Commercial Development Manager

COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT MANAGER – HOUSEHOLD, INDUSTRIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL (HI&I) Role Summary

The Commercial Development Manager (CDM) role is pivotal in driving commercial success of Pilot’s market development activities. This position will ensure the successful launch and adoption of new surfactant products and claims, with a strong emphasis on market and customer engagement, channel strategies, and continuous improvement in the Household, Industrial and Institutional (HI&I) markets. The CDM also handles new prospective customers directly, serving as the primary point of contact and supporting commercialization of target products.

This position is a key role within the cross-functional market development teams with specific focus on building and maintaining strong customer relationships, representing Pilot at industry events, and communicating market feedback to the development teams. Ultimately, this position is a key driving force behind Pilot’s growth and innovation strategy ensuring that newly launched products achieve commercial success and make a significant impact in the HI&I markets.

• Lead, drive, and meet/exceed profit targets for surfactant products/claims ready for commercialization, as leader of all commercialization related activities, including supporting Sales and Technical efforts.
• Activities focus on customer engagement (either alone or in support of Sales/Technology), understanding customer feedback/learnings to refine value props, and managing negotiations/concluding business with target customers.
• Serve as primary point of contact for newly prospected accounts and manage the hand-off to Sales at the appropriate point. Conduct joint calls with Sales to support commercialization of target products/claims at Sales accounts.
• Works with Sales, Market Development, Technical, and other functions to ensure commercial success from our new target products/claims.
• Develop and execute channel strategies to enable entry into new geographies for target product/claims commercialization.
• Build and maintain strong customer relationships in HI&I. Represent Pilot at industry events, conferences, and trade shows.
• Communicate market feedback and aggregated learnings from customers including value prop validation, unmet needs, and market/regulatory trends.
• Establish and report on key performance indicators (KPIs) for commercialization initiatives, providing insights on effectiveness and recommending improvements.

• Minimum of a BS/BA degree in chemistry or related science/engineering fields. Undergraduate or executive education business courses; particularly marketing or selling skills preferred. MBA would be a plus.
• 7+ years of chemical industry experience in a commercial role focused in HI&I markets that may include one or more of the following areas:
  Technical marketing, Technical service, Technical sales, Business and Market development, B2B Marketing.
• The ability to travel up to 50% of the time.
• Demonstrated entrepreneurial mindset and a self-starter.
• Demonstrated ability to influence across functions and divisions without direct line authority.
• Demonstrated project management skills; ability to build effective networks to help drive development of new business opportunities.
• Excellent listening, communication, and presentation skills.
• Must learn Pilot policies and procedures, products, chemistry, process and applications, health, safety, and environmental requirements, within one year from date of hire.

• Professional training in:
  Selling Skills, Strategic Account Planning, or Marketing.
• Experience using Power BI and
• Training in interpersonal skills, personality styles, and time management.
• Formal training in negotiating skills, value-added selling, and project management.
• Knowledge of surfactants, biocides and other formulation ingredients with a strong focus in HPC markets.

Join our growing team!