ACTIVE SEARCHES

The Position:

Our client, a Fortune 200 global industrial company, is seeking a Director of Marketing for one of its $200M divisions located in Northeastern Wisconsin.  This position reports to the VP/GM of the division and is responsible for development, communication and execution of the global marketing strategy, new business opportunities and product management.  This person is a key strategic leader in the business and will develop strategies and plans to increase market penetration for all market segments from distribution to the end user.

Contact Westport Intl search consultant, Kris Ferber

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Lead globally, the development and implementation of business growth plans with goals, strategies and tactics for the division.
• Collaborate with division leaders to identify and prioritize growth opportunities, resource allocations and investment strategies
• Articulate business goals/direction with clarity and work with the team for their professional development
• Lead and provide strategic oversight for direct reports responsible for Voice of the Customer interviews, developing key findings and themes based on these and identifying business opportunities and value proposition.
• Develop and maintain a deep understanding of end user needs to drive successful penetration in market segments.
• Identify new market opportunities/platforms.
• Generate, analyze and interpret segment information to drive product line rationalization and commercialization.
• Design and conduct market research on specific market segments ensuring deep understanding of the market and its 5P’s.
• Identify segmentation approaches that drive key marketing initiatives.
• Conduct market evaluation and opportunity assessment for portfolio products.
• Analyze industry trends, customer activity and product applications to determine sales and profit potential and understand opportunities resulting from changing conditions.
• Analyze market data, including product specific sales, overall sales volume, demographics, and competitive product releases and pricing strategies for product lines and recommend marketing objectives.
• Drive research methodologies, analysis, conclusions, and strategic direction for select markets, new product development, price/positioning, promotional strategies and selling channels
• Utilize the business marketing processes to drive successful penetration in market segments.
• Create training programs to inform and support distributors, sales force and end-users.
• Drive focus and market penetration in targeted end-user segments

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, or comparable discipline and MBA are required.
• 10+ years progressive marketing, sales and/or product management experience in a B2B environment is required. Global experience preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience leading cross-functional teams to common goals.
• Understanding of engineered products with experience developing and deploying engineered technical products.
• Practical/theoretical understanding of client’s products, use and related products is preferred.
• Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills and thorough understanding of computer and web-based technology.
• Exceptional leadership skills to inspire and drive change.
• Product development experience in a business to business (B2B) environment is required.
• Must be able to influence and lead an organization through a fact-based approach.
• P&L management experience is preferred.
• A strong track record of building customer and industry relationships.
• Must have aspiration, engagement and ability to advance and grow within the organization.
• Ability to balance risk and reward and move fast and decisively toward greatest impact opportunities.
• Business and Financial Acumen: This person has demonstrated a broad operational perspective and has the ability to think and act with an understanding of the impact of the interaction among individual business functions and functional initiatives on the performance of the business as a whole. He or she is a business-minded problem solver. This person has a demonstrated ability to link key initiatives with their impact on a business’s profits and a history of implementing innovative concepts that achieve long-term success
• Excellent Analytical Acumen: The successful candidate will have demonstrated the ability to assess disparate data streams and distill them into meaningful and, ultimately, actionable strategic recommendations. This encompasses customer, constituent and competitive environments. A track record of identifying profitable business segments and separating those from unprofitable ones is a necessity. Understanding channel differences and needs is critical.
• Up to 30% travel