President vs GM: Who To Hire

As companies scale, ownership and boards often face a critical decision: Should we hire a President or a General Manager (GM)? While both roles can overlap in terms of responsibility, their strategic impact, level of authority, and cultural fit can differ significantly. Choosing the wrong leadership structure can lead to organizational stagnation, unclear decision-making authority, and hindered growth.

For more than 15 years, The Overture Group has helped our clients navigate the complex relationships within their business – assuring that they have the right person in the right seat.  One way we assist clients is by providing them with a decision-making framework to determine the optimal hire, tailored to your company’s stage of growth, ownership model, and execution needs.  We’ll discuss some of the basics here, but I’m always available to get into more detail based on your organization’s specific needs.  One of the first steps is defining the typical role descriptions and determining how they may fit within your specific organization.

President

A President typically acts as a strategic business leader, supporting or complementing the CEO, or functioning as the de facto head of the company when no CEO is present.

Presidents often have full P&L responsibility, oversee multiple departments, and focus on scaling and strategy.

• Primary Focus: Long-term strategy, team development, enterprise value creation
• Typical Reporting: Reports to CEO or Board; sometimes holds both CEO & President titles
• Leadership Scope: Company-wide; multi-functional

General Manager

A General Manager focuses more narrowly on operational execution, often owning the success of a particular business unit, geography, or product line.

GMs may have P&L responsibility, but are usually focused on day-to-day results rather than long-term vision.

• Primary Focus: Operations, revenue, and profitability at the segment level
• Typical Reporting Line: Reports to CEO, President, or COO
• Leadership Scope: Functional or divisional

Key Distinctions

When Should You Hire a President?

 “A President is often the missing piece when a company hits the wall between entrepreneurial energy and institutional scale.” – Harvard Business Review¹.

In general, you should hire a President when:

1. You need a strategic partner to lead the business so that the CEO or founder can focus on vision, growth, or succession planning.

2. Your business is scaling into new markets or pursuing M&A activity.

3. You are preparing for a transition, such as ownership exit, generational handoff, or a shift to professional leadership.

4. You require enterprise-level accountability across sales, operations, finance, and people functions.

When Should You Hire a General Manager?

 “GMs are the horsepower behind performance in decentralized business models. They own results, not strategy.” – McKinsey & Company².

In general, you should hire a General Manager when:

1. You need a strong operator to run a business line, location, or region with clear KPIs.

2. Your organization is decentralized or has several distinct P&L units.

3. You want to develop internal talent in a stepwise approach before assigning broader authority.

4. You are optimizing for execution, not reinvention.

Factors to Consider

Private Equity and Family Business Use Cases

Private Equity Firms: Often begin with GMs in platform or add-on businesses, installing a President to drive transformation, especially approaching an exit event.

Family Businesses: Hire a President when the next generation is not yet ready, or when bringing in outside leadership to maintain the legacy while achieving growth.

In summary, your strategic goals, current organizational needs, and the depth of your leadership should guide the decision between hiring a President or a General Manager. While both roles can be transformational, their effectiveness depends on the clarity of scope, support from ownership, and alignment with business priorities.

Organizations that misjudge this distinction often experience execution misfires or struggle with succession planning. But when the right hire is made, the business not only grows—it evolves.

Footnotes

1. Harvard Business Review. *When Should a CEO Hire a President?* HBR.org, 2022.
2. McKinsey & Company. *The Role of the General Manager in Modern Organizations.* McKinsey Quarterly, 2021.
3. National Center for the Middle Market. *Leadership Succession in Mid-Market Firms*, 2020.
4. Family Business Magazine. *Hiring a President from Outside the Family*, 2019.
5. Bain & Company. *PE Operating Models: How to Choose the Right Leadership Layers*, 2023.
6. EY-Parthenon. *PE Portfolio Operating Structure Benchmarks*, 2021.

About The Author

Bill Wright

Bill Wright is a Managing Director with The Overture Group. He has been an executive search consultant for over 25 years, providing executive search and staffing solutions to client leaders. Prior to joining the Overture Group in 2010, he was a Manager with RSM McGladrey’s Human Capital practice and Managing Director of his own executive search firm, Wright & Associates. Bill is very passionate about finding the right solution that can bring significant cultural change and make an impact with his clients for years to come.

Contact the Author: bwright@theoverturegroup.com