By Role
Chief Operating Officers — Executive Search
Chief Operating Officers, VP Operations, VP Manufacturing, and Plant Directors — the operator who carries manufacturing, quality, engineering, and supply chain end-to-end.
The COO seat is the tilt of the practice. It's where The Dynamic Fit Method™ was pressure-tested — because it's the seat where an ability–capability–capacity mismatch shows up on the plant floor in weeks, not quarters. Silvia Flores runs Chief Operating Officer, VP Operations, and senior manufacturing-leadership searches for industrial businesses across the US and Mexico — as part of Alder Koten's retained practice.
Where COO searches fit
Four common patterns. A multi-site industrial platform naming a COO to consolidate operations across plants and geographies. An OEM or Tier business hiring a VP of Manufacturing with responsibility for cost, quality, and throughput. A greenfield or turnaround site bringing in a Plant Director with the spine to run through a stabilization window. And a private-equity-backed platform pairing a COO with the value-creation plan the CEO is carrying.
Roles the practice covers
- COO — enterprise operating leadership across multi-site, multi-country platforms
- VP Operations / VP Manufacturing — for OEM, Tier, and industrial mid-market businesses
- Plant Director / General Manager — for greenfield launches, turnarounds, and stabilization mandates
- Head of Quality — IATF 16949, APQP, PPAP, Six Sigma, and industry-specific quality-systems depth
- Head of Engineering — process, industrialization, and manufacturing engineering leadership
- Continuous Improvement / Operational Excellence Director — lean, TPS, DFT, and world-class-manufacturing programs
How a COO search runs
Every engagement runs on The Dynamic Fit Method™ — Ability, Capability, and Capacity assessed against the rate of change the role will carry — delivered via Alder Koten's seven-step retained process. For operator mandates the calibration is deliberately concrete: the specific plants, product lines, KPIs, and quality systems in play; the safety and labor context on the ground; the pace at which the operator is expected to move the needle.
Related
For industry-specific hubs where COOs land, see Manufacturing, Automotive, and Nearshoring. For the CEO the COO partners with, see Chief Executive Officers.
Chief Operating Officers — questions
- Why is COO the tilt of Silvia's practice?
- Because it's the seat that carries manufacturing, quality, engineering, and supply chain end-to-end — and because it's the seat where the wrong hire shows up on the plant floor first, in scrap and OTD, before it shows up anywhere else. Silvia's own operating background is Demand Flow Technology, quality, and industrial engineering; the COO conversation is native ground.
- What operator profiles come up most often?
- COO for a multi-site industrial platform, VP of Manufacturing for an OEM or Tier business, Plant Director for a greenfield or turnaround site, and Head of Operations for a private-equity-backed platform in a value-creation plan.
- Are turnaround COOs part of the practice?
- Yes. Turnaround and stabilization operators — leaders who have taken a plant from red to green on safety, quality, and delivery within 12–18 months — are a defined slice of the pool the practice cultivates.