General Manager

About the Client

Our client is a well-established, privately owned Canadian packaging manufacturer with over 90 years of industry excellence. This owner operated business represents a rare combination of deep heritage and modern technological capability, serving household name CPG clients. Utilizing state of the art equipment the company supplies packaging products to North America's largest and most successful manufacturers. The business has earned the confidence of tier-one brands through exceptional service, commitment to quality, and adherence to industry-leading environmental stewardship standards.

The CEO is focused on driving strategic growth initiatives including sales expansion, equipment capacity optimization, and reviewing potential M&A opportunities. Recent significant CAPEX investments have primed the business for growth. There is a need for an experienced General Manager to support the CEO in achieving company targets. This is a stable and high-growth company with strong market positioning, and a culture that values employee loyalty, innovation, and operational excellence.

The Opportunity

This is an exceptional opportunity for an accomplished leader to step into a critical executive role as the CEO's number two. The role requires a hands-on yet strategic partner who will take complete ownership of the operations and human resources functions and drive transformational change. As General Manager you will build high-performing teams and promote a learning and development culture. With dotted line responsibility for finance & IT and working as a strategic partner to sales and marketing, this position will impact all corners of the business.

If you are a proven operational leader who thrives on execution, enjoys upgrading and implementing structure and best practices, and is energized by the challenge of turning strategic vision into operational reality, this role could be for you.

Key Responsibilities

• Operational Excellence & Capacity Optimization:
  Unlock plant capacity and drive productivity improvements. Reduce waste, decrease cost of goods, implement continuous improvement methodologies and develop scalable operational structure.
• People Leadership & Team Development:
  Build a strong culture of accountability and excellence on the shop floor. Directly lead the Plant Manager and Director HR and support hiring, developing and training a high-performing team.
• Strategic Planning & Financial Management:
  Contribute strategic value to the budgeting process. Lead CAPEX planning, COGS and support the Controller with FP&A inputs.
• Supply Chain:
  Oversee and evolve international supply chain processes and strategy
• Organizational Structure & Systems:
  Build transparent operational reporting that provides the CEO with confidence to step away from day-to-day operations.

Candidate Profile

• Manufacturing Experience & Operations Leadership:
  15+ years of progressive experience in process manufacturing environments, ideally within packaging or printing. (Required)
• Human Resources Leadership:
  Have led, founded or played a pivotal role in developing a human resources function. (Highly preferred)
• Cultural Fit & Leadership Style:
  High energy and fast-paced work style with ownership mentality and commitment to long-term contribution. Balance of confidence and humility, earning respect through results rather than hierarchical authority. Genuine collaborator who values employee loyalty and encourages fresh perspectives and innovation.
• Execution & Results Orientation:
  Demonstrated ability to drive operational transformation and scale productivity in ramp up, fast growth or turnaround situations. Execution mindset with commitment to time-bound, measurable results.
• People Leadership Excellence:
  Bring a natural passion for people leadership, team development and promotion from within. Experience managing and developing supervisors while promoting leadership capability at all levels.
• Strategic & Financial Acumen:
  Strong financial literacy with P&L understanding and ability to identify operational levers driving profitability.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a purpose-driven private business at a critical inflection point. If you're a builder, a change agent, and a strategist who is looking for extensive responsibility where you will have the opportunity to make a lasting impact and grow with the organization for many years, this is the role for you. Please apply immediately and in confidence to be considered for this role.