Chief Operating Officer

• Work with a PE backed firm in the paper and packaging industry
• Be part of the expansion journey to becoming a packaging solutions player
  

About Our Client

The Successful Applicant

• Strategy & P&L Execution
• Translate the promoter / board vision into 3-5 year operational plan for paper and corrugation businesses.
• Deliver annual operating plan: volumes, capacity utilisation, conversion costs, OTIF, quality, EBITDA margin targets.
• Evaluate and drive new plant locations (Chennai/Bangalore belt), capacity expansion, debottlenecking and automation.
• Manufacturing & Operations
• Own performance of all plants (paper mill + corrugated plants): production planning, maintenance, quality, safety.
• Improve capacity utilisation, machine uptime, yield, power & fuel efficiency, and wastage levels.
• Standardise SOPs, 5S, TPM / lean practices across locations.
• Ensure statutory and environmental compliance (Pollution Control Board, safety norms, boiler and factory regulations).
• Supply Chain & Logistics Oversight
• Work with Head - Logistics & SCM to optimise raw material sourcing (waste paper / kraft), freight, warehouse footprint.
• Decide make vs buy for corrugated capacity, satellite units, stock points near key customer clusters (Chennai, Bengaluru, etc.).
• Build reliable demand forecasting + production planning interface with sales.
• Customers & Commercials
• Support sales team in key account management with large FMCG, e-commerce, auto ancillary and industrial customers.
• Oversee costing, pricing logic, and margin discipline at product / customer / plant level.
• Resolve major service issues, quality complaints and credit / payment escalations.
• People, Organisation & Culture
• Build a strong second line: plant heads, SCM head, quality head, project managers.
• Move the organisation from promoter-centric to process-driven without losing agility.
• Install performance management: KPIs, monthly reviews, dashboards, incentive structures for operations.
• Systems, Data & Governance
• Champion ERP / MIS implementation, ensuring single source of truth for production, inventory, cost and profitability.
• Provide monthly ops pack to promoters / PE investors with clear metrics and variance analysis.
• Strengthen internal controls, approvals, and risk management in operations.
• 15-25years' experience with at least 5+ years heading multi-plant operations in Paper / packaging / corrugated boxes manufacturing
• Strong exposure to South India ecosystem is a plus (Tamil Nadu / Karnataka).
• Proven track record of scaling plants, reducing costs, and professionalising mid-sized companies.
• Comfortable working with promoter-driven + investor-backed environment, hands-on and on the shopfloor.
• Good communications, should speak Tamil
  

What's On Offer

• Competitive salary package.
• Opportunities for professional growth and advancement.
  

Contact: Joel Paul

Quote job ref: JN-122025-6895730