Built by enthusiasts and for enthusiasts, Enthusiast Auto Holdings (EAH) has grown from a family-owned Volkswagen repair shop in Wadsworth, Ohio into one of largest specialty e-commerce companies in the automotive aftermarket industry. EAH designs, produces, and sells proprietary parts and kits for a rapidly growing number of automotive makes and models, and it partners with hundreds of other performance brands to bring the enthusiast community an unparalleled customer experience. Over one million enthusiasts follow EAH's banners on social media. EAH owns the following banners (websites): ECS Tuning, Turner Motorsports, Pelican Parts, Rennline, (each of which target German makes), Texas Speed & Performance (Domestic), Z1 Motorsports (Asian), and EVAnnex(Tesla / EVs). EAH is owned by Cortec Group, a premier private equity firm, and senior management. Since its partnership with EAH two years ago, Cortec has invested millions of dollars to expand EAH’s and TSP’s operations, facilities, technology, and leadership.
THE POSITION:
EAH is looking for a motivated candidate to fill the role of Head of Product Development. This position will report to the CEO of EAH and work from our company headquarters in Wadsworth, OH.
The Role:
The Head of Product Development will provide the vision and direction for all in-house brands (IHBs), with a specific focus on new product development ideation, pipeline and roadmap development, improving time to market (TTM) and successful execution of the product roadmap (speed and quality).
This position requires excellent organizational, coaching and development, verbal and written communication skills and the ability to work in a team environment. While the position resides in Wadsworth Ohio, there may be some travel to banner companies. This position supervises a team of 20-30 across all banners and six total locations.
Key Responsibilities:
Product Pipeline & Roadmap
Develop and oversee company-wide processes that deliver a rigorous, commercially successful product development pipeline
Make data-driven decisions on prospective new products and product lines, while maintaining a close relationship with the product team to ensure enthusiast needs are being met
Engage with the community to learn customers, identify market trends and opportunities, with a specific focus on new markets (EV, overland, drift, driver assistance, etc.)
Establish the foundational elements of future development efforts before engineering begins design, such as supplier partnerships, vehicle sourcing, financials, specifications, efficient scheduling, etc.
Maintain a healthy balance of new product line creation, expansion of existing product lines, and development of select halo products
Maintain a regular cadence of engaging stakeholders, including sales and product, to ensure they have clarity and visibility to our vision and strategy.
Collaborate with the product team to align on high level targets and objectives to ensure their goals are being met
Create steam line processes, improve time to market (TTM) and ensure we execute product roadmap with speed and quality
Provide oversight and share best practices across all banners for engineering processes and roadmap development.
Product Lifecycle
Ownership of house brand goods from cradle to grave, including ideation, planning and prioritization, pricing, inventory, merchandising, continuous improvement, EOL.
Create a framework for collaborating/communicating across departments, including Sourcing, Product, Marketing, Sales, and Customer Service to help maximize the impact of new product launches.
Drive the creation of engineered goods that work to elevate our brands, product catalog, and address the needs of our enthusiast community
Create annual sales forecasts and collaborate with product, marketing, S&P, and sales to hit goals of revenue, gross profit, and margin
Creation of (and subsequent pivoting as needs of the business dictate) processes and procedures to efficiently and repeatably develop and release new house-developed and private label performance products.
Define and report on throughput and efficiency metrics against quarterly and annual forecasts
Provide consistent visibility to stakeholders on both new product releases as well as to the continued progress the development team is making towards defined development goals
Talent Management
Build and lead a high-performing team of design engineers, shop technicians, technical writers, quality assurance testers, and project managers.
In conjunction with leadership team, drive change to improve team culture and drive accountability
Propose and deliver programs that increase efficiency, throughput, and employee satisfaction
Oversee management and associate training/development to increase associate skillsets and competency levels
Creativity & Inclusion
Foster an environment of openness across the organization toward new product ideas from multiple channels and departments
Praise and promote daring and creative solutions to problem solving
Curate events in which the community is able to engage with our team and build relationships to ensure the team is capturing the voice of the customer for design efforts.
EAH offers a competitive compensation package including excellent Medical, Vision, and Dental coverage, 401K retirement plan and paid time off. Please include salary expectations along with your application on [email protected]
Note, this position requires relocation to Wadsworth, Ohio area.
Requirements
10+ years of experience managing a high-accountability team
10+ years of documented successes in product management, preferably in the automotive aftermarket
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Management, or related field required; Masters degree in OCM, MOL, MBA, or related field preferred
Strong interest in being on a growth-centric team
Demonstrated leadership, coaching and influencing skills
Proficient in Microsoft Office applications, including a strong ability in Excel
Positive interpersonal and communication skills (written & verbal)
Enthusiast Auto Holdings (EAH) has grown from a family-owned Volkswagen repair shop in Wadsworth, Ohio into one of the largest specialty e-commerce companies in the automotive aftermarket industry. EAH designs, produces, and sells proprietary parts and kits for a rapidly growing number of automotive makes and models, and it partners with hundreds of other performance brands to bring the enthusiast community an unparalleled customer experience. Over one million enthusiasts follow EAH's banners on social media.
We care about our associates' lives and well-being, which is why we recently enhanced our benefits, paid time off, recognition and wellness programs, and incentive compensation plans. We continue to seek open and honest associate feedback in town hall meetings and through open-door policies. Our associates are also involved in giving back to the community; for example, our recent food drive donated 3,000 pounds of food and water to our local food bank.
You will have the opportunity to work with our talented team as we continue to pursue best-in-class service, an enjoyable work environment, and market-leading win-win vendor partnerships. We look forward to learning about you!
