For senior professionals across supply chain, logistics, procurement, and commercial operations ready for their next strategic move
When you’re trusted with the future of a team, a function, or a business – your interview needs to reflect that.
At this level, interviews are still about capability – but they’re also about credibility, chemistry, and confidence.
Hiring leaders want to know not just what you’ve done – but how you think, how you lead, and how you’ll drive outcomes.
This guide is designed to help you sharpen your story, shape your strategic message, and walk into your next senior interview with authority and clarity.
Yes, you’ve been through interviews before. But the more senior the role, the higher the expectations - and the shorter the window to impress.
Great preparation helps you:
At executive level, interviewers are listening for:
Your job isn’t just to answer questions. It’s to show up as a peer - someone who adds value to the top table.
1. Research the Business - and the Business Model
At this level, you’re not researching products - you’re researching positioning.
Understand:
Look at how your function contributes to:
2. Strategic Interview Questions You’ll Likely Face
Example 1 - Transformation or change leadership:
“Tell me about a time you led a significant shift in process, culture, or capability. What made it successful?”
Example 2 - Executive-level judgement:
“Describe a time you had to balance commercial risk against operational delivery - what did you decide, and why?”
Other common questions:
This isn’t about slick answers. It’s about how clearly and credibly you tell the story.
3. Presenting Executive Examples with Strategic Impact
Still use STAR - but elevate it.
Example:
“Post-merger, two warehousing teams operated under conflicting KPIs (S). I was tasked with aligning both under a unified performance framework (T). I worked with each leadership team to co-develop new metrics, reset service targets, and restructured management layers (A). Within six months, service levels stabilised at 99.2%, engagement scores rose by 17%, and duplicated costs were reduced by £1.1M (R).”
4. Choose the Right Examples to Reflect Your Level
You’re not being hired to do - you’re being hired to drive, shape, and lead.
Example 1:
Share a time when you stepped back from operations to influence commercial or strategic direction - not just firefight.
Example 2:
Describe a cultural or behavioural change you led - how you brought people with you, and how you measured success beyond numbers.
These are the stories that prove leadership maturity - not just competence.
Giving polished answers but hiding real opinion
You’re expected to have a viewpoint - and defend it with reasoning.
Focusing too narrowly on your function
Leaders need to be business people first, functional experts second. Show that you connect your work to wider business outcomes.
Underestimating cultural fit
At this level, how you operate matters as much as what you deliver. Be conscious of tone, humility, and emotional intelligence.
Expect one or more of the following:
At this level, your questions say as much as your answers. Ask about:
These show you’re already thinking like a partner - not a passenger.
Leadership interviews aren’t about reciting wins - they’re about projecting confidence, credibility, and alignment.
Show that you:
You’re not pitching your potential anymore. You’re demonstrating presence.
