Chief Operations Officer (COO), Region North America

Electrolux Group•Charlotte, NC

20h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Chief Operations Officer (COO) for Region North America leads end-to-end operations performance across Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, and Manufacturing Engineering. The role is accountable for safety, quality, delivery, cost, cash, and sustainability outcomes across production and distribution sites in the United States, Mexico, and Canada—with direct ownership of an end-to-end quality system spanning suppliers, manufacturing, and the customer/field experience. This is a transformation mandate with expected step-change impact over the next 18–36 months, delivering measurable improvements while strengthening the operating system and developing internal leaders for sustained performance. The COO sponsors major operational transformation and productivity initiatives, building an operating cadence that drives rigorous performance management, standardized ways of working, and clear accountability. This leader mobilizes large, diverse teams around a shared vision of operational excellence, continuous improvement, and customer-centric performance. As a member of the North America Region Executive Leadership Team (ELT), reporting to Head of Region North America, the COO partners with leaders across Product Lines, Commercial, After Sales & Service, Finance, IT and HR to align demand, supply, and investment decisions. The role ensures the region’s operating model enables profitable growth through resilient supply, strong execution, and world-class customer outcomes. The COO leads through strong functional heads and site leaders—setting direction, targets, and governance while empowering functional ownership, accelerating decision-making, and creating growth opportunities for high-potential talent.

Requirements

15+ years of progressive senior operations leadership in complex, multi-site manufacturing environments, with end‑to‑end operating accountability across Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Quality in a global industrial or consumer goods context.
Proven step‑change operator with a track record of restoring and sustaining world‑class performance—demonstrated by material improvements in safety, quality, delivery, cost, and cash through disciplined execution, system building, and leadership of large-scale transformation.
Deep quality leadership experience, including ownership of enterprise or regional quality management systems spanning supplier quality, in‑process quality, and customer/field quality, with demonstrated impact on defect reduction, cost of quality, and warranty outcomes.
Demonstrated success leading through complexity at scale, including diverse regulatory environments, cross‑border supply chains, and high product/volume variability.
Strong operating system builder, with hands‑on experience deploying lean manufacturing, problem‑solving rigor, standard work, tiered management, and performance cadence that deliver repeatable results beyond individual sites.
Enterprise‑level financial acumen, including ownership of operating budgets, capital allocation, footprint decisions, productivity investments, and value‑based tradeoffs to support profitable growth.
Recognized people and culture leader with a documented track record of building strong leadership teams, developing successors, and leaving behind organizations that perform sustainably beyond the leader.
Bachelor’s degree required (Engineering or Operations strongly preferred); advanced degree (MBA/MS) desirable.
Formal lean or quality credentials (e.g., Six Sigma, equivalent) a plus but not required.

Responsibilities

Set the regional operations strategy and multi-year roadmap across Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, and Manufacturing Engineering, aligned to business priorities.
Translate strategy into annual operating plans with KPIs, targets, and governance that drive accountability at every site and function.
Define manufacturing and supply strategies for current and new products to improve cost, service levels, working capital, and customer experience.
Lead long-term capacity planning, make/buy and footprint decisions, and capital investment prioritization with clear business cases and ROI.
Sponsor enterprise programs (digital, automation, standard work, and lean) that improve productivity, reliability, and responsiveness.
Lead day-to-day and long-term performance across all plants and distribution centers, ensuring a strong safety culture and compliant operations.
Drive productivity through lean principles, standard work, and elimination of non-value-added activities to reduce cycle time and cost.
Establish a consistent operating cadence (tier meetings, reviews, and escalation) with clear leading/lagging indicators and corrective action.
Deliver performance against safety, quality, delivery, cost, cash (working capital), and sustainability targets; close gaps with disciplined problem solving.
Ensure robust industrialization and launch readiness for new products and process changes, partnering with R&D, Product Lines, and Quality.
Optimize network performance through site-to-site balancing, constraint management, and cross-functional alignment to meet customer commitments.
Own end-to-end supply chain performance across planning, logistics, distribution, and inventory/working capital management.
Build resilience through risk mitigation, scenario planning, supplier performance management, and continuity strategies across the value chain.
Advance S&OP/IBP maturity, governance, and decision rights to improve forecast accuracy, demand visibility, and alignment with commercial plans.
Optimize transportation, warehousing, and distribution to increase service levels, reduce logistics cost, and support sustainability and carbon-reduction goals.
Own the end-to-end quality strategy and management system for the region (supplier quality, in-process quality, and customer/field quality), ensuring consistent standards and disciplined governance.
Set and review a clear quality scorecard (e.g., internal defects, audit findings, customer complaints, field failure rates) and drive rapid containment and corrective actions.
Strengthen supplier quality management (qualification, capability, incoming quality, and corrective actions) to prevent defects and disruptions.
Ensure launch and change readiness by enforcing quality gates for NPI/industrialization and driving closure of validation, capability, and reliability risks before ramp.
Build process capability and a prevention culture (right-first-time) using standard work, layered process audits, and disciplined problem solving.
Deploy quality systems, traceability, analytics, and digital tools to detect issues early, prevent escapes, and accelerate learning across sites and suppliers.
Partner with Product Lines and Service teams to reduce Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ), warranty cost, and repeat failures through systemic, design-to-field improvements.
Develop and execute the regional Manufacturing Engineering strategy aligned with Electrolux’s global standards, technology roadmap, and operational priorities.
Drive implementation of advanced manufacturing technologies including automation, robotics, digital manufacturing, and Industry 4.0 capabilities.
Oversee process engineering, equipment engineering, tooling, and industrialization to ensure efficient, stable, and scalable production processes.
Lead capital planning for manufacturing assets, including evaluation, justification, and deployment of major investments.
Strengthen new product industrialization (NPI) by partnering closely with R&D, Product Lines, and Quality to ensure design for manufacturing principles and smooth product launches.
Serve as a role model for Electrolux’s values and leadership behaviors.
Foster a high‑performance, collaborative, and inclusive culture across all operational sites.
Attract, develop, and retain top talent, with explicit succession plans and readiness timelines for key roles across Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, and Manufacturing Engineering.
Coach and empower functional leaders; delegate clear decision rights and actively sponsor internal mobility and promotion opportunities for high-potential leaders.
Promote cross-functional teamwork and enterprise alignment to deliver regional priorities and develop leaders who can operate beyond their functional silos.
Ensure compliance with safety, regulatory, environmental, and corporate governance standards across all operations.
Champion commitments to sustainability, responsible manufacturing, and ethical operations.