Director of Sales and Marketing

Title: Director of Sales and Marketing, North America
 
Location: Troy, MI
 
 
Responsibilities:
Supervise, coach, mentor, build-up, and efficiently lead the Sales & Business Development Department in the region North America. The scope includes existing plants in Mexico, USA and Canada, the regional US headquarters, and future plants in Mexico, the USA and Canada for all non-German OEMs. Staff includes Key Account Managers, Business Development Managers and Sales & Marketing Assistants. Manage department to optimize sales strategy, obtain RFI’s and RFQ’s early-on, obtain customer PO’s on time, obtain on-time payments, price adjustments and minimize past-due receivables.  Ensure compliance of internal business processes, strategic and operational directions with present and future customer needs (not necessarily customer wants).  In close cooperation with President, parent companies, create, maintain, develop and enforce sales strategy, processes and reporting structure, sales roadmap, marketing data, competitive data, prioritized targets, customer relationship action plans and progress tracking.  Win and maintain profitable business per defined roadmap. Develop robust customer portfolio including but not limited to Chrysler, Ford and Nissan. Develop excellent, durable long-term customer relationships with all customer departments (engineering, purchasing, production, management and executive levels). Develop and enforce a highly professional representation and its unique offerings with our existing customers, potential future customers, and within the industry.  Develop creative win-win solutions with parent companies and OEMs to address requirements for productivity, givebacks, quick savings, LTA’s and other customers’ requests.  Organize, prepare and hold strategic, commercial and technical presentations at the OEM’s including answering specific technical aspects or having experts answers in a timely manner. Obtain document and have answers in a timely manner OEMs’ questions, concerns and needs.  Plan, lead & prepare alternative cost models and systematic P&L scenarios for each project and each plant prior to quoting.  Develop quote packages for the OEMs consistent with past quotes and win quotes from parent and affiliated companies. Quotes include written specifications, assumptions for warranty, liability, productivity, material identification and weights, commercial terms and detailed technical concepts.  Negotiate quotes with OEMs using specific financial and technical argumentation. Continuously look for opportunities to reduce cost or improve quotes or improve attractiveness. Update quotes accordingly. Negotiate accordingly.  Support program management in quoting running changes and negotiate changes with OEMs.  Organize and run negotiations relative to OEM terms and conditions, warranty, liability, service parts, quality agreements, miscellaneous contracts and commitments.  Initiate or actively support any activity that facilitates program management, customer relations, smooth production launches, reaching or exceeding financial and strategic targets, and customer satisfaction.  Obtain, check consistency, filter, prioritize and maintain up-to-date documentation of information on future programs, localization, product strategy, future technologies, future materials, advanced developments ate the OEMs, trends, future OEM needs, competitors’ market positions, pricing and technologies.  Proactively obtain intelligence information from suppliers, OEMs, agencies and parent companies. Share intelligence information with other departments (regional and corporate), whenever appropriate with parent companies, and whenever non-proprietary with other key-business partners.  Organize visits with OEMs of our plants and facilities.  Organize Tech Days and special events at key-OEMs consistent with parent companies’ marketing strategies.  Support the quality initiatives and support the environmental initiatives.  Direct the preparation of reports to various government/ statistical agencies.
 
Qualifications:

• Bachelor or Master’s Degree in Business/ Economics/ Finance/ Marketing/ Engineering or equivalent
  • Enhanced professional training on sales subjects preferred
• Spanish (Preferred)
• German (Preferred)
• Minimum 15 years’ experience in Sales of which 10+ years automotive industry
  • Of which minimum 10 years in a senior leadership role including personnel supervision
  • Of which minimum 5 years in a production and/ or international environment, with interest for and hands-on approach to production activities
• Proven track record in business development
• Very organized, strong analytical skills
• In-depth knowledge and experience of OEM organizations and OEM sourcing strategies and processes