The Company
Empire Auto Parts is a leading provider of aftermarket collision parts to independent body shops, multi-shop operators, and dealer-operated body shops throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Empire serves customers in a 17-state region via a strategic network of 7 hubs and 32 satellite locations. Empire has grown constantly year over year by starting up new hub locations and expanding their geographic footprint. They have a differentiated product offering of over 60,000 SKUs for over 800 vehicles makes, models, and vintages. Founded in 1985 and headquartered in Totowa, NJ, the company employs over 650 people. Empire is backed by Sentinel Capital Partners, a leading mid-market private equity firm.
The Role
Reporting to the Regional Operations Manager, the General Manager (GM) will establish and lead Empire’s presence in the Florida market, improve upon a distribution operation aligned with established company policies and procedures, and assemble a core support team to continue to grow and scale profitably. The GM will serve as a key P&L leader within the company’s Florida region and as a member of the leadership team, responsible for all commercial and operational matters related to the Orlando area network.
The GM will oversee all functional areas of the 188,000 sq. ft. Orlando DC and three associated satellite locations (Jacksonville, Tampa, and Ft. Myers), including field sales agents, customer service, collections, and last-mile delivery operations. As this key leader managing this DC and spearheading Empire’s expansion into the Florida market, this GM should possess experience scaling commercial and warehouse operations; recruiting and building new teams across relevant functions; and fostering an inclusive culture, managing change, and developing processes. The GM will open 3 new satellite sites in Florida in 2024.
Empire is a rapidly transforming company and seeks a GM who is commercially entrepreneurial, operationally focused, and a champion and driver of growth while leveraging a proven business model.
Experience & Requirements
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degrees preferred.
• At least ten years of progressive general, multi-functional management experience, including five or more years of direct P&L experience.
• Preferably, a background in an operationally intensive last-mile distribution business, including multi-site leadership.
• Ability to build and scale a distribution business from the ground up, building upon a successful business model and established processes.
• Expertise in all general DC management functional areas, including sales, customer service, collections, warehouse operations, quality/inspection, facility and fleet management, scheduling/routing, and delivery.
• Knowledge of best-in-class warehousing and distribution functions, with the ability to set goals to reach that point.
• Experience working with diverse workforce; possesses the depth of experience and leadership style to effectively manage a distributed employee base.
• Demonstrated ability to utilize innovative strategies to recruit and retain highly skilled and in-demand talent.
• A genuine, approachable, and trustworthy individual who can easily form relationships and partner with employees at all levels of the organization and quickly establish themselves as a key member of the business leadership team.
• An inspirational, authentic leader with strong business acumen. An individual who wants to engage with employees across all levels of the DC and inspire a collaborative atmosphere and culture.
• An entrepreneurial, hands-on leader who is not afraid to roll up their sleeves to get things done timely; Someone with the ability to work with and scale a lean team.
• A builder mentality, always looking to iterate and improve on existing programs and implement new approaches.
• Currently resides in the metro Orlando area or willing to relocate. Able to travel across the region and, on occasion, to other DC locations. Able to travel extensively to other DCs during the initial onboarding period.
• Proficiency in Spanish, preferred.
