Job Description
CEO | Market-Leading UK Distributor | PE-Backed | Yorkshire
We're partnering with a private equity-backed business to find an exceptional CEO to lead a market-leading specialist distributor through what could be a genuinely transformational period — not just for the business, but for the industry it operates in.
This is a substantial platform — multi-decade trading history, strong revenue base, established customer relationships, and recognised market position. The opportunity lies in realising untapped potential across the operation.
This is a company with significant untapped leverage. It sits at a powerful intersection of the supply chain, with deep relationships on both sides, a loyal and growing customer base, and operational infrastructure that most competitors simply can't match. The opportunity is to take that position and do something genuinely disruptive with it — using data, scale, and market influence to reshape how this industry operates and shift the commercial dynamics in the business's favour.
The opportunity centres on:
· Using data and customer insight to change the narrative with both suppliers and customers
· Leveraging market position and M&A to drive consolidation and influence across the supply chain
· Driving geographic expansion into underpenetrated southern markets
· Modernising commercial capabilities to unlock new revenue streams
· Growing own-brand and new market segments
· Delivering significant EBITDA expansion in partnership with a supportive PE board
The right candidate won't just be a safe pair of hands. You'll be a proven CEO or senior leader from distribution, logistics, or broader B2B relationship businesses where you have driven change — but more importantly, you'll be someone who sees the structural opportunity in a market like this and has the ambition and credibility to act on it. Someone who asks not just how do we grow but how do we change the rules.
PE experience is important but not a pre-requisite. So is the ability to bring a team with you on a journey that will challenge the status quo.
This is a rare platform: real scale, defensible market position, committed team, and genuine white space — commercially, geographically, and strategically.
A significant salary, package and equity opportunity is available for the successful candidate.