Chief Financial Officer (CFO) – Manufacturing Position Overview

We are seeking a hands-on, operations-first Chief Financial Officer for a stable, well performing $120 million-dollar international manufacturing organization headquartered in Rhode Island . This role is designed for a proven CFO who has already led a finance organization and is seeking a final, meaningful chapter focused on execution, stewardship, and long-term value creation rather than career acceleration or transformation mandates.

This role is well suited for a seasoned Chief Financial Officer who values long-term stewardship, continuity, and trust-based partnership within a family-owned business, and who is seeking a meaningful final chapter focused on sustaining performance rather than pursuing transformational change.

This is a manufacturing-led CFO role. Automotive Tier 2 experience is highly valued, but not required; candidates from other discrete manufacturing environments with strong cost, throughput, and cash discipline will be equally successful. The CFO partners closely with plant managers, operations, supply chain, quality, and engineering to reinforce predictable performance, continuous improvement, and financial control. Board-level strategy and capital allocation follow naturally from strong, repeatable operating results.

Key Responsibilities

Hands-On Manufacturing Operations & Lean Reinforcement (Primary Focus)

• Maintain a visible, consistent presence in manufacturing facilities

• Own and refine standard costing, variance analysis, and plant-level P&Ls

• Reinforce cost discipline across labor, materials, overhead, scrap, rework, warranty, and freight

• Strengthen Lean manufacturing, Kaizen, and CI routines with sustained financial impact

• Support program launches and cost recovery while protecting baseline performance

• Provide insight into product, program, and customer profitability to support informed operating and capital decisions

Performance Management, CI & Cash Discipline

• Lead budgeting, forecasting, and rolling outlooks with an operational lens

• Track KPIs such as OEE, scrap, yield, inventory turns, and delivery performance

• Maintain disciplined working capital and cash conversion cycles

• Partner with operations and commercial leaders to support pricing decisions through disciplined cost and margin analysis

• Develop financial models to support capital investments, scenario analysis, and long-range planning decisions

Finance Leadership, Systems & Controls

• Lead accounting, FP&A, cost accounting, tax, audit, and treasury

• Ensure accurate reporting, predictable close, and strong internal controls

• Incrementally enhance ERP and manufacturing finance systems

Capital, Strategy & Ownership Support (Measured Focus)

• Support capital investments in tooling, automation, capacity, and productivity

• Manage banking relationships, liquidity, and covenant compliance • Provide steady, clear communication to ownership and the Board

• Work closely with the CEO and executive leadership team to provide steady financial guidance, support operational decision-making, and translate manufacturing performance into clear executive and Board-level insights

• Maintain awareness of key financial, operational, and customer risks, escalating issues as appropriate to executive leadership

Working Style & Ownership Partnership

The CFO will operate as a trusted advisor to ownership and executive leadership, balancing financial discipline with the values, legacy, and long-term objectives of a family-owned enterprise. Success in this role requires sound judgment, discretion, and the ability to provide steady guidance that supports continuity, lender confidence, and generational business health.

People Leadership & CI Culture

• Develop a manufacturing-oriented finance team with strong plant engagement

• Strengthen plant controllers as partners to operations

• Reinforce Lean thinking, accountability, and fact-based decision-making

Qualifications & Experience

• Prior experience as a Chief Financial Officer, Division CFO, or equivalent senior finance leader with full P&L, banking, and Board exposure

• 20+ years of progressive finance leadership experience, with substantial tenure in senior roles within manufacturing environments; automotive Tier 2 experience preferred

• Deep expertise in standard costing, operational accounting, and manufacturing metrics developed through long-term, hands-on operating leadership

• Demonstrated ability to lead through stability, mature operations, and sustained performance rather than transformation or turnaround situations

• Extensive experience with capital investments, tooling strategies, lender relationships, covenant management, and ownership communication

• Proven experience supporting product, program, and customer profitability analysis, pricing support, and capital modeling across multiple business cycles

• Experience supporting international manufacturing operations, including financial partnership or oversight of facilities in China, Mexico, and the Czech Republic, with sensitivity to local cost structures, currency, and regulatory environments

• Experience working within or alongside family-owned or closely held businesses, with an appreciation for long-term decision-making, relationship-based governance, and ownership partnership

Leadership Profile

A seasoned former CFO or equivalent senior finance executive who values consistency, discipline, and stewardship. Brings calm credibility, sound judgment, and practical manufacturing insight to executive and Board discussions. Earns trust by reinforcing what works, tightening what matters, and providing steady, fact-based leadership grounded in day-to-day manufacturing execution. Values stability, institutional knowledge, and stewardship, and brings a calm, experienced perspective aligned with the long-term interests of a family-owned organization.

Compensation Philosophy

Compensation for this role is designed to be competitive at the executive level while emphasizing stability, clarity of expectations, and long-term alignment with the interests of a family-owned business. The structure favors a meaningful base salary and a disciplined, achievable incentive opportunity tied to company performance, cash flow stability, and a disciplined, achievable incentive opportunity tied to company performance, cash flow stability, and stewardship objectives, rather than aggressive upside or transaction-driven rewards.

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Chief Financial Officer (CFO) - Manufacturing