Alexander Steele Recruitment

Compensation

Full Description

Alexander Steele have partnered with an industry leader within the food & beverage ingredients manufacturing landscape ($Multi-Bn turnover) who are actively seeking a Commercial Director to be a key commercial figure within their Specialty Ingredients & Flavors vertical. Location: Candidates must reside within the Midwestern states of the US to be considered. Travel: 50%+. About the Role: Reporting directly to the CEO; the Commercial Director - Flavors will lead profitable growth by cultivating key customer relationships to optimize ingredient sales. This role involves strategic planning, sales team development through coaching and mentoring, and collaboration with senior leadership to achieve business unit objectives. We are looking for a candidate with strong business development, sales & account mgmt. experience in a specialty ingredients or flavors organization (preferably with experience in beverage, dairy, functional or sports nutrition markets). This candidate will also be driven to help build a business unit within a successful organization, and be very growth oriented. Responsibilities: • Develop, own, and execute the comprehensive commercial strategy for the sweet flavors category, aligning with overall corporate goals and P&L objectives. • Conduct in-depth market analysis on consumer trends, competitive landscape, and regulatory changes (e.g., sugar reduction, natural ingredients, clean label) to identify new market opportunities and future threats in the sweet space. • Establish clear, aggressive sales targets, pricing strategies, and budget for the sweet flavors commercial unit. • Report on key commercial performance metrics and provide actionable insights and forecasts to the ELT. • Lead new business development efforts, focusing on penetrating top-tier and mid-market CPG companies in the food and beverage sectors, with a direct focus on sweet product applications. • Cultivate and maintain high-level, strategic relationships with C-level executives, R&D directors, and procurement leaders at key B2B customer organizations. • Collaborate closely with R&D, Flavor Creation, and Applications teams to ensure the sweet flavor portfolio is cutting-edge, technically sound, and commercially viable to meet evolving customer needs (e.g., low-sugar, natural sweetening solutions). • Work with Marketing to develop compelling, value-based sales materials and campaigns that highlight our sweet flavor capabilities and competitive advantages. Qualifications: • 10+ years of progressive commercial and sales leadership experience within the Flavor, Food Ingredient, or Specialty Chemical industry. • Minimum of 5 years of experience exclusively focused on selling sweet flavors (e.g., fruit, confectionery, vanilla, brown flavors) or related sweetening solutions to B2B food & beverage manufacturers/CPG companies in North America. • Proven track record of consistently exceeding large revenue and profitability targets, with demonstrable success in business development and market share expansion. • Deep understanding of the CPG product development cycle, from concept and brief to commercialization, specifically within sweet food and beverage categories (e.g., soft drinks, dairy, bakery, snacks, confectionery). • Strong financial acumen, including experience managing large P&L lines, pricing strategy, forecasting, and budget development. • Exceptional leadership, negotiation, and interpersonal communication skills (oral and written) to influence internal stakeholders and external clients at the highest levels. • Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Food Science, Chemistry, or a related field. • MBA preferred but not essential. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate based on race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status. We believe that diversity enriches our company and helps us better serve our customers and communities. Due to a large number of applicants, if you have not heard back from the team at Alexander Steele after 14 days, you have unfortunately been unsuccessful.