Apply on Employer Site

GEA Group · 1 week ago

Head of Bakery Sales (Director-level)

Romeoville

Full-time

Hybrid

Director/Executive

$140K/yr - $150K/yr

7+ years exp

GEA Group, founded in Germany in 1881, is a global leader in engineering solutions serving various industries. The Head of Bakery Sales will oversee the sales of Bakery Machinery in North America, focusing on customer relationships and driving growth through strategic engagement and sales planning.

Food ProcessingIndustrialSupply Chain Management

No H1B

Responsibilities

Seeks to understand each customer’s needs, challenges, and goals, identifying their alternatives to get these addressed and ensuring that every proposed solution addresses their pain points and creates clear value

Act as the primary steward of the customer experience within the assigned geography, coordinating equipment sales and service teams to consistently deliver on commitments and strengthen long‑term customer relationships while achieving GEA’s short‑term objectives

Engage directly with customers through hands‑on selling and frequent in‑person meetings, dedicating significant focus (60% of time) to strategic customers and Key Accounts to ensure they receive tailored support and proactive partnership. Nurture and grow customer relationships, ensuring existing customers feel supported and valued while expanding the customer base through regular visits, lead follow‑up, campaigns, and promotions in collaboration with R&C, Inside Sales & Support, and Marketing across the Bakery & EFT Business Units

Map the market with a customer‑first lens, identifying opportunities where GEA can help customers improve performance, and build a strong, customer‑validated project pipeline across key segments

Guide and coordinate day‑to‑day sales activities across all Bakery & EFT applications, ensuring a seamless customer journey from RFQ through installation & commissioning, and working closely with Technical Offer, Inside Sales & Support, and other key functions to deliver timely, high‑quality outcomes

Championing customer satisfaction and service excellence, addressing and resolving major issues with urgency and care while driving growth in the Service business through trust, responsiveness, and reliability

Develop customer‑aligned sales plans, budgets, and forecasts, ensuring cross‑functional alignment with Sales Area Management, Application Management, Project Management, Engineering, Procurement, Manufacturing, and Logistics to deliver on customer expectations

Maintain accurate and insightful CRM data to enhance market visibility

Manage and support regional Agents (when applicable) to ensure they deliver a consistent, customer‑focused approach, meeting expectations for performance, compliance, and communication

Align pricing, discounts, and commercial terms with Business Units, the line Manager, Finance, and Legal to ensure transparency, fairness, and clarity for customers

Represent the Bakery & EFT Business Units in customer negotiations, ensuring agreements reflect customer needs while adhering to approved pricing and commercial frameworks

Contribute to strategy, business development, and R&D efforts by bringing forward customer insights, competitive intelligence, and market trends. Facilitate VOC/OVOC activities and coordinate joint development initiatives with regional customers, leveraging Test Centers in Italy in close collaboration with Application Managers, Innovation, and Engineering

Model GEA’s values, code of conduct, and strategic direction, ensuring the same standards are upheld by R&C FLS and Agents (when applicable) to protect customer trust and brand integrity

Deliver the agreed annual country targets: Order Intake for New Machines & Service, GM (%), Hit Rate, Sales, New Customers, Market Share, CRM Pipeline, and Service on-time delivery (OTIF: On Time In Full), always with customer success as the guiding principle

Recruit, develop, and lead regional teams, including sales managers (3 Bakery, 1 Extrusion)

Qualification

Bakery industry experienceSalesBusiness DevelopmentCommercial strategy definitionNorth America market dynamicsProject ManagementNegotiation skillsComplex problem handlingFluent in EnglishSecond language (French/Italian)Team leadership

Required

Bachelor's Degree in Bakery Science, Engineering, or related field preferred

7-10+ years' experience in Sales, Business Development or Project Management lead customer facing roles with direct target achievement responsibility and commercial strategy definition

Strong commercial acumen and negotiation skills

Strong understanding of legal and commercial contracting

Strong understanding of North America market dynamics

Fluent in English, preferably with a second language (French or Italian)

Ability to handle complex commercial and technical challenges

Ability to manage in difficult situations, and to execute under time pressure

Capability to design, implement and execute a holistic commercial strategy and be the lead for short cycle achievements

Ability to travel 50-75%