Distribution & Wholesale Executive Search
GMs and CEOs for family owned, national distribution businesses.
The founders and owners of Australia's most significant distribution and wholesaling businesses rarely hire loudly. They ring us. They want a General Manager or CEO who can walk into a business someone built over decades, respect what works, and grow what is next.
Who we work with
The businesses that ring us
Founders, second-generation owners, boards and chairs of privately held distributors and wholesalers turning over $10M to $500M. National footprint, family capital, and a genuine ambition to double the business in the next five years.
Searches we run
The roles we are trusted with in distribution & wholesale
Full P&L leader. Sales, operations, warehousing, people. Reports to the owner or board.
Owner succession. The leader who steps in when the founder wants to step back or up to Chair.
Beyond the ledger. A commercial CFO who partners on pricing, margin, working capital and the next acquisition.
Multi-site operations, distribution centres, fleet, procurement and supply chain resilience.
National sales leadership. Channel, key accounts, field teams, and the discipline to grow revenue without losing margin.
How we work in this sector
The best inbound we get in this sector reads like a story. A founder who built a $30M business over 25 years, now doing $100M, and knows the next chapter needs a different operator at the wheel.
We do not send generic distribution CVs. We do the work to understand the category, the freight lanes, the customer concentration, the warehouse footprint, and the culture the founder built. Then we go find the right operator.
Recent work in this space has included a confidential General Manager search for a national wholesaling business grown from $3M to $50M+ under its current owners. The right hire is rarely on the market and never on a job board.
Frequently asked
Questions founders ask us about distribution & wholesale search
Lex Gordon Executive runs confidential General Manager searches for privately held distribution and wholesaling businesses across South East Queensland and nationally. We work directly with founders, second-generation owners and chairs of businesses turning over $10M to $500M, and first candidate profiles are usually ready within seven business days.
Founder succession is a specific kind of search. We start with the founder's intentions (step back, step up to Chair, exit in five years), the family shareholding, and the culture that made the business what it is. From there we map operators who have done the transition before, including from adjacent categories where the customer or supply chain shape is comparable.
We work on an exclusive engagement basis for these searches. Pricing reflects the scope of the search, the confidentiality required, and the seniority of the role. Contact Jason directly at jr@lexgordonexecutive.com.au for a confidential conversation and a clear proposal.
Companies we have placed leadership into