Back to jobs

General Manager

Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

Position: General Manager
Organization: Acme | Lock & Door – A Cobalt Service Partners Company
Location: On-Site | Cincinnati, OH
Reports To: President, Entrance Solutions

Acme Lock & Door Overview

Founded in 1933, Acme | Lock & Door has been a trusted name in the tri-state area for over 90 years, providing top-tier locksmithing services, door and frame installation, glass and storefront installation, and access control solutions for commercial, industrial, and institutional clients.

With a reputation built on quality craftsmanship and exceptional customer service, we are dedicated to securing our customers’ spaces while delivering reliable and innovative solutions. Our team of skilled technicians are passionate about their work and take pride in maintaining the highest standards of safety and professionalism.

Acme | Lock & Door is proud to operate as part of Cobalt Service Partners — a private equity-backed platform building the leading commercial access and security integration business in North America, backed by Alpine Investors.

Position Overview

As the General Manager, you will lead a well-established, legacy business — while driving the next chapter of aggressive, sustainable growth. This key leadership role requires a strong blend of people management, financial acumen, operational excellence, and sales grit.

With the backing of a fast-growing PE platform, a values-driven team, and a proven playbook, you will have the opportunity to roll up your sleeves, develop your leadership, and build meaningfully on a business that has already earned the trust of its community for generations.

Key Responsibilities

  • The General Manager will drive organic growth and EBITDA uplift by executing across the following areas:

    • P&L ownership: Develop and execute strategic plans to achieve financial targets, including year-over-year monthly revenue growth and annual EBITDA improvement. Monitor progress, identify opportunities, and present financial reports, budgets, and forecasts to senior leadership.
    • Sales & business development: Drive revenue growth through effective sales strategies, market analysis, and client relationship management. Roll up your sleeves and bring new accounts into the business, while building and training a strong sales team. Continuously assess market trends, competitive dynamics, and customer needs to refine and sharpen your approach.
    • Operational excellence: Develop and implement initiatives that drive EBITDA through improved field operations, enhanced customer satisfaction, and thoughtful stewardship of company resources.
    • People management & leadership: Lead a high-performing, results-oriented team by recruiting, training, and developing talent through clear goal setting and a culture of continuous improvement. Inspire action across diverse teams and exemplify our values in every interaction.


Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or other relevant advanced degree preferred.
  • Proven track record of driving impact and exceeding measurable expectations — demonstrated experience in an SMB general management or senior leadership role preferred.
  • Experience with FP&A; demonstrated expertise in financial management, budgeting, and P&L responsibility strongly preferred.
  • Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to influence at all levels of an organization.
  • Resourceful and scrappy; eager to roll up sleeves and get the job done.
  • Strong problem-solving abilities and a strategic mindset.
  • Proficiency in data-driven decision-making.
  • High EQ and genuine interest in people management — including hiring, training, and development.
  • Exceptional leadership and team-building capabilities.
  • Experience in or deep respect for the trades.


Core Competencies

  • Ownership mentality: Takes full accountability for the performance of the business — top line, bottom line, and everything in between.
  • Sales grit: Brings energy and persistence to business development; not afraid to pick up the phone, knock on a door, and build new relationships.
  • People-first leadership: Builds trust quickly, develops talent intentionally, and creates an environment where people do their best work.
  • Financial discipline: Comfortable in the numbers; makes decisions grounded in data and keeps a close eye on the metrics that matter.
  • Operational curiosity: Wants to understand how the business works at every level — and is always looking for ways to make it better.
  • Strategic agility: Balances near-term execution with longer-term vision; adapts quickly as market conditions evolve.
  • Respect for the craft: Appreciates the skilled trades and brings genuine respect for the technicians and field teams who are the backbone of the business.


Compensation and Timing

Compensation will be competitive and commensurate with experience. Acme Lock & Door offers a comprehensive benefits package including healthcare, 401(k) match, and flexible time off. We are looking to fill this role in the near term as a critical investment in the company’s continued growth and future.

___________________________________

Cobalt Service Partners Overview

Cobalt Service Partners is a private equity–backed platform building the leading commercial access and security integration business in North America. Our partner companies design, install, and service mission-critical systems including access control, video surveillance, intrusion detection, and related low-voltage infrastructure for enterprise, institutional, and commercial customers.

Backed by Alpine Investors, a private equity firm specializing in middle-market companies in the services and software industries with $15B+ in AUM, Cobalt has scaled rapidly since launch. With more than 20 acquisitions completed in a highly fragmented operating environment, Cobalt is building a differentiated, data-driven platform designed to scale through both organic growth and M&A.


Cobalt’s Core Values Are

  • Unwavering stewardship: We believe advancing founders’ legacies is a privilege. We do right by our founders, teams, and customers in good times and in bad.
  • Excellence in action: We hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards. We’re bold in our pursuits, don’t make excuses, and relentlessly empower each other to get the job done.
  • Seek and tell the truth: We’re honest with ourselves and others. We do what we say we’ll do, say what needs to be said, and search for the right answer regardless of where it comes from.
  • Love learning: We’re always learning as individuals, as a team, and as a business. We show up humble, curious, and with the courage to change our minds.
  • Enjoy the ride: We’re fired up by our mission, love our team, and don’t take either for granted. We show up authentically, assume best intent, and try not to take ourselves too seriously.

 

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at Cobalt Service Partners? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Select...
Select...

U.S. Standard Demographic Questions

We invite applicants to share their demographic background. If you choose to complete this survey, your responses may be used to identify areas of improvement in our hiring process.
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Cobalt Service Partners’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.