CASE STUDIES

Context

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A wholesale distribution business had acquired two companies, adding significant volume and a new product category that represented a major strategic bet.

The business was strong operationally in their core category but lacked expertise in the new space they had just invested in.

The founder CEO was visionary but carried too much delivery accountability. Without operational depth and commercial capability in the new category, the acquisition risked underperforming.

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The decision

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The business initially approached Moxie about finding a CFO to support the founder and implement an operating system framework.

Working with the director-shareholders, the real constraint became clear. The business didn't need financial capability or framework implementation. It needed a commercially-oriented COO who could take delivery accountability off the CEO, bring operational rigour, and had deep expertise in the category they had just acquired.

The board targeted candidates with product and commercial backgrounds in the new category specifically - not the core business. They wanted someone who had grown with a business from similar scale to much larger, ideally from competitors or adjacent players in the target category.

The successful candidate had worked for a competitor in the new space, knew the category end-to-end, and brought strong commercial connections.

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What changed

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The CEO now has an operational counterpart who can execute with rigour and take accountability for delivery. The business has someone who understands the new category, brings commercial connections, and can integrate operations across the expanded product range.

The acquisition now has the leadership depth it lacked at the outset.

Context

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A founder-led manufacturing business had been acquired by an international multinational. An interim CEO led the business through the transaction, then exited.

Twelve months later, the parent company recognized the local business lacked executive leadership. The existing senior team had no appetite to step into a director-level role. Without permanent leadership, alignment and accountability were at risk.

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The brief

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The group needed a New Zealand-based Managing Director who could lead the local business and represent the parent company.

On paper, this was a small subsidiary role. In reality, it required someone capable of operating within a large, complex international organization — with manufacturing experience, commercial understanding of global distribution, comfort with multinational corporate expectations, and governance accountability as a local director.

The real constraint was stability. Relocating a senior leader with family to an isolated location introduced significant risk. The search focused on local candidates with the right capability and context.

The successful candidate was an experienced General Manager from a similar business within the local supply chain — respected, technically credible, with no location risk.

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The outcome

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The appointment restored clear leadership and accountability. Manufacturing discipline, commercial standards, and quality were lifted. The business was brought back into alignment with group expectations.

The parent company now has confidence in the local operation. The business is stable and operating as part of a larger global manufacturing group - without disruption, relocation risk, or loss of institutional knowledge.

Context

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The business had committed to three-year sale readiness. It was founder-led, with the founder operating as CEO alongside several long-standing senior team members.

The CEO was a strong visionary, but the business lacked the operational and commercial depth to translate strategy into execution at pace. Without intervention, growth risked stalling.

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The approach

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The board set out to hire an experienced COO who could take operational accountability, free the CEO for outbound activity, and build process discipline.

During the brief, the board identified a wishlist of companies whose leaders had the profile they wanted - high-profile New Zealand success stories with international scale and commercial sophistication. But they were skeptical that anyone from those organizations would be interested or even findable.

The real constraint was confidence. The business underestimated the strength of what it was offering.

The board decided to target the wishlist directly - to approach senior leaders from exactly those companies rather than settle for what seemed accessible.

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The outcome

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Multiple senior leaders from the wishlist companies engaged seriously. The business met several candidates whose experience would have seemed unreachable at the outset.

The appointed leader brought commercial credibility and perspective from operating at scale. The business made strategic investments to strengthen its supply chain and pursued offshore opportunities that had previously felt beyond reach.

Decision-making quality improved, the business can now attract stronger talent, and the original limitations of founder-only capability have been removed..