Case study: Corvin Fox secures transformation director to lead the recovery at major UK chilled food manufacturer

  • Role placed: Interim transformation director
  • Time to hire: Three weeks from brief to hire
  • Duration of placement: 16 months (2024-2025)
  • Impact on client’s business: Reversed financial decline; built a stronger leadership team; transformed organisational culture

Background

Corvin Fox’s client is a leading chilled specialist, and one of the largest operators in its category in the UK. It specialises in premium own label and branded products, supplying well-known supermarkets and other customers. The entire manufacturing process is completed on-site by a 500-strong team of permanent employees in a 24/7 operation.

Challenge

A series of operational and financial challenges meant that the manufacturer urgently needed a transformation leader who could steer the financial recovery and ensure its long-term sustainability.

The interim transformation leader had a clear remit to achieve the following objectives:

  • Financial recovery: Reverse losses by increasing sales and implementing urgent cost controls.
  • Customer diversification: Reduce high-risk reliance on a majority customer and shift away from low-margin discounters.
  • Leadership and capability: Complete the senior leadership team (SLT) to build functional expertise.
  • Cultural transformation: Shift the organisational mindset from complacency to a competitive, continuous-improvement culture.
  • Succession and sustainability: Recruit a permanent MD to embed improvements and make their own role redundant.

How Corvin Fox secured the right candidate

Corvin Fox has been working with the business for many years, placing multiple interim candidates and refining its own processes to meet the changing needs of its client’s business. Building on his longstanding relationship with the business, Corvin Fox’s owner and MD Denis O’Driscoll personally led on this executive placement. Over the course of the project, he visited the client’s site to understand their challenges before presenting a short-list of candidates, sitting in on interviews, and ensuring that the new hire met their objectives.

After a careful selection process, the company appointed an interim transformation director.

“We’re proud of the longstanding trusted relationship we have with the client. When the business experienced problems, we were their first port-of-call because we understand the specific challenges and culture so well. We also have high-calibre interim executive professionals on our books, who have passed our rigorous selection process and are proven in their field.”

– Denis O’Driscoll, owner and MD, Corvin Fox

The recruitment process

Following initial conversations with key stakeholders, Denis visited the site to get a clear understanding of what was needed, so the wider team could draw up a short list of candidates who met the brief. They needed to demonstrate a rare mix of deep manufacturing technical literacy; proven experience in large-scale organisational restructuring; and cultural intelligence to operate between the factory floor and the boardroom. Denis was part of the interview panel that included the key shareholders.

The interim was recruited on the basis of his 25 years’ experience turning business around, as well as his previous work in the client’s sector, and his refreshingly direct style of management. He joined the company in late July 2024, covering a 24/7 business and working on site.

Post-recruitment

Corvin Fox didn’t walk away when the interim was in place – Denis had weekly calls with him to begin with, reducing the frequency once it was clear that the new hire was making an impact. Regular site meetings, a drop-in at a weekly management meeting, and clear communication with the stakeholders throughout also contributed to the success of the placement.

Outcome

A high-profile appointment like this – while necessary – is always a big risk. It comes at a high financial cost, while change can feel disruptive to staff. In the time that he was at the business, he implemented wide-ranging changes that restored stability to the organisation. Highlights include:

  • Broadened customer portfolio and strengthened commercial position
  • Implemented a financial recovery plan which turned the company around from loss making to profit making.
  • Won a new high-profile retailer; exited unsustainable contracts
  • Cut costs by switching suppliers, minimising wastage
  • Strengthened the SLT
  • Improved the culture through clear and transparent communications
  • Brought in a new permanent MD to replace the interim role, fully onboarded during a four-week handover that included face-to-face meetings with customers and a jointly-led board meeting.

“With a transformation of this scale, the candidate you place in the role is going to make or break success. As a recruiter in the food manufacturing industry, it’s vital that we understand the business inside and out to secure the right talent for our client. This includes seeing the site, taking a full brief and, as was the case here, directorship involvement. 

“We make sure their candidate is proven in their field through reference checks but also feedback via our network.  Even if we don’t place an interim, we still have a call with them every three or four months, so we can see what experience or qualifications they now have, which means we can be ready when another opportunity comes up. Trust is everything to us – so we work closely with the client and candidate, especially at the start, addressing any potential issues straight away.”

– Denis O’Driscoll, owner and MD, Corvin Fox

If you’re looking for an interim or permanent senior executive to shape the strategic direction of your food manufacturing business, contact the team at Corvin Fox.