Sales & Business Director, Americas - Molecular Sieves

The Sales & Business Director, Americas – Molecular Sieves will report functionally to the Business Unit President (Molecular Sieves) – based in France and report locally in the Americas to the General Manager - Functional Additives Americas. Subordinates reporting into this position: 3 direct reports in the US (Sales and Supply Chain).

The position leads ARKEMA’s Molecular Sieves business in the United States, Canada and Latin America directly and through distribution. Position includes P&A responsibility and inventory in five main warehousing locations in North America.

Travel 30%-50% of the time, including worldwide travel.

• Sales – 50%
  • Ownership of a number of strategic accounts.
  • Develops the business units’ strategic sales plan; communicates and sells the vision to the sales team.
  • Provides direction and guidance on pricing strategies.
  • Develops the distributor strategy by market and by geography.
  • Brings a global perspective to the group, seeking to leverage sales to other geographies.
  • Provides a technical, value-based selling approach.
  • Develop the technical expertise required to support sales activities.
  • Develop and communicate understanding of our customers’ applications
• P&L for the Molecular Sieves business in the Americas – 20%
  • Responsible for the results of the Molecular Sieves Business in North, Central and South America including:
    • Recurring businesses (Medical Oxygen and Static) and non-recurring business Energy)
    • Development and growth of new businesses.
    • Interpreting and understanding the business income statement and balance sheet and taking corrective actions where and when needed.
    • Preparing the Costs and Sales budgets and ensuring their realization. Follow a formal S&OP process and ensure minimization of the working capital.
    • Implementation of the Business Strategy discussed with GM and Product Managers.
    • Reporting on the business unit’s performance and forecast process on a monthly basis.
    • Contributing to the definition of the Business Strategy by providing market-driven proposals based on local knowledge, competitive intelligence, customer insights, and regional opportunities. Recommend strategic actions to strengthen market positioning, pricing, portfolio development, and long-term growth across the Americas.
• Team management/Talent management – 10%
  • Management of the US team for molecular sieves including hiring, performance appraisal, goal setting for the direct reports.
  • Propose changes to the organization to meet business needs and identify needs for training/development.
  • Ownership of a number of strategic accounts.
  • Develops the BU’s strategic sales plan; communicates and sells the vision to the sales team.
  • Provides direction and guidance on pricing strategies.
• Supply Chain and forecasting – 10%
  • Manage the forecasting process.
  • Coordination with the European teams (Management / Supply Chain / Business Managers / R&D /Production plants).
• Business Development – 10%
  • Responsible for meeting the Arkema target of 7% annual organic growth with a combination of new customers/new applications and new products.
  • Cross Business Units initiatives.
  • Emerging Countries initiatives (Latin America).

• 12 + years’ experience in a technical or technical sales role in an industrial environment
• 5 years’ experience managing strategic/global customers preferred.
• Management of a team for at least 3 years.
• Experience in the Chemical industry.

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in Science/Engineering or Business needed to understand the technical, financial and economic aspects of the job.

• Must have demonstrated success in contract negotiations, closing deals/sales, must be able to identify new leads and bring innovative ideas that will add value to the business.
• Strong organizational and leadership skills along with ability to facilitate and drive teamwork and to interface with various functions in a large corporate organization.
• Able to work with and communicate across multiple time zones.
• Strong customer focus.
• Results driven.
• Detail orientation, with excellent prioritization and follow-up.
• Interpersonal, listening,…