Reporting to the President of Alside, the Vice President, Commercial (“VP”) role will be responsible for:
- Developing and overseeing the execution of the commercial strategy for Alside, aligning resources to improve the effectiveness of the sales organization to drive top- and bottom-line growth;
- Building and leading a team across sales enablement, business developing, pricing and marketing, and is partner with Sales Leadership (Regional VPs) and Operations to deliver on Alside's growth and margin goals;
- Championing a customer-centric (vs. sales centric) and cross-functional approach, shifting the mindset and vernacular of the organization;
- Developing and refining the commercial workstreams of the Value Creation Plan for Alside and working with the AM Transformation Office and PE ownership to deliver on the plan.
This position will be part of the Alside leadership team, will regularly present to and interact the rest of the Alside leadership team, AM Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and PE sponsors.
Specific responsibilities will include:
- Develop and execute a holistic go-to-market (GTM) strategy including defining and prioritizing within a potential universe of customers for Alside (‘where to play'), clearly articulating the Alside value proposition (‘how to win') and developing the roadmap of commercial capabilities and investments needed to win;
- Lead sales enablement efforts to ensure sales organization is equipped to execute on the strategy to drive top- and bottom-line growth and share gain, including;
- Further develop and build out and professionalize commercial infrastructure, processes, systems, and tools (sales reporting processes and KPIs, funnel management, account planning discipline, and customer strategy sessions). Ensure the optimization of CRM tool to drive business results;
- Partner closely with Alside President and Regional Vice Presidents to design and execute optimal sales organization, seller talent strategy, coverage model, and territory alignment;
- Developing and rolling out upskilling and training across the sales organization, in partnership with HR, strategic suppliers and AM product teams;
- Define and execute business development strategy including direct oversight of national accounts and supporting Market General Managers (MGMs) on market-level pursuits to drive growth. This includes providing support for 220 sales reps across the company;
- Lead development and delivery of a holistic marketing strategy for Alside, including brand strategy and product marketing (e.g., for private label), customer analytics and targeting, lead generation and development of marketing collateral (print, digital, web) to support customer pursuits, capability presentations, customer campaigns, etc.;
- Lead pricing strategy and day-to-day execution (price list management, rebate tracking, etc.) for Alside, in concert with the broader AM organization, to drive sustainable margin expansion;
- Overseeing sales operations within the builder sales channel, with a specific focus on managing relationships with the large national building companies;
- Own the strategy behind competitive intelligence (industry trends, competitive landscape, market dynamics) and connects that to business development and sales leaders to make informed decisions;
- Collaborate with category management team on product and inventory strategy, leveraging customer insights and data to influence product decisions.
The person in this role will help the organization achieve:
- Topline sales growth through increased share of wallet from key customers as well as acquisition of new business;
- Margin expansion from utilizing a multitude of commercial levers, including pricing, mix shift and upselling of the company portfolio;
- Strengthened voice of the customer insight around target markets and target customers to continue the profitable and scalable growth of the organization;
- A data-driven commercial strategy for the company beyond what strategies brands are implementing, while also working with brands on the development of business plans to support specific strategic initiatives.
Professional Experiences and Qualities
The ideal candidate will be a mission-driven, strategic, and growth-oriented individual who has delivered transformational change in a fast-paced, dynamic company or standalone division. The candidate will possess a holistic business perspective and will have a history of growing revenue through rigorously deploying a commercial excellence process. They will exhibit a passion for catalyzing organizational change.
Ultimately, the successful candidate will bring a dynamic combination of experiences with strong interpersonal skills and executive presence. They will work with peers and indirect subordinates in collaboration to drive business results.
The ideal candidate should also possess, at minimum, the following qualifications and attributes:
- 15-20 years of commercial leadership experience, ideally within distribution and/or retail with a focus on building products and/or other industrials;
- Strong sales background, ideally field and key account experience, to connect well with sales leaders and front-line reps to build relationships and earn their trust;
- Experience in B2B pricing, including developing and executing pricing strategies to drive margin expansion across existing portfolio;
- Experience in sales enablement (either running or leading the function) with proven track record of driving change in large sales organizations and proven track record of leading change within large sales organizations;
- Experience in marketing function (line responsibility and/or project experience) and familiarity with marketing best-practices, tools and systems;
- Experience in product and/or category management a plus;
- Prior work experience with a private equity-owned company preferably through exit, or a similarly minded corporate environment a plus;
- “Hands-on” leader comfortable with interaction at all levels within the company and wiling to roll their sleeves up to get the job done;
- Must have excellent oral and written communication skills;
- Must have strong ability to manage/prioritize multiple projects and adapt to a changing, fast-paced environment.
Education
A Bachelor's degree is required; an MBA or advanced degree is preferred.