Executive Director search for Fitness and Nutrition division | PureLife Foods

Scenario Information

You are currently working as an associate reporting to the Senior Lead Consultant for Green Line Consultants.  The Senior Lead Consultant has been contacted by Grace Polk, head of R&D for PureLife Foods, Grace explained that she has been working to get the initial planning of a new division started but it is time to hand over the reins to a new Executive Director who will be responsible for bringing the division together and establishing the new division as a well-oiled machine.   The Senior Lead Consultant has asked you to help conduct a candidate search for the position of Executive Director for the Fitness and Nutrition division.  

PureLife Foods currently produces and distributes organic vegetarian food products to major retailers such as Giant and Safeway that in turn are sold to the public. PureLife has decided to start producing and distributing a line of all-natural energy bars with its existing contracted clients. 

Consider the question, “Who is a manager and what is their job in an organization?”   As PureLife Foods launches a new product division to design, develop and deliver energy bars, the company will need to bring in someone to manage this division.  The desire of Grace Polk is that the new Executive Director for the Energy Bars Division will be open to innovative ways to develop green and sustainable products that will not only be popular among the traditional PureLife Foods customer base, but also will be the face of the organization when marketing company products. 

Partnering with Green Line Consultants, Grace will be vetting three potential candidates who will be expected to jump in and begin the development of management plans that will be used to establish the new division.  The transcripts from the interviews of the three potential candidates have been given to the Green Line Consultants team who will help Grace.  The new Executive Director will be a Manager of the 21^st Century who will be able to instill the culture, value and traditions of PureLife Foods into the employees hired as managers and employees. 

In the beginning, the Executive Director will be the face of PureLife Food’s marketing brand.  In addition, this new employee will need to be able to motivate not only the employee base of these new products but also motivate a new customer base for PureLife Foods on the ‘difference’ PureLife Foods will bring to the Energy Bars industry.   Currently, the Energy Bars industry consists a lot of well-established companies, and a strong entry will be key to grab market share.  Innovative and well-made products, good marketing, and a clear strategy will be critical to a strong entry, so bringing in a strong director will be key.

In this project, you will demonstrate an understanding of management and leadership skills and leadership styles.  You will read a case scenario and apply what you have learned to make a recommendation for a new position with PureLife Foods.