Here’s something I’ve learned after over a decade recruiting MES and Smart Manufacturing leaders — and reinforced in almost every podcast conversation:
The most successful MES transformations aren’t driven from the top.
They’re pulled from within.
And the leaders behind those transformations? They know that success isn’t about controlling everything — it’s about building the right advocates across the business.
Top MES leaders don’t push change onto teams. They plant it inside the business — through trusted internal champions who help lead the charge.
Why? Because they know:
A system adopted by force rarely sticks
A change co-owned by key users spreads faster, smoother, and with far less resistance
I’ve placed dozens of these leaders over the years. The A-players always have a strategy for this. It’s never an afterthought.
One of the best examples I’ve seen came from a candidate I placed who led MES implementation across 30+ sites globally.
When I asked how she handled adoption across such diverse facilities, her answer was simple:
“I don’t launch anything without local champions first.”
Here’s what she did:
Identified respected operators, line leads, and supervisors who had informal influence
Brought them into early pilot groups — not just to test, but to shape how MES would work on the floor
Gave them early wins and visibility — then let them be the face of the change locally
It wasn’t about “getting buy-in” after the fact. It was about giving ownership upfront.
And it worked — not just once, but over and over again.
If you’re hiring an MES leader right now, ask them: “How do you approach building internal champions across sites?”
A generic answer about “training plans” or “comms strategies” might sound fine. But the right candidate will walk you through:
How they identify influence (formal and informal)
How they co-create change with users
And how they use champions to scale adoption faster than top-down enforcement ever could
Because here’s the truth: The best MES leaders know they can’t be everywhere. So they build people who can.
Hope this helps. Dan
About Me: I help CxOs in Smart Manufacturing and MES hire high-impact leaders in Operations, Quality, and Digital Transformation.
With over a decade in executive search — and a podcast dedicated to the people driving digital change from the inside — I specialize in finding leaders who build trust, not just systems.
