Dear Stephen,
I'm the President of a medium-sized company in the contract furniture industry. We primarily make ancillary product, tabletops, and seating.
At the beginning of this year, I started receiving calls from recruiters to interview for other President jobs. I work for a privately owned company, where I report directly to the owner. I realize I should never say "no" to an interview, so I decided to go on an interview for a President role. It was for a much larger organization. They were looking for someone to oversee manufacturing, P&L, financial analysis, budgets, human resources… basically several of the requirements were for functions I've never had responsibility for or experience in.
I've come to the conclusion that the title "President" in the company where I work really means a glorified VP of Sales, or, if I want to be fancier, a Chief Sales Officer. My boss, the owner, is very clear about what I should focus on: sales, sales, sales!
In fairness, we don't have any of our own factories here in the US; our product is made elsewhere and shipped to our US warehouses where it's assembled. So many of the functions of a traditional "President" are not a part of my responsibilities. I guess we're basically a large sales organization.
Part of me feels like I should have recognized this sooner. Yet, I was so excited when I got the title (since previously I was VP of Sales), I wasn't focused on my 'next step' after this job or company. It's not a problem now because I'm genuinely not out looking, but someday I may be looking for a new role and now I'm concerned that this "title" might impact my next move. Is this very common? Is the title "President" basically just a glorified sales leader in the furniture industry?
Signed,
The Pointless President
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Dear Pres,
To answer your question, yes—it sounds like your job is primarily a figurehead position but, no—this is not standard in the furniture industry.
It's not uncommon for someone who's been a sales leader at a privately owned company with tenure in our industry, whether at a manufacturer or a dealer, to get promoted to the title of "President" because the owner does not want to lose you. That title can mean, of course, whatever that owner wants it to mean, allow me to explain:
Privately owned companies in particular run out of career growth for some sales individuals, and a stop-gap measure to avoid losing you is to promote a great VP of Sales to the President's title. This title of "President," when at a privately owned company, is rarely transferable to a publicly traded company or a private equity owned company, because most of those companies are looking for a President to report to a CEO. The President's job in that case is identical to what you described, meaning, overseeing manufacturing, finances, supply chain, human resources, sales, customer service, etcetera.
I often advise my own manufacturer clients that they avoid promoting a great VP of Sales to a "President" title when they're at a loss for the next career step; instead, they should promote that person to a "CSO (Chief Sales Officer)" title. That's the next logical step, as well as the more appropriate step for that individual's career growth, which should include a raise to the base salary, by the way!
The Viscusi Group has recruited Presidents for most of the major publicly traded furniture companies, both residential and contract—the background of these executives always includes manufacturing, finance, and human resources. These candidates also have an MBA and are very often an attorney or CPA, as well.
As a recruiter, I often see the dilemma of people with the title "President"; when I read their resume, it becomes clear they are a glorified sales leader. When I point this out, they are often insulted and not as aware as you are of their situation. I call it a golden handcuff for the ego because they enjoy having the title "President," then when they suddenly want to leave their job, the title hurts them because they feel like they're downgrading. Really though, the positions they should be interviewing for should be Chief Sales Officer or Executive VP of Sales.
These President titles are very common in companies from the UK or mainland Europe, and it's very common in American companies that are privately owned where the owner is more of a CEO and needs someone to grow revenue. Most of these companies have one thing in common, which is the product is manufactured overseas and assembled here in the US, but that's not always the case. Therefore, they really don't need a President in the traditional sense, but rather a Chief Sales Officer. Again—the title is whatever the owner wants it to be, maybe it's really "President of Sales," and there is nothing wrong with that.
This title conundrum not only creates confusion for you and your future but creates problems for the company that you work for because without the word 'sales' in the title, the individual who has the "President" title can lose focus on managing sales, which is really what they need to be doing!
Thank you for such a great question. I'm sure we can all think of examples of companies where the title of President creates an illusion—like I said, a golden handcuff for the ego.
Signed,
Stephen