Senior Regional Sales Manager

Cherry Central Cooperative was formed in 1973 when five Michigan fruit growers joined together to market their crops as one. More than fifty years later, we are a grower-owned, vertically integrated cooperative representing hundreds of family farms across North America, headquartered in Traverse City, Michigan. Our founding belief still guides us: we are stronger when we work together.

We grow, process, and market red tart cherries, dark sweet cherries, apples, blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, pomegranate arils, and more, in frozen, dried, canned, juice, sauce, and organic formats. Our brands — fruit

Haven, Indian Summer, and Traverse Bay Fruit Co.

- are sold across food service, K-12, retail, private label and co-pack, ingredient, and global supply channels, with all facilities operating to Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) standards.

Our Food service division serves schools, hospitals, restaurants, hotels, and non-commercial operators through the nation’s broadline distributors and a network of independent brokers. We are now building out a hybrid direct-sales and broker model to accelerate growth, and this role is central to that plan.

The Senior Regional Sales Manager - Business Development owns Cherry Central’s food service growth within an assigned multi-state region. This is a hands‑on, revenue-accountable role for a seasoned food service professional who has sold through Sysco, Gordon Food Service, Performance Food Group, US Foods, and independent broadline distribution; managed national and regional chain and non-commercial accounts; and led a broker network under a compensation plan they helped design.

The successful candidate will secure new item placements at the distributor division level, drive pull-through with operators, structure and negotiate marketing and growth agreements, and manage broker performance against clear commission and incentive plans built to deliver double-digit growth. Experience selling private label and manufacturer-branded programs into broadline distribution, buying groups, and group purchasing organizations (GPOs) is essential.

• Deliver annual volume, revenue, and margin targets for the region across brokered and direct-sold business.
• Manage and grow national and regional accounts, including chain restaurant, healthcare, college & university, K-12, and other non-commercial segments, in coordination with the national account team.
• Develop and execute an annual regional business plan by distributor, broker, and key operator, with quarterly reviews against plan.
• Prepare pricing proposals, bids, and deviated pricing programs in line with Cherry Central pricing policy and margin objectives.

• Call on Sysco, GFS, PFG, US Foods, and independent broadline houses at the division/OpCo level to secure new item stocking, category positioning, and shelf-space expansion for fruit
  
  Haven, Indian Summer, Traverse Bay Fruit Co., and private label programs.
• Lead general sales meetings, product cuttings, and district sales trainings for distributor sales representatives (DSRs) to drive knowledge, samples, and pull-through.
• Negotiate and manage distributor marketing agreements, growth rebates, promotional calendars, and food-show participation; measure return on every dollar committed.
• Maintain distributor item files, velocity reporting, and stocking status to identify gaps and opportunities.
• Manage, evaluate, and develop the regional broker network; recommend appointments, realignments, and terminations based on documented performance.
• Design and administer broker compensation, commission, and incentive plans (including new-item bonuses and growth accelerators)…