Director of Sales | DSD West

Director of Sales | DSD West

is a senior leadership role responsible for accelerating SPYLT’s distribution, velocity, and retail execution across all Western U.S. DSD partners. This leader will be accountable for building high-trust DSD partnerships, architecting annual Joint Business Plans, driving retail excellence, and building a high-performance culture through coaching, accountability, and data-driven execution.

This individual must be a proven DSD operator
, a strategic thinker, a skilled team leader, and an exceptional relationship-builder capable of wiring at the most senior levels of DSD bottlers, distributors, and regional retailers.

• Lead, coach, and inspire DSD partners and internal teams to consistently deliver best-in-class execution.
• Establish clear objectives, accountability routines, and weekly performance rhythms.
• Build a high-trust culture rooted in transparency, data, and results.
• Serve as the senior point of contact for all West-Region DSD escalations, opportunities, and leadership-level conversations.

• Lead the creation and execution of annual Joint Business Plans (JBPs) with each DSD partner, including:
• distribution build-out
• velocity expectations
• display targets
• retail standards
• promotional calendars
• risk & opportunity tracking
• Develop strategic plans by territory, state, and partner to maximize distribution, revenue, and profitability.
• Align with DSD ownership's capabilities, warehouse practices, and retail coverage models to optimize growth.

• Ensure flawless execution across all retail outlets supported by DSD partners.
• Set and enforce the “SPYLT Standards of Excellence” for retail:
• distribution
• facings
• cold placement
• display execution
• POS compliance
• promotional accuracy
• Conduct ride-alongs, market visits, and account-level audits to ensure DSD teams meet expectations.

• Build and maintain strong senior-level relationships with DSD GMs, Sales VPs, Ops leaders, and Retail Directors.
• Wire directly into Regional Retailers influencing the East (e.g., Publix, Kroger Divisions, Albertsons Companies, Ahold, Wakefern, etc.).
• Resolve issues proactively, from credit/payment challenges to replenishment disruptions.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to bottlers on the growth of SPYLT and the protein category within their portfolios.

• Leverage VIP/Karma
  , SPINS, 84.51, and Aisle AI
  ** to inform decisions and improve operational precision.
• Own forecasting for each DSD partner:
• revenue
• shipments and share of visual inventory
• days of supply
• promotional lifts
• seasonal planning
• Build and execute weekly/monthly dashboards and OKRs to track performance and identify risk/opportunity pockets.

• Recruit, develop, and mentor SPYLT field team members (Regional Sales Managers, Area Sales Managers).
• Collaborate tightly with SPYLT Retail Team, Marketing, Operations, Finance, and Data/AI teams to align plans and execution.
• Lead recurring cross-functional business reviews covering DSD performance, forecasting, and strategic priorities.

• Deeply understand each DSD partner’s market, operational capabilities, consumer base, and competitive set.
• Deliver exceptional responsiveness, follow-up, and service.
• Build loyalty through reliability, clarity, and proactive problem-solving.

• Adjust strategy quickly to shifts in retail demand, category trends, or DSD partner performance.
• Model resilience, urgency, and solution-oriented thinking.
• Champion continuous improvement and innovation across the division.