Job Description
Job Overview:
General Manager
The General Manager is a key leader responsible for directing the performance of the designated Fisher Barton Strategic Business Unit. The role leads daily operations, manufacturing performance, customer execution, financial delivery, and cross-functional collaboration supporting and delivering commercial sales tactics while supporting the company’s One Fisher Barton operating model.
Strategic Mandate
This position reports to the Chief Operations Officer and serves as a strategic member of the Fisher Barton executive leadership team. The General Manager is accountable for building a safe, high-performing, customer-focused business unit that achieves financial, operational, quality, and people objectives while strengthening collaboration across SBUs. Strong experience in manufacturing commercial sales strategies and execution is critical to being successful in this role.
Core Accountabilities
- Must have balanced commercial and operational mindset, ability to ensure that there is a balance between revenue growth and profit delivery.
- Partner with sales, business development, marketing, R&D, and key account teams to execute SBU strategy, strengthen customer relationships, and exceed business growth targets.
- Lead daily operations for the assigned Strategic Business Unit, including manufacturing, manufacturing engineering, customer service, quality, safety, and customer delivery.
- Develop and achieve operating, capital, revenue, and earnings budgets while delivering sales, profit, cost, inventory, productivity, and customer performance goals.
- Drive a unified Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning process and ensure inventory is managed to budgeted levels.
- Support the One Fisher Barton model by sharing resources, ideas, and personnel with peer General Managers and maintaining regular cross-SBU communication.
- Lead cost improvement initiatives using Lean manufacturing principles, VAVE processes, and continuous improvement practices.
- Sponsor Customer Focused Work Teams and ensure customer requirements are met through on-time delivery, high quality, and effective issue resolution.
- Prepare monthly business performance reports for the Executive Leadership Team.
Key Performance Indicators
- Achievement of revenue, earnings, sales, and profit targets.
- Operating and capital budget performance.
- Safety performance and compliance with applicable internal, customer, ISO, ITAR, quality, environmental, and workplace standards.
- Manufacturing performance, productivity, throughput, and cycle-time improvement.
- Quality performance, on-time delivery, and customer satisfaction.
- Cost improvement, supply chain cost reduction, inventory turns, and inventory-to-budget performance.
- Effective SIOP execution and cross-functional alignment.
- Employee retention, team development, engagement, and leadership bench strength.
- Timely and accurate monthly reporting to the Executive Leadership Team.
Leadership Profile
The ideal leader is results-oriented, process-driven, analytical, ambitious, and passionate about continuous improvement. Proven track record of contributing towards and executing against manufacturing commercial sales programs. Success requires the ability to motivate and develop employees, build team spirit, lead with consistency, address poor performance directly, celebrate success, and create recovery plans when goals are missed. The role also requires visible commitment to customer excellence, fairness, employee development, retention, community involvement, and the Fisher Barton 3Cs culture.
Qualifications and Experience
Required qualifications include a bachelor’s degree in business or equivalent experience, plus 10 or more years of experience in operations, engineering, or technical sales serving OEM or aftermarket customers. The role requires expert business knowledge, excellent communication skills, strong people leadership, and proven change leadership capability. Preferred qualifications include significant Lean manufacturing experience, Blackbelt or Greenbelt certification, and an MBA.
Work Scope and Environment
The role is based at 570 Bluemound Road, Waukesha, Wisconsin, and requires work across both business office and manufacturing shop-floor environments. Travel may be required up to 20% to other Fisher Barton locations, trade shows, and customer visits in the United States and internationally.
Company Context
Fisher Barton is a 100% employee-owned company that combines deep materials expertise, cross-industry experience, and world-class talent to deliver high-quality parts and leading-edge solutions. The General Manager plays a central role in advancing this mission by ensuring the assigned SBU performs with operational discipline, customer focus, and alignment to the broader Fisher Barton enterprise.
