Practice 05
Executive search for building equipment manufacturers and their channels.
We recruit business unit, commercial and product leaders for building equipment manufacturers. We also recruit for the rep agencies and distributors that carry their lines, including an agency's next owner.
Clients
Who we work with
- HVAC equipment manufacturers, applied and unitary
- Controls and sensor manufacturers
- Lighting and lighting-controls manufacturers
- Electrical and critical-power equipment manufacturers
- Manufacturers' rep agencies
- Two-step HVAC and electrical distributors
- Manufacturers backed by private equity
Seats
Leadership roles we search
Executive
- Business Unit President
- General Manager, product line
- Chief Commercial Officer
- VP Sales, rep and distribution channels
- VP Product Management
- VP Marketing
- VP Aftermarket and Service
- Rep agency principal or successor owner
Functional and technical
- National Sales Manager
- Regional Sales Manager
- Channel and Rep Manager
- National Accounts Director
- Applications Engineering Manager
- Product Manager, controls and connected products
- Field Service and Parts Leader
Spec sheet
What we know, and why it matters in a hire
| Term | Why it matters in a hire |
|---|---|
| Line cards and line changes | A candidate's line changes, made as a manufacturer or won as a rep, show how they judge partners and how partners judge them. |
| Rep commission structures and split commissions | Leaders who have rewritten a commission split know pay changes rep behavior faster than any meeting, and a careless change can cost a territory. |
| Basis of design (spec selling to consulting engineers) | Basis of design is won months before bid day, so ask how a candidate held a spec through value engineering. |
| Applied vs. unitary HVAC equipment | Applied chillers sell through engineers and unitary rooftop units sell on price and availability, so few sales leaders cross over cleanly. |
| Two-step distribution | In two-step, a leader has to win attention from distributor salespeople they do not manage, which is a different skill than directing reps. |
| Aftermarket parts and service | The installed base is steadier revenue than new equipment, and leaders who have priced parts and staffed field service know where the margin sits. |
| Channel conflict | Every manufacturer has it, so ask how a candidate settled a house-account dispute and whether the rep still carried the line a year later. |
| National accounts | Headquarters deals only stick if local reps still install and service the equipment, so look for leaders who built credit rules both sides trust. |
| DesignLights Consortium (DLC) SSL and NLC listings | Many utility rebate programs reference DLC listings, so a lighting leader who plans roadmaps around DLC requirements protects the channel's incentive-driven sales. |
| OEM channel-partner programs (authorized integrators, certified contractors) | Controls makers sell through partners they certify, train and prune, so ask how a candidate added coverage without diluting the brand. |
| Agency ownership transition | An agency sale is a multi-year handoff of relationships, and the successor's real test is whether the key lines stay once the founder steps back. |
| Applications engineering | Applications engineers turn an equipment schedule into a selection, submittal and price, and slow turnaround quietly costs bids before sales ever hears about it. |
Point of view
Three hiring problems we see
Agency ownership is turning over
Many manufacturers' rep agencies are still led by the people who founded them, and rep associations have made succession planning a standing topic. When an agency sells or stalls, line cards move and spec positions built over years can move with them. Manufacturers need channel leaders who can manage that handoff, and agencies need successors their manufacturers will accept.
The channel is now hybrid
Manufacturers are adding national accounts, direct sales to large owners, online parts sales and, in some cases, ownership of their reps or distributors. Each move can pull revenue from the partners who built the business. The commercial leaders who succeed have run more than one channel model and kept the agencies selling through the change.
Hardware companies now sell software
Controls, sensors and lighting controls now ship with cloud platforms, analytics and cybersecurity questions that owners and IT departments review before they buy. Product and general management hires have to run firmware and subscription roadmaps alongside UL listings, lead times and a rep channel paid on hardware. Leaders fluent in only one side tend to stall.
Representative search types
Searches we take on
Illustrative of the searches we're built for, not descriptions of past engagements.
-
Illustrative
VP Sales, rep channel, building equipment manufacturer
What this search turns on
- Credibility with agency owners, who will size up the hire in the first 90 days
- A history of fixing weak territories without losing spec position
- Can coach reps to win basis of design with consulting engineers, not just chase bids
-
Illustrative
General Manager, controls and sensor product line
What this search turns on
- Full P&L for a hardware line with growing software and subscription content
- Works across engineering, operations and a channel of authorized integrators
- Fluent in open protocols and the cybersecurity questions owners now ask
-
Illustrative
Successor principal, manufacturers' rep agency
What this search turns on
- Acceptance by the agency's key manufacturers before an offer is made
- A buy-in path and timeline agreed with the founding owner up front
- Standing with the consulting engineers who write specs in the territory
How we run searches here
We start with the channel. Before we write a position spec, your partner maps how your product reaches the job: the reps who carry the line, the accounts you sell direct, the distributors who stock it and the engineers who specify it. A sales leader who thrives in one model can stall in another.
Then we test for the work, not the title. We ask how a candidate won basis of design on a specific project, what happened when a rep stopped selling the line and what they changed in a commission plan. References come from people who lived with those decisions: agency owners, distributor managers and the engineers across the table.
Off-limits terms are agreed in writing before work starts. That matters here, because manufacturers, reps and distributors share customers and often share people. One partner owns every search, start to finish, with a written update every Friday.
Practice lead
Led by Corey Kravitz, Founding Partner.
FAQ
Questions we hear
Does Greenbriar & Russell recruit for manufacturers' rep agencies?
Yes. Greenbriar & Russell runs searches for manufacturers' rep agencies, including successor principals, sales managers and applications engineering leaders. We also recruit for the manufacturers those agencies represent, so off-limits terms are agreed in writing before work starts. Both sides know where we will not recruit.
How is a VP of Sales search at a manufacturer different from other sales leadership searches?
A manufacturer's VP of Sales usually leads through people they do not employ: independent reps, distributors and authorized partners. The search tests whether a candidate can win basis of design, set commission and territory rules, and settle channel conflict without losing agencies. Success in direct sales alone does not prove any of that.
What is a successor principal search for a rep agency?
A successor principal search finds the person who will take over ownership and leadership of a manufacturers' rep agency from its founder or current owners. The successor has to earn acceptance from the agency's manufacturers, the engineers in the territory and the agency's own salespeople, often before ownership changes hands. We agree on the ownership path and timeline with the current owner first, so candidates know what they are stepping into.
Does Greenbriar & Russell work with manufacturers backed by private equity?
Yes. Greenbriar & Russell works with private equity sponsors and their portfolio manufacturers on business unit presidents, commercial leaders, product leaders and aftermarket leaders. These searches often follow an acquisition or carve-out, when the seat has to match a new value creation plan. We can run them confidentially while an incumbent is still in the seat.
Discuss your Manufacturers & OEMs search
Tell us about the seat. You'll hear from Corey directly within one business day.