Job Details

Vice President, Global Sales - Wood Stone Corporation

Location:   West Coast

Salary:   based on experience


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Are you interested in leading the sales strategy for a growing foodservice equipment business headquartered in the Seattle area with the option to work remotely with travel? 

Are you a metrics-driven sales leader with a passion for scaling a business? 

Would you appreciate seeing your own products every time you go to Chipotle, MOD Pizza or other restaurants, colleges, or hospitals?

 

THE OPPORTUNITY: 

  • Join an established, employee-owned company who built its reputation on its family of stone hearth ovens and is a strongly preferred provider in the Foodservice industry.
  • Embrace a culture that values integrity, respect, humility, and innovation.
  • Enhance company value by achieving established goals and realize attractive financial upside.
  • Be a leader in building relationships at all levels of the company to foster credibility and influence to create change.
  • Model the way as a Servant Leader exhibiting both empathy and decisiveness.

 

ABOUT THE COMPANY:

Based in Bellingham, Washington outside Seattle, Wood Stone Corporation has been manufacturing stone hearth and specialty commercial cooking equipment for the foodservice industry for over 30 years. Wood Stone has had more than 18,000 installations in over 80 countries worldwide. Their products are relied upon for their technologically advanced ceramics and engineering expertise coupled with high quality construction techniques and attention to detail. Wood Stone also designs, engineers and manufactures a line of specialty commercial cooking equipment in addition to their traditional oven offerings. Key customers include Chipotle, Blaze Pizza, MOD Pizza, and others. Approximately 35% of their sales are with restaurant chains, and the balance to colleges, hospitality, healthcare, and some residential.

 

WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING:

The VP Global Sales reports to the President & CEO as part of the Leadership Team. In this role, you’ll have the responsibility to provide strategic leadership and direction to ~7 leaders on the Sales (external & internal) and Technical Services teams.

 

  • Strategic Business and Organizational Leadership
    • Lead strategic and profitable new revenue generation and customer retention efforts.
    • Determine the long- and short-term goals and direction for the sales and technical services teams based on overall organizational strategy. 
    • Drive and communicate sales and company strategies across the organization to bring the teams together to jointly enhance sales performance.
    • Develop and deliver an effective sales team business plan, including accurate revenue and profit forecasts and retention and ongoing support of existing customers.
    • Guide all customer-facing teams to achieve revenue and strategic goals.
    • Operational Excellence
      • Translate company and departmental sales objectives into successful sales programs and initiatives.
      • Scale sales capabilities, processes, and practices for growth.
      • Preserve and grow high-level strategic customer and partner relationships.
      • Develop annual financial plan to achieve goals; plan and manage to a budget.
      • Meet or exceed monthly and annual sales goals and expense control objectives.
      • Maintain accurate existing and potential customer records of all sales and prospecting activities including sales calls, presentations, quotes and other key metrics within the channel and rep partner lists. Help develop a more formal CRM system going forward.
      • Participate and contribute to the development of customer education, prospects and employees.
      • Generate monthly unit sales forecast of all key products to feed the company’s S&OP process.
      • Glean insights and maintain awareness of market needs, as well as industry trends to optimize market position. Identify competitive threats and develop effective countermeasures.
      • Develop and maintain key contacts and business relationships with members of the marketplace community, including influential individuals and professional organizations.
      • Attract, recruit, and retain top representation. Know the US and International channels of distribution, understand their needs; build and use relationships in the network to drive sales and revenue.
      • Define measurable expectations of each role in your organization and our representation. At least annually, evaluate performance against expectations.

 

  • Executive Leadership Team and Sales Team
    • Actively participate in the leadership team’s development and execution of strategies to grow the business and exceed customer expectations.
    • Represent the customer perspective in critical strategies and decisions.
    • Collaborate closely with the VP, Innovation and other key leaders.
    • Ensure skills of our sales professionals (staff and sales representation) are in alignment with the demands of the marketplace and company sales objectives, including product knowledge, key process knowledge, knowledge of the competition, sales techniques, relationship-building, making effective sales presentations and negotiation skills.
    • Build, motivate and lead a high-performance sales and technical services team.

 

  • Respect the Culture – but Lead Change
    • Provide leadership and management while embracing Wood Stone unique culture and core values.
    • Help create a vision for the future that invites and supports change.

 

THE KEY REQUIREMENTS:

  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
  • 7-9 years of demonstrated successful sales experience, preferably in the food service equipment industry.
  • 5+ years of proven sales leadership and management experience at an executive level.
  • Strong leadership and team-building skills.
  • A natural collaborator who can easily work in a team environment and across the organization to achieve group and/or organizational goals.
  • Persuasive oral and written communication skills as well as presentation skills.
  • Strong negotiation skills and the ability to network effectively both internally and externally.
  • Competent business and financial acumen, including prior experience managing budgets.
  • Demonstrated success in mentoring, coaching, and performance management.
  • Proven ability to drive and implement positive change – a natural in simplifying to move forward. 
  • Required experience in the Foodservice industry. Preference for a global sales perspective.
  • Flexible and able to multitask; demonstrated resourcefulness in setting priorities and guiding investment in people and systems.
  • Robust data-driven analysis and strong strategic agility, vision, and organizational savvy.
  • Team management experience with multiple direct reports
  • Active industry participant with NAFEM and other Food Equipment Associations.
  • Ability to travel 50% to 60% of the time. 

 

KEY PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES:

  • Humility, Integrity, Stewardship, and Respect
  • Collaborative and influential
  • Self-managed – takes initiative
  • A servant leader - genuine and authentic, a positive and congenial leader whose natural style employs persuasion and influence rather than command and control. 
  • A strong listener and exceptional communicator at all levels of the company. 
  • Decisive, responsive, and caring
  • Leads by example, an inspiring leader

 

THE PAYOFF:

  • Build on a solid foundation of success and help lead the company into its next phase of growth.
  • Strengthen the Sales team and build lasting and profitable relationships with clients and external business partners.
  • Receive a compensation package that includes a competitive base salary, meaningful performance-based annual bonus, and ownership in an employee-owned company.

 



Contact:

Michele Plessinger, Partner

mplessinger@gilmanpartners.com

513.842.5321