Townsend Search Group has been exclusively retained to identify an Executive Vice President, Sales ("EVP") for a leading distributor of building material solutions and supplies serving a broad range of industrial end markets including pallet, furniture, housing, construction, and general industrial. Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer and serving as the top commercial executive in the organization, the EVP is responsible for setting and driving the overall strategic vision for the commercial organization. The EVP will lead sales, marketing, and partnership development efforts, while ensuring the alignment of products, services and solutions with market demands. This executive will work cross-functionally to optimize client relationships, improve customer success, and ensure profitable growth. Additionally, he/she will serve as a member of the executive team helping to develop and drive strategy across the entire organization.
Based in the greater Indianapolis area, the EVP will have primary day-to-day responsibility for meeting and exceeding sales and renewal targets, with responsibility for all new business, account expansion and client management.
Responsibilities:
- Develop and execute the overall commercial strategy to drive revenue growth and market share.
- Set clear revenue targets and oversee the creation of effective go-to-market plans, ensuring alignment for overall company vision and market opportunities.
- Drive revenue growth by identifying and developing new sales channels, optimizing existing partnerships, and entering new markets.
- Collaborate with the finance and operations teams to manage budgets, forecasts, and key performance indicators (KPIs) related to revenue generation and profitability.
- Oversee our marketing efforts, and take a data driven approach to assess the effectiveness of campaigns and modify where necessary.
- Establish and maintain key relationships with external stakeholders across our various revenue generating partners.
- Establish and maintain key relationships with internal subject matter experts that can aid in the sales process.
- Maintain pricing models and assess the anticipated profit margin of key prospects.
- Improve our client referral program to activate existing clients as growth partners.
- Strong ability to collaborate across functions. Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing commercial team, including sales, marketing, sales operations, and business development professionals.
- Foster a culture of collaboration, mutual respect, accountability and high performance.
- Anticipate and manage growth – adapt the organization as growth occurs via organic expansion and/or acquisitions.
- Play a major role in the formulation of Company policies and goals directly related to the company’s growth and strategic initiatives.
Candidate Requirements
To achieve success in this high energy, rapidly growing and entrepreneurial environment, the Executive Vice President, Sales will be passionate about helping the Company’s businesses grow by identifying and implementing innovative solutions to generate revenue growth. Ideal candidates will possess:
- Fifteen years or more of increasing commercial/sales experience; a portion of this experience should have been gained within the distribution industry.
- Proven success building and leading commercial/sales operations.
- Strong understanding of sales and marketing strategies; proven ability to build and lead all facets of a commercial function with innovative go-to-market models.
- Evidence of leading an organization through rapid growth.
- Excellent interpersonal relationship skills, including negotiating and relationship management skills with the ability to drive the achievement of objectives.
- Demonstrated experience leading and motivating sales teams across North America to successfully deliver the highest client satisfaction while delivering sales targets.
- Bachelor’s degree in related field required. MBA or related master’s-level degree is strongly preferred.
- Ability to create a winning culture, defined by a competitive/challenger mentality.
- Collaboration with team members to manage projects, solve problems, discuss challenging issues or learn more about critical issues as a group.
- Demonstrated experience establishing clear, challenging performance goals and metrics for team members.
- Experience reviewing and holding team members accountable against short and long-term planning initiatives; focusing attention beyond the project to the full year or more.
- Ability to translate strategies into clear, specific objectives.
- A high-energy, entrepreneurial individual who is disciplined, focused and viewed by colleagues and subordinates as very positive, approachable, open and genuine.
