Chief Executive Officer 

Reports To: Board of Directors

Direct Reports: Vice President of Marketing & Member Engagement, Category Manager (additional direct reports, including finance and technology leadership to be structured in partnership with the incoming CEO)

Location: Remote, with regular travel for Board meetings, Member-Owner engagement, and industry representation

Compensation: Competitive executive base salary, annual incentive plan, and long-term incentive/equity participation commensurate with experience.

The Opportunity

Primera is seeking a CEO to lead the next chapter of growth for one of North America’s most innovative cooperatives serving the turf, ornamental, and specialty green industries. The Board is prepared to invest in a leader who can build a qualified growth pipeline through strategic Member-Owner recruitment, Supplier Partner expansion, and purchasing conversion.

Position Overview

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) leads Primera’s strategic direction and cooperative performance, positioning independent distributors in the turf, ornamental, and specialty green industries to compete and win in an increasingly consolidated marketplace.

The CEO sets strategy, aligns organizational systems, builds executive capability, and ensures disciplined execution through the leadership team. Success means Primera achieves sustained purchasing growth, deepens member and supplier relationships, and operates as the leading performance-driven cooperative in the industries it serves.

Decision Authority & Accountability

The CEO holds final decision authority on:

  • Strategy and multi-year growth objectives
  • Cooperative growth model and strategic priorities
  • Executive organizational structure, succession planning, and compensation
  • Annual operating plans, budgets, and capital allocation
  • Performance standards and key performance indicators
  • Board governance, reporting, and shareholder communications
  • Risk management and business continuity
  • Strategic partnerships, mergers, acquisitions, and major investments

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Direction & Growth Governance

  • Define and govern Primera’s long-term cooperative strategy and growth model.
  • Align initiatives across purchasing growth, supplier leverage, member engagement, technology, and organizational capability.
  • Evaluate industry trends, competitive pressures, emerging technologies, and market opportunities affecting independent distribution.
  • Make disciplined investment and prioritization decisions that maximize long-term member value.
  • Ensure systems, technology, and processes support scalable growth.

Executive Leadership & Organizational Excellence

  • Lead, develop, and align the executive team around shared priorities and measurable outcomes.
  • Establish clear decision rights, accountability standards, and performance expectations.
  • Foster a high-performance culture grounded in accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
  • Build leadership depth and succession readiness throughout the organization.
  • Recruit, develop, and retain exceptional executive talent.

Performance & System Governance

  • Govern dashboards, KPIs, and organizational performance reporting.
  • Ensure cooperative purchasing, rebate, and member performance data drive decision-making.
  • Strengthen forecasting, analytics, and organizational visibility.
  • Continuously improve systems to eliminate bottlenecks and increase scalability.

Financial Stewardship & Risk Management

  • Ensure the long-term financial health and sustainability of the cooperative.
  • Oversee budgeting, forecasting, capital allocation, and financial performance.
  • Maintain appropriate risk management, cybersecurity oversight, legal compliance, and business continuity planning.
  • Ensure transparency in financial reporting and cooperative economics.

Board Governance & Strategic Partnership

  • Serve as the primary strategic advisor to the Board of Directors.
  • Provide timely, forward-looking reporting on performance and strategic initiatives.
  • Partner with the Board on long-range planning, governance, CEO evaluation, and succession planning.
  • Maintain strong relationships with Member-Owners and ensure governance reflects cooperative values.

Industry Leadership & Business Development

  • Represent Primera as the leading modern cooperative within the industries it serves.
  • Strengthen relationships with Member-Owners, Supplier Partners, industry associations, and key stakeholders.
  • Personally lead high-value business development, building and maintaining the growth pipeline described above.
  • Promote Primera as an innovative, data-driven cooperative delivering measurable business value.

Success Measures

The CEO will be evaluated on:

  • Member-Owner participation, engagement, and purchasing conversion
  • Depth and quality of strategic supplier relationships
  • Financial performance and long-term sustainability of the cooperative
  • Executive team capability and readiness to operate with minimal CEO intervention
  • Quality and transparency of Board reporting

Initial Priorities (First 12 Months)

The successful CEO will:

  • Assess Primera’s organizational structure, capabilities, and growth opportunities.
  • Validate and refine the strategic plan.
  • Evaluate executive talent and succession readiness, and determine what additional direct reports are needed.
  • Strengthen performance reporting and executive dashboards.
  • Develop a multi-year growth roadmap aligned with the Board’s vision.
  • Build the pipeline of prospective Member-Owners and strategic Supplier Partners
  • Identify opportunities to modernize systems, technology, and data utilization.

Experience & Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or other advanced business degree preferred.
  • Minimum of 20 years of progressive executive leadership experience within cooperatives, distribution, manufacturing, wholesale, or other complex member-based organizations.
  • Demonstrated success leading enterprise growth and organizational transformation.
  • Experience working directly with Boards of Directors and governance structures.
  • Proven ability to build high-performing executive leadership teams.
  • Strong financial acumen with responsibility for enterprise budgets, forecasting, and strategic investment decisions.
  • Experience leading significant business development, strategic partnerships, or acquisition initiatives.
  • Exceptional communication, relationship-building, and public leadership skills.

Leadership Characteristics

The successful CEO demonstrates:

  • Comfort operating within a member-owner governance model rather than a conventional shareholder structure
  • Credibility with independent, entrepreneurial distributor-owners who value autonomy
  • Fluency in cooperative economics, rebates, purchasing volume, and member ROI
  • Strategic thinking paired with a bias toward disciplined execution
  • Integrity, sound judgment, and accountability for results
  • Courage to make difficult decisions and data-driven decision-making

Why Primera

This is an opportunity to lead a cooperative organization during a period of significant growth and transformation. Primera is investing in data, technology, organizational capability, and strategic partnerships to redefine how independent distributors compete in an increasingly consolidated marketplace.

The Board seeks a visionary yet disciplined leader who can strengthen the cooperative’s long-term competitiveness while preserving the entrepreneurial spirit and independence that define its Member-Owners.

About Primera

The Modern-Day Cooperative. Built by Independents. Powered by Data. Driven by Excellence.

Primera is a national cooperative serving independent distributors and suppliers across the turf, ornamental, and specialty green industries. We exist to strengthen independent-minded distribution by helping our Member-Owner Companies compete, grow, and win in an increasingly consolidated marketplace.

By leveraging our group’s combined size and scale, we provide our Member-Owners and Supplier Partners with the tools, skills, knowledge, and innovation that create exceptional returns and sustainable competitive advantages, ensuring they grow and prosper.

Our work is guided by the G.I.V.E. Pillars of Excellence:

  • Growth — Driving profitable expansion and increasing cooperative purchasing power.
  • Influence — Strengthening Member-Owners’ position with suppliers and throughout the marketplace.
  • Value — Delivering measurable financial returns and business advantages.
  • Engagement — Building trusted relationships that transform strategy into lasting results.

Primera is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or any other protected characteristic.

To apply please send your resume and CV to Smiller@primera.coop by August 1st.