Director of Sales, Americas

About our Client:

RA’s client is a European manufacturer of femtosecond and excimer laser micro machining systems, serving many of the world’s leading and most respected brands in a variety of industries such as medical devices, consumer electronics and luxury goods. Their solutions include high-precision micro-machining, advanced surface treatment, seamless laser welding and laser engraving and marking for counterfeit-proof traceability – all making use of their own unique optics components, strong R&D capabilities and unparalleled ability to meet specific client laser systems applications demands. Their expertise is used during prototyping, process development, and the fabrication of a variety of products. Their subsequent installation of their machines together with the required integrated manufacturing automation helps their clients build the most advanced products, no matter how small.

Since its inception 20 years ago, our client has seen continuous growth, doubling revenues every couple of years – all while building an impressive portfolio of intellectual property and patents. With high-end laser machining technology breaking through on many fronts and overcoming past technology hurdles, our client’s market is projected to continue to expand significantly (high-teens CAGR). Given their position as one of the most recognized product leaders in Europe for laser systems for advanced manufacturing, our client has the clear ambition to extend this success across the Americas.

As part of their global growth, they are expanding operations in the United States with several new hires, including an ambitious and driven Director of Sales for the Americas region. Medical Technology will be one of their focus growth areas in the coming years. US activities are currently steered from their office in southern California but given the scope of the responsibilities and the footprint of the Medical Technology industry across the continent, the selected candidate can be based elsewhere.

Why this job is attractive

The hired candidate will join a fast-growing and entrepreneurial global company that has the ambition to do nothing less than help change the world via the development and production of smaller and more unique components and products that offer breakthrough possibilities in science, medicine or consumer / industrial electronics, and that help our planet by consuming less resources and generating less waste. With a broad set of responsibilities and significant autonomy, this role offers the opportunity to manage the go-to-market of very high-end laser machines and optics modules while interfacing with the most respected brands in Silicon Valley (incl. several of the GAFA), the broader electronics industry and in the Medical Technology industry (with 3 of the top-5 Med tech manufacturers as clients).

Position Overview

The Director of Sales is responsible for building and leading an expanded sales organization in the Americas. This will include a combination of direct employees and manufacturers reps as needed. He/she fosters close working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, in the Americas and Europe, to ensure the sales organization’s efficient operation and success within MedTech and beyond. The position reports to the General Manager of our client’s US office.

Job Responsibilities

  • Identify current and potential markets/applications/customers in the Americas for which our client’s products are ideally suited, including but not limited to MedTech.

  • Work with global leadership team to establish targets, then build a strategic roadmap for sales team expansion to ensure all the needed resources are in place to meet targets in support of our client’s aggressive expansion across the Americas.

  • Design, implement, and manage sales forecasting, planning, and budgeting processes with high levels of quality, accuracy, and process consistency across our client’s global platforms.

  • Ensure sales reports and other internal intelligence is provided to the global sales organization and Management team.

  • Direct management of Key Accounts and strategic OEM customers

  • Facilitate successful implementation of new MarCom programs in the Americas through exhibitions, events, medias to support Product, Technology and Market penetration campaigns.

Deliverables

  • Sales target achievement through direct/indirect (reps) sales channels and direct Key Account management, accompanied by use of CRM for sales activity tracking and reporting.

  • Establishment of relationships with current and potential Key Accounts in the Americas through regular customer visits; Establish equally strong relationships with the European team through periodic extended visits to the factories in Europe.

  • Preparation of quarterly reports on the ongoing Sales action plan focusing on Key Opportunities, Key Accounts penetration, Business Development initiatives, Product/technology penetration activities, territory coverage and MarCom initiatives, with more frequent reporting as needed on sales pipeline status.

Skills and Qualifications:

Interpersonal & overall skills:

  • Strong leadership skills, motivating people as an active role model and mentor, sharing feedback and sharing best practices. Mentor when required, motivate and assist team members to move outside their comfort zones to achieve ambitious goals.
  • Driven, willing to go the extra mile – with an eye for detail so as to meet customer needs and expectations of some of the world’s most demanding brands.
  • Comfortable in a fast-paced or high-pressure environment
  • Outstanding communication and presentation skills – both written and verbal; active listener
  • Ability to think strategically – proven conflict resolution and advanced problem-solving skills; strong pragmatic with excellent analytical skills and abilities.
  • A proven Networker – with charisma, and commercial flair and ability to easily connect with others. Established network with the laser and medtech industry preferred.
  • Extremely high integrity – possessing the highest ethics and professionalism, delivering what is committed, on time and in the form agreed.
  • Willingness to travel within the US and internationally (esp. Europe).
  • Comfortable in an international context and working with colleagues who do not have English as first language. Sensitive towards other cultures and business styles of a global company. Knowledge of or affinity with French is a plus.

Education and Experience:

  • in engineering or physics – or equivalent based upon demonstrated experience. MBA or business degree can be a plus
  • Minimum of 10 years experience in sales or sales management of laser sources or systems used in materials processing applications
  • Extensive experience in the Medical Device Technology field is strongly desired – with in-depth knowledge of the industry and esp. its product development and manufacturing processes. Some hands-on work in a technical role can be a plus.
  • Proven sales excellence capabilities – also in a managerial role steering other team members – and knowledge of best practices related to all aspects of sales management (objective setting, lead generation, pipeline management, bid management, solution sales, contract negotiation…).
  • Ideally some earlier general management experience – in any case, experience with and strong understanding of budget management and financial monitoring; good understanding of financial accounting.

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