VP/GM Specialty Businesses North America

Our Company

JELD-WEN (NYSE:JELD) is a leading global designer, manufacturer and distributor of high-performance interior and exterior doors, windows, and related building products serving the new construction and repair and remodeling sectors. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., the company operates facilities in 16 countries in North America and Europe and employs approximately 16,000 people. Since 1960, the JELD-WEN team has been committed to making quality products that create safe and sustainable environments for customers, associates, and local communities.

In 2023, Newsweek named JELD-WEN as one of America’s Most Trustworthy Companies, for the second year running.

The Role

The Vice President & General Manager (VP/GM) of Specialty Businesses will lead and grow a portfolio of high-value brands, including Karona, Millenium and Doormerica, as well as JELD-WEN's traditional stile & rail offering. This role will be responsible for defining and executing a differentiated market strategy that sets these specialty businesses apart from competitors and other JELD-WEN product lines. The VP/GM will also operational excellence across manufacturing (Karona and stile & rail) and sales while positioning this segment as a key revenue stream and growth engine for JELD-WEN. This leader will combine strategic vision with hands-on execution to deliver sustainable growth, profitability, and innovation.  

Principle Duties and Responsibilities 

P&L Ownership and Financial Performance 

• Drive revenue growth and profitability across all specialty brands (Karona, Millennium and Doormerica) as well as JELD-WEN's traditional stile & rail offering. 

• Develop and manage annual budgets, forecasts, and financial plans to achieve business objectives. 

• Monitor performance metrics and implement corrective actions to ensure targets are met. 

Strategic Market Positioning and Differentiation 

• Define and execute a clear strategy to differentiate specialty businesses from competitors and core JELD-WEN products. 

• Identify new market opportunities, customer segments, and product innovations to fuel growth. 

• Lead pricing, branding, and go-to-market strategies to strengthen competitive advantage. 

Operational and Manufacturing Excellence 

• Oversee manufacturing and warehouse operations across Karona and stile & rail to ensure quality, efficiency, and scalability. 

• Partner closely with manufacturing operations to ensure quality, efficiency, and scalability. 

• Implement continuous improvement initiatives to optimize cost structure and production capabilities. 

• Ensure compliance with safety, regulatory, and sustainability standards. 

Sales and Channel Development 

• Build and execute sales strategies to expand market share and drive top-line growth, including new program development with the existing JELD-WEN sales organization. 

• Manage the independent sales reps for the architectural channel. 

• Develop strong relationships with key customers, distributors, and channel partners. 

• Align sales efforts with marketing initiatives to maximize brand visibility and customer engagement. 

Leadership and Organizational Development 

• Recruit, develop, and retain top talent across operations, sales, and support functions. 

• Foster a high-performance culture focused on accountability, innovation, and collaboration. 
• Partner with corporate leadership to align resources and support long-term strategic goals. 

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities 

• Experience managing a multi-site organization P&L with a clear grasp of key levers that drive profitability for products both in unit and time.  

• Ability to lead/drive large scale change, build culture, and influence/mentor others across a multi-site network. 

• Ability to understand and think strategically while managing and delivering short-term goals. 

• Experience establishing challenging performance metrics, motivating, measuring and holding accountable for results. 

• Strong executive communication skills both verbal and written, and the ability to work across the organization and interact/influence/negotiate effectively at all levels including the creation and delivery of concise presentations.  

• Comfortable with complexity, ambiguity, and managing change.  

• Solves problems, makes decisions, and encourages innovative ideas.  

• Must have the ability to maintain the highest degree of integrity and confidentiality.  

• Travel required: approx 50%.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering (Mechanical, Industrial, Computer Science or Electrical. Master’s degree or MBA preferred. 

• At least ten (10) years progressive leadership experience in manufacturing and sales within building products or related industries.  

• Proven track record of P&L ownership and delivering profitable growth.  

• Experience leading multi-brand portfolios and driving differentiation strategies. 

• Strategic thinker with strong execution capabilities.  

• Exceptional leadership and team-building skills.  

• Strong financial acumen and operational expertise.  

• Ability to innovate and adapt in a competitive market. 

• Experience leading manufacturing, engineering, quality, supply chain, distribution, and EHS. 

• Lean manufacturing concepts, Six Sigma certification, SQDCI, etc. necessary.