Vice President of Human Resources – Americas

Location: Wood Dale, IL (Hybrid — 4 days onsite / 1 day remote)

Scope: Americas (U.S. and Mexico; strategic oversight of India)

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer

Member of the Executive Leadership Team

Direct Reports: 4–5 HR leaders across HR operations, payroll, benefits, and HR services

Lucas James Talent Partners has been retained by Optimas Solutions to lead the search for a Vice President, Human Resources — Americas. This is a direct hire executive leadership role with Optimas.

Optimas Solutions is a global manufacturer, distributor, and service provider of fastening and supply chain solutions that help manufacturers improve efficiency and profitability. Operating across manufacturing, distribution, and international service centers, Optimas delivers critical components and value-added services that support operational performance for customers worldwide.

Private equity backed and entering a period of accelerated growth, Optimas is focused on scaling operational capability, strengthening leadership infrastructure, and positioning the organization for a future transaction. The Vice President, Human Resources — Americas, will play a critical role in building the talent strategy, workforce capability, and leadership structure needed to support that trajectory.

This search is part of Optimas’ continued effort to strengthen leadership infrastructure as the company scales operations and prepares for its next phase of growth. We are seeking a commercially minded Vice President, Human Resources — Americas, to serve as a key member of the executive leadership team for an organization of approximately 500 employees across manufacturing, distribution, and corporate functions.

This is not an administrative HR role. It is a business leadership position responsible for building the people strategy that fuels operational performance, scalability, and enterprise value creation. The Vice President, Human Resources — Americas will help professionalize HR infrastructure, strengthen leadership capability, and build a data-driven talent strategy aligned with growth and long-term value creation. The Vice President, Human Resources — Americas will play a key role in preparing the organization’s talent infrastructure and leadership capability for the next phase of growth and an eventual liquidity event.

This role is best suited for a senior HR leader who enjoys operating in a mid-market private equity environment, where building infrastructure, strengthening leadership capability, and driving operational impact are equally important.

Salary Range: $190,000 — $200,000 base salary, plus a target annual bonus (~30%) and long-term equity participation aligned with the company’s private equity ownership structure. Total compensation is designed to be competitive for VP-level HR leadership roles within mid-sized private equity backed organizations.

Optimas offers a comprehensive benefits program including:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Health Savings Account (HSA) eligibility with company matching contributions
• 401(k) retirement plan with discretionary employer match
• Pre-tax savings options and wellness incentives
• Paid time off and additional employee benefit programs

Travel

Travel for this role is expected to be limited and primarily tied to supporting the broader Americas organization. This may include periodic travel to Mexico and occasional travel to India (typically once per year) tied to the Pune office. Overall travel is expected to remain relatively minimal.

Build the HR Engine for Scale

• Develop and execute a multi‑year people strategy aligned with the company’s growth objectives and private equity environment.
• Establish meaningful workforce metrics and executive dashboards that enable data‑driven decisions around hiring, retention, productivity, and leadership effectiveness.
• Modernize HR systems, processes, and operating models to support a multi‑site organization operating across manufacturing, distribution, and corporate functions.
• Strengthen HR infrastructure and systems currently operating on UKG/Ulti Pro.

• Shift…