Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Position Overview We are seeking an energetic, exceptional Chief Operating Officer to oversee the day-to-day operations of our complexes throughout the United States and help drive the company’s continued growth and success. Reporting directly to Ownership, the COO will translate strategy into disciplined execution, strengthen operational systems and leadership capacity, and ensure the organization operates safely, efficiently, and cost-effectively. Key Responsibilities · Set enterprise production standards: Establish clear expectations for production, cost, quality, safety, delivery, and operational discipline across all complexes. · Direct daily operational execution: Set priorities, allocate resources, approve operating plans, resolve execution issues, and ensure leadership teams operate with urgency and discipline. · Drive accountability: Hold leaders and teams accountable for schedules, cost targets, production goals, quality standards, safety performance, and delivery commitments. Establish clear performance expectations, address issues promptly, and take corrective action through coaching, restructuring, or personnel decisions when required. · Intervene decisively: Act quickly when performance, discipline, or results deviate from expectations by directing corrective actions, changing operating approaches, or making leadership changes necessary to restore performance. · Provide enterprise leadership and governance: Define standards, facilitate cross-regional alignment, challenge assumptions, and ensure transparent performance reporting. · Build senior-level alignment: Maintain strong working relationships with Vice Presidents, Production Managers, and their leadership teams to balance business-unit, regional, and enterprise priorities. · Convert strategy into execution: Turn strategic initiatives into clear plans with defined owners, timelines, performance expectations, and measurable outcomes. · Align capital and operations: Strengthen the connection between strategic objectives, capital deployment, production capacity, capacity planning, improvement initiatives, and approved investment strategies. · Deliver executive visibility: Provide Ownership with clear insight into company operations, project performance, financial trends, organizational capacity, and emerging risks. · Advance operational excellence: Implement and optimize scalable operating systems, management processes, and procedures to improve efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and execution. · Optimize the value chain: Continuously improve production, sourcing, supply chain, inventory management, fulfillment, logistics, quality, and safety to meet business and customer demands. · Lead complex projects: Oversee expansions, production initiatives, capital projects, and process improvements while strengthening project execution. · Support responsible growth: Partner on business development and growth initiatives while ensuring operational capacity remains aligned with company commitments. · Prepare the organization for scale: Strengthen leadership systems, processes, management depth, and organizational structure to support sustainable long-term growth. · Develop leaders: Build and lead high-performing teams; develop future executives, project leaders, and field leaders; and foster collaboration, innovation, inclusion, and alignment with company values and goals. · Serve as a trusted operational partner: Advise Ownership with data-based analysis, clearly articulated risks, and actionable recommendations, escalating issues when production performance, discipline, or execution falls below agreed standards. Candidate Profile The successful candidate will be a proven, hands-on enterprise operator who has built, scaled, and improved complex operations in the food industry. Equally comfortable on the operating floor and in the executive room, this leader …

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