Companies operating in the industrial sector are facing unprecedented transformation. Digitalization, automation, smart manufacturing, sustainability initiatives, and evolving global supply chains are reshaping how industrial businesses compete and grow in China.
Success in this environment depends on experienced leaders who combine strategic vision with operational excellence. International companies increasingly require executives capable of driving organizational transformation, improving manufacturing performance, accelerating innovation, and leading multicultural teams in one of the world's most dynamic industrial markets.
Ginkgo Search Partners' Industrial Practice specializes in retained executive search for international industrial companies across Greater China. With more than 15 years of executive search experience, we identify, assess, attract, and secure exceptional executives for critical leadership positions throughout the industrial value chain. Our expertise spans industrial manufacturing, machinery, automation, engineering, electronics, building technologies, and advanced manufacturing, helping multinational corporations and internationally operating mid-sized companies build high-performing leadership teams capable of delivering sustainable business growth.
Whether you are recruiting a General Manager, Operations Director, Sales Director or another senior industrial executive, our consultants would be pleased to discuss your recruitment needs.
Ginkgo Search Partners Industrial Practice Group has successfully finished an executive search mandate to build up the leadership team for our international industrial client in China. The mandate included search for two senior management positions; a Head of Supply Chain Management for the Asia Pacific region and a General Manager for our client's branch operations in China.
Our retained client is a Fortune 500 company and a leader in industrial supply with an extensive offering of electrical, data communications, general maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) and electrical OEM products. Besides being an electrical distributor our client is a company of procurement specialists, helping their customers to lower supply chain costs, increase efficiency through creation of value, and save energy with green and sustainability initiatives.
The position of a General Manager China is a national scope managerial role in charge of organizational direction for sales, operations, purchasing, supplier management, and inventory planning. The candidate should significantly contribute to the growth of sales and broaden our client's product scope for their customers in Mainland China. The position holder would manage all functions in the branch operations to provide acceptable ROCA while improving our client's market share on a consistent and regular basis. This position directly reports to the Managing Director of the Asia Pacific region.
For the executive search mandate of a Head of Supply Chain Management we were looking for an experienced Chinese supply chain executive with a strong ability to develop existing and new vendors in the Asia Pacific region. The candidate should provide leadership and organizational direction for purchasing, supplier management, and inventory planning. He should implement performance management best practices at a global supplier base in Asia and maintain standard operating procedures across all steps of the process. He should drive operational KPI metrics and utilize quality improvement methods to improve business processes.
The candidates were mainly sourced from leading international industrial firms and electrical distributors operating in China and the Asia Pacific region. Our primary focus was to search for candidates in the Suzhou and Shanghai area. Since the executive talent pool tends to be more mature in Shanghai, our challenge was to identify candidates who were flexible to commute to Suzhou on a daily basis or relocate to the city.
A selection of highly qualified candidates was shortlisted by our executive search consultants to meet our client's Managing Director Asia Pacific for the final interview round in Suzhou. The successful candidate for the Head of Supply Chain Management position is a dynamic professional with a bachelor degree in electrical engineering from one of China's top universities and an MBA from Stanford University.
In her previous role our candidate was a Strategic Sourcing Director of one of the world's largest providers of lifting equipment for the construction industry. The candidate for the General Manager’s position had completed an MBA from a top University in the United Kingdom and was previously the Sales Director of an international company specializing in the manufacturing of measuring and controlling devices.
Our candidates were impressed by our client’s services and product offering, the huge market potential to develop the business in Asia, and the flexible and direct leadership style of the Managing Director Asia Pacific. The General Manager China could benefit from a larger scope of the position with full P&L responsibility and the opportunity to lead and shape the China operations.
Both candidates showed a high level of commitment to achieve the business targets and the client was fascinated by the fast delivery and high quality of the presented candidates and glad to have a strong leadership team in place.
Wed
01
Jul
2015
The metal and foundry industry continues to play a vital role in global manufacturing, supplying critical components for the automotive, machinery, energy, and industrial sectors. As production technologies evolve, companies increasingly require leaders capable of driving innovation, operational excellence, and international growth.
Ginkgo Search Partners attended GIFA 2015 in Düsseldorf, the world's leading trade fair for foundry technology and one of the most important international events for the metal industry. The exhibition brought together manufacturers, technology providers, and industrial leaders from around the world to showcase the latest developments in metallurgy, casting technologies, and resource-efficient production.
Tue
26
May
2015
China has long been the world's largest manufacturing nation and remains one of the most important markets for industrial automation, robotics, and smart manufacturing. As manufacturers continue to modernize their operations, the demand for experienced engineering and industrial leadership has grown significantly across Greater China.
Ginkgo Search Partners attended the Industrial Automation Beijing trade fair and the accompanying reception hosted by the German Embassy in Beijing. The event provided an excellent opportunity to exchange perspectives with executives from leading industrial companies, automation suppliers, and representatives of the German business community.