Division President / General Manager

CONFIDENTIAL RETAINED SEARCH | AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE

Search Reference: TNF-DP-2026 | Full P&L Leadership Mandate

ABOUT THIS SEARCH

Top Notch Finders has been retained on an exclusive and strictly confidential basis to identify a Division President / General Manager for a well-established aerospace and defense organization. To protect the interests of our client and of every candidate who engages with us, the identity of the company and the location of the division headquarters are disclosed only to qualified candidates under a confidentiality agreement. All inquiries and applications are received and managed solely by Top Notch Finders.

POSITION SNAPSHOT

• Reports to: CEO or Group President.
• Location: Division headquarters; location disclosed to qualified candidates.
• Clearance: Secret or TS/SCI depending on portfolio.

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Division President/GM holds full P&L accountability for a business unit, combining traditional operational and commercial leadership with an expectation of AI-native fluency to drive margin and throughput improvement across the division.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Own the full P&L for the division, including revenue growth, margin, and cash flow targets.
• Set and execute division strategy across products, programs, and customers.
• Lead a cross-functional leadership team spanning engineering, operations, finance, and business development.
• Drive AI and digital transformation initiatives to improve factory throughput and program margins.
• Represent the division to customers, the board, and, in private equity-backed platforms, sponsors.
• Lead M&A integration or bolt-on acquisition strategy within the division.
• Build succession and leadership bench strength across the division.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 15+ years of senior leadership, including 5+ years of direct P&L ownership.
• Demonstrated experience in aerospace/defense or an adjacent regulated manufacturing sector.
• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA strongly preferred.
• Track record of margin improvement and operational transformation.
• Familiarity with AI and digital transformation applications in industrial settings.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in private equity-backed platform companies pursuing a buy-and-build strategy.
• Background in defense-tech-adjacent capability acquisition.
• Prior experience being evaluated on AI-native readiness by boards or sponsors.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND HOW TO APPLY

This is a discreet, retained engagement. Your candidacy will never be presented to any organization without your explicit prior authorization, and no application will be visible to the hiring company at this stage. Accomplished general managers with aerospace and defense credentials are invited to submit a resume in confidence through the Top Notch Finders website. Please reference search code TNF-DP-2026 in your submission. Do not include classified, program-sensitive, or material non-public information of any kind in your application materials. Only candidates whose backgrounds align closely with the mandate will be contacted.