Senior Manager​/Associate Director – Commercial Excellence; m​/f​/d - Chicago

Overview

Mutares SE & Co. KGaA, Munich (), as a listed private equity holding company, acquires medium-sized companies in special situations, which show significant operational improvement potential and are sold again after undergoing a repositioning and stabilization process. Mutares actively support its portfolio companies with its own investment and operations teams and through strategic add-on acquisitions. The focus is on companies with revenues ranging from USD 120 million to USD 850 million, across various industries.

The aim is to achieve a clear value increase with a focus on sustainable, long-term growth of the portfolio company.

• Lead commercial transformation efforts across compounding and blend operations to enhance sales performance
• Analyse customer, product, and channel profitability to identify pricing, mix, and margin improvement opportunities across U.S. markets
• Redesign commercial processes (pipeline management, account planning, segmentation, pricing discipline, forecasting, etc.) to drive sustainable sales performance
• Support the development of go-to-market strategies, including market positioning, key account strategies, and competitive differentiation for technical materials
• Implement KPI-based performance tracking, ensuring transparency, ownership, and continuous improvement within the local sales organization
• Partner closely with the Mutares cross-functional restructuring team to align commercial decisions and drive effective execution of sales initiatives

• Successfully completed a degree in business, economics, engineering, or a related field with outstanding results
• At least 6 years of experience in Commercial Excellence / Sales Transformation, ideally in chemicals, polymers, materials, or industrial manufacturing
• Strong understanding of B2B sales in technical products, ideally compounding, engineered materials, or downstream plastics applications
• Proven track record in pricing, margin improvement, and commercial process redesign
• Analytical, hands-on, and entrepreneurial mindset with excellent problem-solving skills
• Business fluency in English & willingness to travel up to 4 days per week across the US

• Work in a highly motivated, international, committed, and agile team that enjoys working together
• Exciting work environment with varied challenges, strategic influence, and tasks for continuous personal and professional development
• Flat hierarchies, fast decision-making processes, and room for your own ideas
• Regular team events and offsites