as it was filled in only 24 days.
It was great to see the client secure this General Manager promptly, as this was key for their business plans.

THOUGHTS ON THE CANDIDATE

Melanie had an excellent background, working for a competitor of WB Powell and is very local to the site. Melanie’s energy and drive were clear from the outset and she had quite the passion for her work and an impressive track record in the Architectural millwork space and outside of it.
Melanie grew the business in her last role by over 50% and had built out a significant infrastructure, systems, and processes to upgrade the business.
She quickly impressed the team at WB Powell and the private equity sponsor Ventoux and has made quite an impact since starting at the business.

THE CANDIDATE

"My first time working with Raw Selection. I was a little sceptical at first, never having been recruited before, but I encountered a pleasant and professional experience.They checked in with me at every step of the process and even offered guidance and tips on how to secure the position and knock out the interview. Great company, I would recommend them."

Melanie Medina, WB Powell

OUR THOUGHTS ON THE SEARCH

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GET IN TOUCH

If you are looking for new talent for your portfolio company, please get in contact with Jack, at jack.burns@raw-selection.com.