MG Headhunting (MGH) delivers precision-engineered executive search for manufacturers, distributors, and private equity investors across the Building Products & Construction sectors. Partner-led, rigorously assessed, and strictly confidential.
Expert in building leadership teams for Building Products and Construction clients across the UK. Full breadth of functions placed, from Operations Directors, Managing Directors, Finance Directors, Commercial Directors, Sales Directors and technical specialists, along for teams underneath. Thrives in securing key personnel that generalist recruiters fail to reach and candidates who are not actively looking. Full range of product and service sectors worked, from fenestration, heavyside, lightside, HVAC, to repair & maintenance and construction consultancies.
Specialised search focused exclusively on executive roles across manufacturing, distribution, and contracting in the Building Products & Construction materials ecosystem.
General Management & Executive Leadership
Retained search for full P&L owners, responsible for driving EBITDA improvements, navigating private equity ownership, organisational restructuring, and scale-up manufacturing.
Specification & Trade Distribution
High-performing commercial leaders experienced with architectural specification, main contractor & local authority frameworks, builders merchant distribution networks and housebuilders.
Manufacturing Excellence & Multi-Site Logistics
Engineering-led leaders with deep understandings of modern manufacturing techniques, operational excellence, capital expenditure, and driving resilient supply chains.
CFOs & Finance Specialists
Strategically minded leaders capable of driving long-term direction across M&A activitity, private equity value-creation plans, governance & reporting, and digital evolution.
Building Safety & Product Engineering
Crucial appointments safeguarding technical integrity, regulatory compliance & certification, product innovation and quality & performance.
Owners of the Company's People Plan
Leaders who align the personnel priorities with the overall business strategy, to include transformation, organisation design, learning & development, succession planning, engagement & cultural improvement, and governance.
Why CEOs, Private Equity investors, and Boards choose MG Headhunting over generic recruitment agencies.
Dedicated Mandates Over Transactional Volume
We do not run high-volume contingent CV races. Every search is a fully retained partnership where we commit our full operational capacity until the ideal executive is placed and integrated.
Zero Junior Consultant Delegation
In traditional search firms, senior partners win the mandate and hand execution to junior researchers. At MGH, Mark Goldsmith personally maps the market, conducts candidate interviews, and leads board negotiations.
Systematic 5-Stage Assessment Protocol
Every candidate undergoes structured competency evaluation, cultural calibration, referencing against previous board peers, and deep commercial validation before presentation.
Strict Confidentiality & PE Alignment
We safeguard corporate strategy, sensitive leadership transitions, and competitive positioning under strict non-disclosure, ensuring your brand equity is protected at every touchpoint.
Unlike transactional agents who drop searches when difficult, MGH guarantees persistence until the exact candidate profile is secured. This involves upfront and ongoing consultation with stakeholders on any barriers or limiations to the search.
A disciplined, milestone-driven framework designed to identify, attract, and secure top-tier executive leadership without disruption.
In person and comprehensive discovery with the client's stakeholders: - Current performance and desired result of this investment - The gap in skillset / aptitude required - Cultural alignment - Compensation structure with alignment to market conditions - The client's story - what are the USPs & why should people join - What the client needs to do to secure top talent (if of benefit, advise on how to get the best out of interviewing - Agree approach to the research & headhunt (products, markets, companies, confidentiality)
Exhaustive research of agreed market(s) and product(s) and / or services. Individuals performing the required function are identified. If the role is not confidential, an anomalised advert can be placed, together with MGH reaching out to their own network. To achieve this, a range of tools are used, but importantly MGHs own judgement ensures categories are exhausted. Volume of this work is shared with the stakeholders.
Direct partner-led outreach to the pre-qualified candidates. In-depth competency interviews, commercial track-record verification, and leadership style assessment. Ongoing feedback on market conditions, together with any barriers limiting the headhunt. Fully feedback to client on MGHs interviews, with rankings.
Structured client-candidate interviews. If of benefit, Mark Goldsmith will attend second interviews to guide stakeholders in gaining the optimum outcome. References taken by MGH and remuneration negotiations chaired by Mark.
Active onboarding support during resignation/notice periods. Prior to starting, Mark and client review process and sharing of market intelligence / perception. 30/60/90-day progress check-ins with client and appointee, backed by a six month placement warranty.
A sample of previous assignments managed by Mark, along with articles co-written by thought-leaders from within the Building Product & Construction landscape.
Within Building Products and Construction, building personal and personable relationships are imperative. Let me introduce you to me and why I do what I do.
The European parent Group discovered that the UK manufacturer’s financial reporting, stock analysis, and margin control had become inaccurate and inconsistent, leaving the business operating in the red and at risk of further redundancies. With fewer than 40 viable candidates regionally, the brief demanded a Finance Director with manufacturing expertise and proven experience reporting into an international Group. After a targeted headhunt and six interviews, three were recommended for first stage
Sadly, budget ruled out attracting a readymade Sales Director from a larger manufacturer. Although the Managing Director wanted to bring in someone from the same product background, the research phase proved we were hunting in a shallow regional talent pool. However, working together, we ensured the optimium conclusion was achieved.
Following the departure of a commercial MD, the European parent Group uncovered an urgent need for an operationally‑led Managing Director with engineering roots and deep fenestration sector knowledge to reverse three years of losses. With only 27 viable candidates nationwide, the assignment demanded a precise, insight‑driven headhunt. Three candidates progressed to client stage.
The manufacturer urgently needed a Regional Sales Manager to open a new UK territory, but the initial retained headhunter had produced no viable candidates and competitors were already capitalising on the delay. The technical authority required to win over main contractors meant the obvious talent pool was too shallow, and confidentiality limited direct approaches. Mark Goldsmith advised steering toward adjacent structural product backgrounds, expanding the candidate pool significantly.
The manufacturer had grown steadily but was now being outpaced by four competitors, exposing the limitations of relying on a capable Sales Manager to run the entire commercial function. They needed a leader who could shape pricing strategy, manage merchants & specifiers, direct product strategy, and bring marketing back in‑house. With the search needing to remain confidential and the talent blend difficult to find locally, the brief was refocused around capability rather than job title.
The contractor needed a Head of Water who could build a NAV‑accredited operation from the ground up — a role requiring regulatory authority, operational depth, and credibility with OFWAT. With only a handful of NAV operators in existence and senior water‑authority leaders typically long‑serving and risk‑averse, the talent pool was shallow. Through detailed market mapping, 47 individuals were identified, leading to one exceptional candidate being appointed to drive the investor’s growth plan.
The construction provider needed an Operations Director capable of stabilising a multimillion‑pound council contract, leading over 200 staff and managing £20m of activity. With more than half the workforce TUPE‑transferred, the search focused on leaders from adjacent sectors managing large public‑sector contracts. The appointed candidate brought the operational authority and diplomatic leadership required to reset behaviours, strengthen delivery, and protect the client’s reputation with the council.
The consultancy needed a COO to professionalise its director‑led structure, embed governance, and create operational consistency across multiple service lines. By focusing on leaders experienced in scaling professional‑services organisations, the search surfaced candidates capable of introducing structured reporting, clarifying responsibilities, and aligning behaviours.
The manufacturer needed a Commercial Director capable of unifying sales, marketing, product management, installer programmes, and commercial strategy under one leader. By widening the search beyond building products and focusing on capability rather than job title, 111 candidates were identified and refined down to one standout hire — a leader from a foreign sector with the exact blend of value‑proposition expertise, commercial leadership, and cultural fit required to drive the UK business toward its five year strategy.
Throughout the two decades of managing and delivering executive level headhunts within Building Products, MG Headhunting's founder, Mark Goldsmith, has successfully led a high number within the window and door market. This has included building full leaderhip teams within the same manufacturer. This article outlines three seperate clients that Mark has done this with.
Boards often trip up when deciding which type of recruitment model to use before going to market with a leadership vancancy. With experience on both sides, Mark Goldsmith explores the key differences and what a client can expect from both.
This article outlines when contingency recruitment is more appropriate than a retained executive search, despite Mark's background in retained headhunting. Contingency works best when commitment is low, speed is essential, or the role is a tactical gap‑fill rather than a strategic hire. Conversely, retained search is the superior choice for roles that shape long‑term business direction, require rigorous market insight, and demand close collaboration between client and headhunter.
