CEO

Revenues

R280m+

Staff

OTE

2, 5m to 3m with 40% of this being variable.

Johannesburg based.

Our Exclusive client is a subsidiary of JSE listed IT holding company that is dominant in its market.

They are a highly successful distribution business that represents global leading brands of video collaboration, Unified Communications and headsets and workspace management software.

Doing This Will Require You To

In this role you will be reporting to the board of directors and will take total responsibility for the business' profitability, growth, and general health (people and balance sheet).

Set the strategy by determining which OEMs to represent and in what manner to do so and which geographies to target and how to accomplish this?
Seek growth via generic or acquisitive means.
Build excellent cooperative and trust relationships with customers and suppliers alike.
Assemble the best teams across the business and manage their success.
Optimise operations to drive customer service balanced with cost containment.
Manage working capital to drive cash generation.
Be the custodian of the balance sheet by managing aspects such as credit risks, foreign currency exposure, etc.
Ensure compliance with all regulations and internal policies and reporting deadlines.

Minimum Requirement

More than 5 years of hands-on business management as a Divisional MD (of large division), CEO, COO or Sales Director in the IT Industry.

Preference Given To

Those with strong financial qualifications or demonstrably excellent finance pedigree.
Distribution experience.

For more insight the following list provides some further insight to the type of role:

In This Role, You Will Be Responsible For

People
Assemble the best team through hands on involvement in all recruitment
Motivate and manage these people to ensure they are driven for success. (This takes the form of in person sessions, management meetings, qrtly reviews /KPIs and daily engagements as required)
Monitor performance of individuals in the business and remove the bad ones removed.
Tweak structures to look for ways of improving efficiency or optimising talent
Define targets and commission structures
Probe for improvements in the practices followed within the daily actions or teams of the following direct reports:
Finance head
Sales head
Brands manager
Brand manager
Tech services head
Service Import logistics head
Marketing head (based in CPT)
Systems and IT
Strategy
Set the strategy for business through product/brand selection and through focussing sales efforts into areas of growth opportunity you have chosen (eg geography or technology etc)
Manage vendor portfolio (with input from sales and brands teams) to expand or shrink as deemed fit.
Work closely enough with vendors and their tech to:
understand what they are trying to achieve and find out if they are comfortable with the execution efforts of your sales team, your brands team and with marketing.
Be able to negotiate for better commercials in a variety of areas: from rebates to funded heads to marketing initiatives
Finance
Strive for best profitably through assessing and approving spend decisions and practices.
Manage cashflows through:
Monitoring inventory levels and pushing for and probing the decisions being made by brand managers and looking for action plans to minimise stocking errors.
Helping to chase the slow paying customers
Hands on credit assessments/decisions
Cashflow planning through the month and releasing payments accordingly
Managing and negotiating credit lines with vendors
Produce and maintain sales reports (special format that provides in depth sales analysis going back many years.
Review and sign off all contracts for the business - from lease agreements to new managed service sales agreements, credit terms with customers and everything in between.
Push for and ensure BEE rating maintenance and improvements (execution mostly by finance manager)
Review GROUP Company reporting packs and adds comments and forecasts prior to submission.
Board meeting packs and elements relating to that
Manage Budgeting process
Review countless over submissions - from VAT to EE to Income tax to customer and vendor information requests etc
Banking services - get involved in problems and management thereof. (side note - my personal credit card has been used for Comapany for googles ads and linkedin and a range of small purchases as required through the month as no bank will issue one to us - this needs to be replaced)
Problem resolution
Back up the teams as the final escalation point for customer problems - whether on services desk or sales team.
Staff issues
Marketing
Keep eye on Company profile and branding and website
Ensure vendors are happy with marketing
Probe for improvements in all areas like:
Mailer context and regularity
Database being improved
Ensure leads being created and followed up
Other
Office management for things like:
Facilities (are the office right, demo rooms, etc etc)
Leave management
Sales kickoffs and year end functions
Staff briefings, updates
Expense claim sign offs
Look for improvement opportunities in all areas such as:
Staff culture
Customer surveys