By Role
Chief Executive Officers — Executive Search
Chief Executive and President searches for industrial mid-market companies, family successions, and sponsor-backed platforms across the US and Mexico.
The CEO decision is the one that everyone else's decision hangs off. It sets the ceiling on the strategy, the culture, and the pace of change the organization can carry. Silvia Flores runs Chief Executive Officer and President searches for industrial, manufacturing, and cross-border businesses across the US and Mexico — as part of Alder Koten's retained practice.
Where CEO searches fit
Four common patterns. A founder or family-owned business handing the P&L to a professional CEO for the first time. A private-equity-backed platform pairing a CEO with a value-creation plan on a defined hold period. A US-headquartered industrial group naming a President for its Mexico operation who reports to a US board. And a turnaround CEO stepping into an industrial business where the plant floor is the leading indicator, not the deck.
Roles the practice covers
- CEO — full P&L accountability for industrial mid-market and platform businesses
- President — of a US business, of a Mexico operation, or of a corporate division inside a larger group
- Group CEO / Managing Director — for family-owned industrial groups formalizing operating leadership
- Founder-transition CEO — succeeding a founder in a family-held business, with continuity to the family council
- Turnaround CEO — for businesses in operational or financial stress with a defined recovery plan
How a CEO search runs
Every CEO engagement runs on The Dynamic Fit Method™ — Ability, Capability, and Capacity assessed against the rate of change the role will carry — delivered via Alder Koten's seven-step retained process. Calibration is front-loaded with the board or sponsor; sourcing is deliberate and net-wide; assessment weighs operating spine as heavily as strategic articulation; onboarding is treated as part of the search, not a follow-on.
Related
For the operator behind the CEO, see Chief Operating Officers. For CEOs reporting to a formal board, see Board Directors & Chairs. For sponsor-backed CEO mandates, see Private Equity Executive Search.
Chief Executive Officers — questions
- What kinds of CEO mandates does the practice run?
- Full P&L CEO and President searches for industrial mid-market companies — founder or family successions, private-equity-backed platforms in a value-creation plan, US parents naming a President for their Mexico operation, and turnaround CEOs with a plant-floor spine.
- How is a CEO search paced?
- A retained CEO search typically runs 14–20 weeks from kickoff to signed offer. Alder Koten's seven-step process front-loads calibration and stakeholder alignment so the shortlist reflects real fit — not what looks good on paper — and back-loads structured onboarding through the first 90 days.
- Do you handle CEO successions from the inside?
- Yes. Roughly a third of CEO engagements start with an internal succession assessment before an external search is launched. If the successor is inside the house, the mandate becomes onboarding and calibration; if not, the internal read still sharpens the external brief.