National Account Manager - Hilton & IHG

Summary

The National Account Manager (NAM), Hilton and IHG Enterprise owns the Hilton and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) enterprise relationships for La Colombe. The role covers corporate procurement at both companies, premium brand Food & Beverage (F&B) leadership across the upper-upscale and luxury portfolios, regional Food & Beverage directors, and the relevant Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) approval workstreams. The NAM is responsible for driving distribution, programming, and partnership growth across the premium Hilton and IHG property footprints.

Responsibilities

Account Ownership — Hilton and IHG

• Own the corporate procurement and senior Food & Beverage relationships at Hilton and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).
• Cover Hilton premium brand leadership across the upper-upscale and luxury portfolio.
• Cover IHG premium brand leadership across the upper-upscale and luxury portfolio.
• Maintain dedicated relationships with regional Food & Beverage directors at both companies.
• Drive Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) approval and pull-through pathways where applicable.

Strategic Planning and Programming

• Develop and execute a named-account business plan covering distribution growth, account programming, and trade investment.
• Drive product placement, beverage program penetration, and menu integration across assigned customer brands.
• Build customized Joint Business Plans (JBPs) that solve customer-specific business objectives and deliver mutual value.
• Manage Request for Proposal (RFP) cycles, Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) approval pathways, and contract renewals — including per-serving cost modeling and competitive positioning.

Relationship Management

• Build mutually beneficial relationships with key decision makers and stakeholders at corporate, brand, regional, and property levels.
• Negotiate contracts to drive execution and programming while maintaining appropriate trade spend levels.
• Customize presentations using business insights to address customer needs and earn execution and programming wins.
• Conduct business reviews and hold partners accountable to delivery against agreed execution and programs.
• Participate in relevant trade shows and industry conferences.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Partner with field sales counterparts on property-level execution at top sites in the book.
• Coordinate with service operations on equipment standards, installation pipelines, and preventive maintenance cadence.
• Partner with channel marketing on co-op programs, customer-facing collateral, and brand activation.
• Coordinate with product and delivery system teams on on-tap product deployments where applicable.

Reporting and Pipeline Discipline

• Maintain Customer Relationship Management (CRM) records daily after every meaningful customer interaction.
• Deliver consistent pipeline updates and forecasts to the Sr. Director, Hospitality.
• Contribute to Quarterly Business Review (QBR) and annual planning cycles with account-level revenue, margin, and program scorecards.

Requirements

Experience Needed:

• 7+ years of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) Away From Home (AFH) sales experience, with significant time managing hotel, premium restaurant, or chain accounts at the national level.
• Proven track record managing multi-level chain buyer organizations — corporate procurement, brand Food & Beverage (F&B) leadership, regional operations, and Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) relationships.
• Direct experience with chain Request for Proposal (RFP) cycles, contract negotiation, and per-serving cost modeling.
• Strong familiarity with the GPO landscape preferred.
• Self-motivated, entrepreneurial mindset; able to work independently in a remote environment.
• Strong analytical, presentation, and negotiation skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint; Customer Relationship Management (CRM) proficiency (HubSpot or equivalent) required.
• Prior experience selling into Hilton, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), or Marriott premium brand enterprise strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with major Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) platforms a plus.

Education:

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree a plus.

Travel:

• 30-50% — primarily to customer headquarters and leading premium properties.