Industrial & B2B Executive Search.

Leadership for the businesses that make things work.

We place safety-critical and operational leaders across complex global industrials, from advanced manufacturing and industrial technology to chemicals, building products, distribution and supply chain. Every search is retained, partner-led and powered by proprietary talent intelligence.

MANUFACTURING · ENGINEERING · AUTOMATION · SAFETY-CRITICAL · PROCUREMENT · SUPPLY CHAIN · B2B SERVICES
Talk to a partner
Chris Cooper, Principal Partner, PartnerWise Executive Search
Chris Cooper.
Principal Partner
chris@partnerwise.co.uk
Phil Brakewell, Managing Director, PartnerWise Executive Search
Phil Brakewell.
Managing Director
phil@partnerwise.co.uk
Sector coverage

What we cover.

Industrial and B2B businesses share a pattern: long sales cycles, technical products, complex operations and customers who buy on capability rather than brand. Within that, the markets differ enormously, and so do the leaders.

Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering.

Precision engineering, aerospace, automotive, electronics and engineered products. Operations, engineering and commercial leadership for businesses competing on capability.

Industrial Technology & Automation.

Automation, robotics, machinery, instrumentation and industrial software. Leaders who can sell technical value and deliver it at scale.

Logistics, Supply Chain & Distribution.

Third-party logistics, freight, warehousing and distribution businesses, plus supply chain leadership inside manufacturers. Operations and commercial leaders for complex global networks.

Chemicals & Process Industries.

Speciality and commodity chemicals, coatings, materials and process manufacturing. Technical, operational and commercial leadership in tightly regulated environments.

Building Products & Construction Materials.

Building materials, components and merchanting, from lighter products for residential and commercial markets through to heavy construction materials.

B2B Services & Distribution.

Industrial services, testing and certification, technical distribution and business services. Growth and margin leadership in relationship-led markets.

Anchor clients

Trusted by complex global industrials.

Carrier Kidde

From Carrier to Kidde, we have placed safety-critical and operational leaders across complex global industrials. We understand the commercial, operational and engineering leadership profiles these businesses need, and the difference between leaders who thrive in manufacturing-led environments and those who do not.

Read the Carrier case study →
Sector coverage

What we cover.

Industrial and B2B businesses share a pattern: long sales cycles, technical products, complex operations and customers who buy on capability rather than brand. Within that, the markets differ enormously, and so do the leaders.

Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering.

Precision engineering, aerospace, automotive, electronics and engineered products. Operations, engineering and commercial leadership for businesses competing on capability.

Industrial Technology & Automation.

Automation, robotics, machinery, instrumentation and industrial software. Leaders who can sell technical value and deliver it at scale.

Logistics, Supply Chain & Distribution.

Third-party logistics, freight, warehousing and distribution businesses, plus supply chain leadership inside manufacturers. Operations and commercial leaders for complex global networks.

Chemicals & Process Industries.

Speciality and commodity chemicals, coatings, materials and process manufacturing. Technical, operational and commercial leadership in tightly regulated environments.

Building Products & Construction Materials.

Building materials, components and merchanting, from lighter products for residential and commercial markets through to heavy construction materials.

B2B Services & Distribution.

Industrial services, testing and certification, technical distribution and business services. Growth and margin leadership in relationship-led markets.

Director to C-suite

Leadership roles we recruit.

We operate exclusively at Director to C-suite level. Across industrial and B2B, the roles we are most frequently retained to fill include:

Chief Operating Officer, VP Engineering, Managing Director of a business unit, Chief Procurement Officer, Director of Safety, VP Global Key Accounts, and General Manager EMEA. These are the mandates we are asked for most often in this sector.
CEO, Managing Director, COO, CFO, Chief Commercial Officer, Chief Technology Officer, Group Operations Director, Divisional President, Non-Executive Directors.
Operations Director, Manufacturing Director, Plant and Site Director, Head of Continuous Improvement, Head of Lean, Head of Manufacturing Excellence, Head of HSE.
Engineering Director, Technical Director, Head of R&D, Head of Product Development, Head of Automation, Head of Quality, Chief Engineer.
Supply Chain Director, Head of Logistics, Head of Distribution, Procurement Director, Head of Sourcing, Head of Planning, Head of Warehousing, Head of Transport.
Commercial Director, Sales Director, Head of Key Accounts, Business Development Director, Head of Export, Country Manager, Regional Director, Head of Aftermarket.
CFO, Finance Director, HR Director, Chief People Officer, Head of Transformation, Head of Integration, Head of Digital, Head of Sustainability.

For large-scale leadership build-outs or transformation projects, our Exec-Project service provides a dedicated, scalable search solution. For senior leaders needed on a flexible or interim basis, our Interim & Fractional Leadership practice delivers impact immediately. For hiring below Director level, PW Talent extends the same sector expertise across the full talent spectrum.

Why PartnerWise

Our world of difference.

24/7 AI-sourcing, powered by PW Edge.

Every search is powered by PW Edge, our proprietary talent intelligence platform. Nine intelligence modules, 28+ live data sources, dual-model AI. Industrial leadership talent is scattered across thousands of mid-sized businesses rather than concentrated in a handful of well-known names, which is exactly the problem systematic intelligence solves and a network alone does not.

Explore PW Edge →

We know who thrives in a manufacturing-led business.

The difference between leaders who succeed in manufacturing-led environments and those who do not is rarely visible on a CV. Having placed safety-critical and operational leaders across complex global industrials, we assess for it deliberately rather than hoping for it.

Comfortable with safety-critical mandates.

In safety-critical industries the bar for operational and HSE leadership is higher, and a poor appointment costs more than money. We regularly run these mandates, including Director of Safety and operational leadership where regulatory and safety performance is non-negotiable.

Built for precision. Guaranteed.

Brief to shortlist in 45 days, hit on 95% of mandates. Psychometric profiling via Assessio AI. Every placement guaranteed for 6 months at Director level and 12 months at VP and above. 92% of our clients return.

The catalysts

What triggers a leadership search.

The businesses we work with rarely come to us because everything is going smoothly. There is usually a catalyst. The five we see most often are:

01

Operational transformation programmes.

A site consolidation, a lean or continuous improvement programme or a wholesale change to how a business runs needs leaders who have delivered transformation on a live operation, not presented it in a boardroom.

02

ESG and safety-critical leadership.

In safety-critical industries the standard for operational and HSE leadership is higher, and the consequences of a poor appointment are measured in more than money. Alongside that, ESG and decarbonisation commitments now need leaders who can deliver them commercially.

03

Supply chain resilience and restructure.

Tariffs, disruption and nearshoring have made supply chain a board-level concern. Restructuring a network or rebuilding a supplier base needs leaders who can redesign it under real cost pressure.

04

PE investment and the 100-day plan.

New investment creates urgency and a clock. Leadership has to be in place early enough to own the 100-day plan rather than inherit it, and to operate to an investment thesis and reporting rhythm they may never have worked to before.

05

US and international commercial scale-up.

Taking an established industrial business into the US or a new region needs commercial leadership that knows the customers, the distribution and the route to market, not a strong performer from the home market hoping it transfers.

Market intelligence

The industrial and B2B talent landscape.

Industrial leadership is facing a demographic problem and a technology problem at the same time, and the two make each other harder.

The experience is retiring faster than it is replaced.

Operations, engineering and technical leadership skews older than almost any other sector. A generation of site directors and engineering leaders is approaching retirement, and the pipeline behind them is thinner, partly because fewer people entered manufacturing in the 2000s.

Digital and traditional capability rarely sit together.

Businesses want leaders who understand both a shop floor and a data platform. Most candidates are strong in one and weak in the other, and the ones who genuinely bridge the two are the most contested hires in the sector.

Location is the constraint nobody plans for.

Industrial sites are in regional towns and industrial estates, not city centres. Relocation reluctance is the single most common reason industrial searches stall, and it needs addressing at the briefing stage rather than at offer stage.

Private equity has raised the bar and the pace.

PE ownership across the mid-market means more businesses need leaders who can operate to an investment thesis and a reporting rhythm they may never have worked to before. That is a different profile from a long-tenured divisional MD.

Supply chain moved from function to strategy.

After several years of disruption, supply chain leadership sits closer to the board than it used to. Businesses want people who can redesign networks and manage risk, not only run them efficiently.

Sustainability is now a cost and compliance issue.

Decarbonisation, energy costs and reporting requirements have made sustainability a commercial discipline in industrial businesses. Leaders need to deliver on it without inflating a cost base already under pressure.

We track these shifts through our client work, our network across the sector, and ongoing research through PW Edge. Every search is informed by where the market is heading, not just where it has been.

Client feedback

What our clients say.

“
I worked with Chris for several months on a specific niche role where there were ultimately four stages to the recruitment process. I found Chris to be an excellent communicator, ensuring that both parties always knew what to expect from each other. His relaxed, supportive but very well informed manner did more than just facilitate the recruitment process, it drove it forwards. I would work with Chris again without any hesitation.
Retained search clientSpecialist technical business
“
I worked with Phil over a two year period, during which he was directly responsible for our executive search function. Phil led some very strategic and senior headhunt campaigns that resulted in executive placements across the group.
Retained search clientInternational manufacturing group
“
My dealings with Phil were invariably open and honest. We worked together to develop a new recruitment model for our business and Phil was instrumental in making that a success. He always worked with a high degree of integrity and inevitably delivered, even on the most challenging search assignments.
Retained search clientGlobal industrial business
Common questions

Frequently asked questions.

We cover advanced manufacturing and engineering, industrial technology and automation, logistics, supply chain and distribution, chemicals and process industries, building products and construction materials, and B2B services and distribution. Every search is Director to C-suite and partner-led.
Yes. Logistics, supply chain and distribution sit within this practice, covering both operating businesses such as third-party logistics, freight and distribution, and supply chain leadership inside manufacturers. Roles range from Supply Chain Director and Head of Logistics through to Procurement Director and COO.
Both, and they are very different searches. PE-backed businesses need leaders who can operate to an investment thesis and reporting rhythm. Family and founder-led businesses appointing their first professional CEO or CFO need someone the owners will genuinely trust, where cultural fit matters as much as the CV.
Yes, and it is one of the things we plan for from the outset. Industrial sites are rarely in city centres, and relocation reluctance is the most common reason these searches stall. We take a realistic view of who will actually move and what it takes, rather than presenting candidates who decline at offer stage.
PW Edge is our proprietary talent intelligence platform. It powers every search, drawing on 28+ live data sources across nine intelligence modules to identify candidates, benchmark compensation, map competitor structures and score cultural fit. It matters particularly here, because industrial leadership talent is spread across thousands of mid-sized businesses rather than concentrated in a few well-known names.
Every search is powered by PW Edge, which systematically reaches the mid-market businesses where industrial leaders actually sit. Every search is retained and owned by a named partner rather than passed to a junior team. And every placement is guaranteed for 6 to 12 months, which few firms will put in writing. Our 92% repeat client rate reflects all three.
Sector intelligence

Industrial & B2B news.

Live headlines from across manufacturing, engineering and supply chain, updated automatically.

Loading the latest industrial and manufacturing headlines…
Let's talk

Let's find your next leader.

The operators who will run your business are already in our network.

Whether you are appointing a first professional CEO, building a leadership team after investment, driving an automation programme or rebuilding margin, we would welcome a conversation. No commitment, just a genuine view of your market and the leaders in it.

Get in touch