RHH202617

Chief Growth Officer

Food Service Management

THE COMPANY

A privately held, mission-driven food service management company.

THE OPPORTUNITY

As the organization continues to grow nationally, they have identified the need for a Chief Growth Officer (CGO) who can help scale the business while strengthening the partnerships and values that define who we are. This role will play a critical part in shaping our growth strategy, expanding our client partnerships, and building a disciplined and predictable sales engine aligned with our mission. This is a strategic and tactical leadership role in a culture-driven organization. At its core, this is about nourishing people and communities.

This position reports to the Chief Executive Officer and has three direct reports.

JOB DEFINITION

The CGO has the opportunity to shape the organization’s future by architecting its long-term growth strategy, building enduring strategic partnerships, and developing the commercial capabilities that fuel sustainable enterprise success. This executive will lead enterprise-wide commercial initiatives across business development, strategic partnerships, sales, marketing alignment, and pipeline management to drive sustainable revenue growth, expand market presence, and strengthen the organization’s competitive position. The CGO will build a disciplined, scalable growth engine by developing strategic client partnerships, leading complex enterprise sales pursuits, and ensuring every growth opportunity aligns with the organization’s mission, values, and long-term vision. As a trusted member of the executive team, the CGO will translate market insights into actionable, disciplined growth strategies while fostering cross-functional collaboration to deliver exceptional client outcomes.

SKILLS

The CGO is the executive responsible for defining where and how the organization grows in alignment with the current strategic plan. As a strategic partner to the CEO and executive leadership team, this leader shapes commercial strategy, builds enduring market relationships, and develops the organizational capabilities that fuel sustainable long-term success.

  • Demonstrate a genuine passion for the organization’s mission and values, serving as an authentic ambassador who inspires confidence with clients, cultivates meaningful partnerships, and demonstrates a genuine passion for wholesome food, exceptional service, and creating a positive impact in the communities served.
  • Architect and execute the enterprise growth strategy, aligning commercial initiatives with the organization’s mission, competitive positioning, and long-term strategic priorities to deliver sustainable, profitable growth.
  • Lead the organization’s commercial strategy, integrating business development, strategic partnerships, sales, and marketing into a unified go-to-market approach that strengthens market presence, expands market share, and creates lasting competitive advantage.
  • Develop and lead a disciplined commercial operating system and predictable growth engine by establishing rigorous, scalable sales processes per market vertical, robust pipeline management, performance metrics, accurate forecasting, CRM governance, executive dashboards, and operating rhythms that drive data-informed decision-making, providing visibility while increasing accountability, alignment, and continuous improvement.
  • Provide leadership for the marketing team, shaping its vision, capabilities, and performance while integrating brand strategy, demand generation, and communications with the organization’s overall commercial strategy.
  • Strengthen the organization’s competitive position by refining and communicating a compelling value proposition that clearly differentiates the organization’s service model in highly competitive markets.
  • Lead complex enterprise sales initiatives, providing executive oversight for strategic pursuits, consultative solution development, sophisticated RFP responses, executive presentations, contract negotiations, pricing, and proforma strategies, and deal structures that create long-term value for both clients and the organization.
  • Cultivate executive-level relationships with prospective clients, strategic partners, and industry leaders, serving as the organization’s primary ambassador for growth while building trusted, long-term partnerships founded on shared values and mutual success.
  • Champion a consultative, relationship-driven growth culture, fostering strategic partnerships that extend beyond transactional selling to create enduring client loyalty, recurring revenue, and long-term organizational value.
  • Serve as a strategic advisor to the executive leadership team, translating market intelligence, competitive insights, customer needs, and emerging industry trends into actionable growth strategies, market expansion opportunities, and long-range business plans.
  • Partner across the enterprise with Operations, Culinary, Finance, and Human Resources to ensure commercial commitments are operationally executable, financially sound, mission aligned and consistently deliver exceptional client experiences.
  • Create a unified go-to-market strategy that drives consistent revenue growth and brand differentiation, ensuring seamless cross-functional execution and enabling the business to operate powerfully.
  • Develop a world-class commercial organization by recruiting, mentoring, and inspiring high-performing leaders while strengthening consultative selling capabilities, executive presence, succession planning, and leadership development throughout the growth organization.
  • Model the organization’s values through authentic leadership, cultivating a high-performance culture rooted in integrity, humility, curiosity, accountability, collaboration, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to excellence.

BACKGROUND EXPERIENCE

  • A multi-unit / multi-state commercial leader with 15+ years of experience in food service, hospitality, or contract services, or services-based organization with a consultative selling model.
  • Significant experience leading or scaling a sales organization responsible for enterprise or multi-site service contracts.
  • Strong experience utilizing CRM as a strategic commercial platform to manage pipeline visibility, forecasting, sales analytics, and executive reporting.
  • Demonstrated success in building predictable pipelines and closing complex service partnerships.
  • Experience participating in executive strategy discussions and influencing organization-wide direction.
  • Exceptional executive relationship management skills. Comfortable in the boardroom, the kitchen, and the field.
  • Strong financial acumen and experience evaluating contract economics. Understanding of sourcing, vendor management, food safety, and regulatory compliance.
  • Exceptional talent, leadership, and communication capabilities; ability to build, motivate, and retain teams.
  • Strong problem solver: able to make decisions under pressure and complexity while maintaining quality and consistency.
  • Integrity, flexibility, adaptability, and willingness to roll up sleeves.
  • A creative problem-solver who imagines solutions beyond what’s been done.
  • 50% travel in support of business development efforts, client meetings, and team collaboration across the national footprint.
  • A sense of humor.

 

Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in business, hospitality management, operations, or related field or equivalent experience; advanced degree preferred.
If you have these qualifications and are looking for a challenging career, please submit your Resume using the button below.
Eric Hohauser
President & Lead Consultant
Kate Scott
Director, Executive Recruitment