General Manager; lighting​/electrical distribution

Industry: New builds - commercial construction, residential architecture (Lighting/electrical distributor)

Compensation: $$230K-$290K via $200K-235K base + 20-30% target bonus

Location:
Onsite in:
Schaumburg, IL area

The General Manager is responsible for the overall operating and financial performance of a growing lighting, electrical, sustainability, and design-focused business group, with direct accountability for P&L, revenue growth, gross margin, operating expenses, people, processes, and execution.

This position serves as the senior day-to-day business leader, translating company strategy into measurable operating results. The successful candidate will combine financial discipline, operational leadership, commercial judgment, and people management.

This is not solely an operations position. The General Manager must understand how sales, estimating, purchasing, project management, inventory, vendor relationships, logistics, and customer experience work together to drive profitable growth.

• Own and manage the P&L across the operating businesses.
• Develop annual operating plans, budgets, forecasts, and financial targets with executive leadership.
• Drive performance against revenue, gross margin, operating expense, EBITDA, and working-capital objectives.
• Regularly review financial and operating results and take corrective action when performance falls below plan.
• Establish departmental accountability for financial and operational performance.
• Identify opportunities to improve profitability through pricing, purchasing, productivity, inventory, freight, and operating efficiencies.
• Maintain visibility into backlog, pipeline, bookings, revenue, margin, and cash-flow drivers.

• Provide day-to-day leadership across the businesses and translate strategic priorities into operating plans.
• Establish annual, quarterly, and monthly objectives for each functional area.
• Create a culture where expectations, ownership, deadlines, and results are clearly defined.
• Partner with sales leadership to achieve revenue and gross-margin objectives.
• Maintain visibility into major opportunities, strategic accounts, pipeline, backlog, and customer concentration.
• Participate in strategy for major customers and significant projects.
• Expand opportunities within key accounts while balancing revenue growth with profitability and risk.

• Oversee performance from quote through procurement, project management, delivery, invoicing, and closeout.
• Establish consistent processes, responsibilities, and service standards across departments.
• Improve communication and handoffs between sales, estimating, purchasing, project management, warehouse/logistics, accounting, and customer service.
• Monitor project profitability and identify margin erosion early.
• Improve forecasting of materials, purchasing, inventory, and delivery schedules.
• Develop operating systems and reporting that provide clear visibility into business performance.
• Ensure purchasing strategies support competitive pricing and targeted gross margins.
• Strengthen vendor management and negotiation practices.
• Monitor vendor performance, lead times, rebates, freight, payment terms, and purchasing concentration.
• Develop strategic manufacturer and supplier relationships that create competitive advantages.

• Lead, coach, and hold department leaders accountable for performance.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, and decision-making authority.
• Develop measurable goals and KPIs for managers and departments.
• Identify organizational gaps and recommend hiring, restructuring, training, or development.
• Develop future leaders and reduce dependency on individual employees or institutional knowledge.
• Build a culture…