Director of Strategy and Execution

Reporting directly to the Chief Strategy Officer, the Director of Strategy and Execution leads the growth and value creation of the Performance Materials business unit by driving major strategic initiatives.

About the role

In partnership with senior leadership, this role drives the strategic planning and execution process, develops and implements long-term growth strategies, and leads a portfolio of enterprise-wide or transformation initiatives. The position partners closely with executive leadership, commercial teams, R&D, operations, and regional business units to shape long-term vision, translate strategic priorities into actionable plans, and ensure disciplined execution. The role will have significant exposure to the senior leadership of the company and meaningful impact on the ability of the enterprise to meet long-term financial and strategic goals.

Responsibilities

• Corporate and BU Strategy (20%): Lead business segment strategy development – maintain and facilitate strategic planning process, support multi-year investment plans, and facilitate problem solving and collaboration to drive transformational change.
• Execution and performance management (20%): Establish and implement the process for driving execution and accountability of major strategic initiatives across the business unit, including:
  • Communicating with functional owners on prioritizing initiatives, analysis, and execution plans with defined milestones, owners, and success metrics.
  • Leading reviews.
• Program Management (30%): Personally lead and execute large-scale, high-impact strategic projects and cross-functional project teams. Ensure disciplined project management, stakeholder alignment, and delivery of targeted outcomes. Projects will focus heavily on improving operational excellence across the manufacturing footprint.
• Board and C-Suite Communications (20%): Create content and represent the business to succinctly communicate strategy and progress to key stakeholders through clear strategic narratives, frameworks, and executive-ready presentations.
• M&A and Strategic Partnership (10%): Coordinate with Materion’s Director, Strategy and Execution to evaluate and manage potential acquisition and partnership targets in alignment with strategy for growth.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, materials science, business, or related field.
• Advanced degree, MBA highly preferred.
• Minimum 10 years experience in General Management, manufacturing, quality, corporate development, or management consulting.
• Proven history of leading strategy planning, development, and execution.
• Preferred: Manufacturing or B2B industrial environment experience and cross-functional project management experience.

Skills

• Networking, collaboration, and consensus building; ability to work across functional areas in a global, matrixed organization.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong team builder; humble in nature and team-first mentality.
• Big picture thinker with ability to execute tactically.
• Executive-level presence with exposure to the most senior leaders of the company (e.g., CEO, CFO, BU Presidents).