Strategy & Business Excellence Leader, Thermal

The Strategy & Business Excellence Leader is the organizational operating system for the Thermal Regional Business Unit (RBU), Americas. This role builds and runs the business system: the planning cadences, governance structures, accountability mechanisms, and process frameworks that connect strategy to execution across the region.

Reporting to the Vice President, Thermal, RBU of the Americas, this position owns strategic planning, competitive and market intelligence, Key Performance Indicator (KPI) management, business reviews, New Product Development and Introduction (NPDI) governance visibility, and process improvement. The role prepares monthly and quarterly business reviews, drives Global Business Unit (GBU)/RBU interlocks, and uses Power BI and other analytics tools to standardize reporting, automate workflows, and track improvement outcomes.

The Strategy & Business Excellence Leader partners cross-functionally with Sales, Product Management, Operations, Engineering, Finance, and Supply Chain to keep the RBU aligned, accountable, and continuously improving.

• Own and run the annual and quarterly strategic planning process for the Americas RBU, translating corporate and GBU strategy into regional priorities, milestones, and resource plans.
• Gather, synthesize, and distribute competitive intelligence to inform go-to-market decisions, pricing actions, and portfolio positioning.
• Collect and package market intelligence (customer shifts, technology trends, regulatory changes, demand signals) into actionable briefs for leadership.
• Drive strategic initiatives from scoping through execution, ensuring milestones are met, risks are surfaced, and results are measured against defined targets.

• Prepare and facilitate monthly business reviews with structured agendas, pre-reads, data packages, and documented follow-through on action items.
• Prepare and facilitate quarterly business reviews that assess RBU performance against strategic plan commitments, financial targets, and operational KPIs.
• Prepare and coordinate GBU/RBU interlock sessions, ensuring alignment on product roadmaps, demand signals, regional requirements, pricing, and go-to-market priorities.
• Own the content development and narrative for executive review presentations, translating raw data into clear insights and recommended actions.

• Build and maintain KPI dashboards using Power BI and other tools that give leadership real-time visibility into RBU performance across financial, operational, and commercial dimensions.
• Drive standardization and automation of reporting processes, reducing manual effort and improving data accuracy and timeliness.
• Track and report improvement outcomes tied to automation and standardization initiatives, quantifying time saved and error reduction.

• Provide NPDI governance visibility by tracking stage-gate milestones, launch readiness criteria, and cross-functional dependencies across the portfolio.
• Own the accountability tracking system: action items, owners, due dates, status updates, and escalation paths tied to all governance forums.
• Ensure compliance with company policies, delegated authority requirements, and governance standards.

• Identify and lead process improvement initiatives that reduce cycle times and eliminate waste across RBU workflows and decision processes.
• Assess and improve organizational effectiveness, including decision rights, meeting cadence, information flow, and cross-functional coordination.
• Partner cross-functionally with Sales, Product Management, Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, Finance, and Human Resources to drive business performance and alignment.

• ​​​​​ Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Operations Management, Finance, or related field.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in strategy, business operations, business excellence, operational excellence, or management consulting within industrial, manufacturing, or technology companies.
• Demonstrated experience building business operating systems: planning cadences, KPI frameworks, review structures, governance models.
• Strong expertise in strategic planning frameworks, competitive analysis methods, and business performance management.
• Hands-on proficiency with Power BI or equivalent business intelligence (BI) and analytics platforms.
• Experience preparing and facilitating executive-level business reviews and cross-functional interlock sessions.
• Proven ability to develop and implement KPI-driven management systems that support accountability, execution discipline, and continuous improvement.

• Master of Business Administration (MBA) or equivalent advanced degree.
• Experience supporting manufacturing, engineered products, critical infrastructure, data center, or industrial technology businesses.
• Experience with Lean, Six Sigma, or equivalent process improvement methodologies in a business operations context.
• Demonstrated experience utilizing competitive intelligence, market analysis, and portfolio insights to guide strategic decision-making.
• Track record of driving reporting standardization and automation initiatives with measurable efficiency gains.
• Experience working within a matrixed, multi-site regional organization with GBU/RBU or similar global-regional operating models.

• No specific demands.

• Up to 25% as needed

The successful candidate will embrace Vertiv’s Core Principals & Behaviors to help execute our Strategic Priorities.  

OUR CORE PRINCIPLES:  Safety.  Integrity. Respect.  Teamwork.  Inclusion.

OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

• Customer Focus
• Operational Excellence
• High-Performance Culture
• Innovation
• Financial Strength

OUR BEHAVIORS

• Own It
• Act With Urgency
• Foster a Customer-First Mindset
• Think Big and Execute
• Lead by Example
• Drive Continuous Improvement
• Learn and Seek Out Development

Vertiv (NYSE: VRT) brings together hardware, software, analytics and ongoing services to enable its customers’ vital applications to run continuously, perform optimally and grow with their business needs.  Vertiv solves the most important challenges facing today’s data centers, communication networks and commercial and industrial facilities with a portfolio of power, cooling and IT infrastructure solutions and services that extend from the cloud to the edge of the network. Headquartered in Westerville, Ohio, USA, Vertiv employs around 34,000 people and does business in more than 130 countries. Visit Vertiv.com to learn more.   

No calls or agencies please. Vertiv will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States. This is not a position for which sponsorship will be provided. Individuals with temporary visas such as E, F-1, H-1, H-2, L, B, J, or TN or who need sponsorship for work authorization now or in the future, are not eligible for hire.

Vertiv is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. We promote equal opportunities for all with respect to hiring, terms of employment, mobility, training, compensation, and occupational health, without discrimination as to age, race, color, religion, creed, sex, pregnancy status (including childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity / expression (including transgender status or sexual stereotypes), genetic information, citizenship status, national origin, protected veteran status, political affiliation, or disability. If you have a disability and are having difficulty accessing or using this website to apply for a position, you can request help by sending an email to help.join@vertiv.com.