Summit Park LEAD Executive - Curion

Summit Park LEAD Program Opportunity: Curion Insights

Summit Park, a lower middle market private equity firm, is looking to hire execution-focused and operationally talented professionals into our Leadership Excellence and Development (“LEAD”) program. As a LEAD executive, you will assume a meaningful and mission critical leadership role in one of our portfolio companies. Success in this role can lead to a C-level position within our portfolio over an accelerated timeline.

LEAD executives will make a direct impact on a portfolio company’s growth trajectory and profitability through the implementation and execution of several growth and operational efficiency initiatives. This position will report directly to the portfolio company’s CEO and will also interact directly with the investment principals of Summit Park.

The primary responsibilities within the portfolio companies may include:

• Actively participate in the leadership of the day-to-day operations of the business
• Assist in the creation and execution of company-wide long-term strategy
• Manage and oversee key growth and operational efficiency initiatives
• Assist in the evaluation, execution, and integration of add-on acquisitions
• As a member of the leadership team, support the continued development of KPIs and dashboards across the company

Qualifications:

• Ideally, candidates would have a graduate degree and 5-10 years of relevant business experience.
• Comfortable with unstructured environments and a high degree of autonomy
• Able to lead teams and manage in an environment of highly divergent skill levels
• Experience in operations, M&A, corporate finance, private equity, and/or consulting 
• Superior analytical, writing, and verbal communication skills
• Experience with financial analysis and/or business analytics tools a plus (Excel, PowerBI, Tableau, etc.)
• Unyielding drive to build a highly profitable and growth-oriented organization
• Strong desire to be hands-on at a small company to affect change management

Compensation will be competitive, and will include a base salary, bonus, and meaningful incentive equity. The LEAD Executive will be required to be in-person. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States. This role is not eligible for Visa sponsorship. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Company Description: Curion is the product experience authority and the company where brands go to innovate, refine and validate their products before they hit the market. With a legacy built on decades of sensory and consumer research expertise, Curion combines deep industry knowledge with powerful data collected across countless consumer tests. Our clients span food & beverage, beauty & personal care, restaurants, and durable goods – brands you interact with every day. Curion is in the midst of a major transformation, positioning itself for the next era of data, AI, and predictive product insights. The Company is building new platforms, new products, and new ways for brands to understand and connect with consumers to ensure that the best products are brought to market.

Location: Deerfield, IL (onsite)

Job Description: As a member of the Company’s senior leadership team and reporting directly to the CEO, the Chief of Staff will play a critical role in creating and executing the Company’s strategic initiatives. This role is ideal for an individual who desires to be in a leadership role in a private equity-backed business and is well-suited for someone with strong analytical, problem-solving and project execution skills and who has the drive and experience to make a meaningful impact across operations, product strategy, and growth. Ideally, candidates would have a graduate degree and 5-10 years of relevant business experience.

Curion is a portfolio company of Summit Park, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based lower middle market focused private equity firm, and this position is part of Summit Park’s LEAD program. 

Role Objectives & Responsibilities

As Chief of Staff, you will be a member of Curion’s senior leadership team and work on the Company’s strategic priorities including:

• Driving the successful rollout of the Curion NorthStar, the company-wide transformation framework, ensuring alignment and measurable progress across teams;
• Leading other high-priority projects in growth, product innovation, M&A, organizational design, and/or margin improvement, translating plans into action;
• Gathering and synthesizing data to ensure that the Company makes informed, data-driven decisions on investments, priorities, and performance;
• Conducting analyses of industry trends, the competitive landscape, and other relevant factors to inform strategic decision-making; and
• Executing additional job-specific responsibilities which will contribute to delivery of our annual and 3-year revenue and EBITDA objectives.

Major Job Functions

1. Business Analytics / Operations

• As part of the senior leadership team, analyze growth opportunities and create strategic business plans for the different growth initiatives in the company, providing recommendations on prioritization, timing, and resourcing.

2. Strategy

• Drive company-wide initiatives under the NorthStar – translating vision into execution;
• Develop tracking frameworks to monitor and manage results of strategic initiatives; and
• Along with other members of the executive team, prepare materials for board, investor, and leadership meetings, including narratives, dashboards, and strategic updates.

3. Growth

• Support M & A due diligence & lead successful new M&A integration(s); Run cross-functional projects for post-acquisition integration to ensure a smooth transition;
• Provide support to the Client Services, Marketing, and Sales teams to ensure our company wide strategy is closely aligned with strategy and initiatives throughout sales, marketing & Client Services; and
• Analyze sales & marketing data, trends and our KPIs to help refine strategies and identify opportunities.

4. Executive Team Engagement

• Along with other members of the executive team, help define the content, direction and flow of Board and Company-wide materials such as Board decks, Townhall decks, Customer Council decks; and
• Work closely with the CEO to ensure follow-up on action items from critical meetings.

5. Culture

• Serve as a positive and visible role model for continuous improvement, a change agent, and driver of industry leading performance; and
• Develop and build relationships with all employees and leaders for increased efficiency and responsiveness of existing operations