Vice President, Sales

About the Role

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain, and execute the long-term strategic sales growth plan that considers customers, product lines, and geographic regions to achieve profit objectives.
• Build, lead, and retain a high-performing and motivated sales team.
• Collaborate with engineering throughout the product development cycle to deliver customer value and achieve program profitability objectives at start of production.
• Establish and maintain positive, productive relationships across all customer functional areas and levels, including purchasing, buying, cost estimating, and supplier development teams.
• Oversee sales account management, ensuring timely submissions of quotes, proper authorizations, and pricing accuracy.
• Coordinate cross-functionally with engineering, finance, purchasing, and manufacturing to meet customer requirements and support business goals.
• Resolve commercial issues such as program cancellations, cost recovery, warranty charges, freight, and packaging costs in a fair and beneficial manner.
• Lead efforts to mitigate or offset customer cost-reduction expectations through strategic collaboration with finance, engineering, and manufacturing.
• Maintain brand standards, oversee marketing materials, and support marketing events.
• Partner with engineering to foster innovation and build early-stage relationships with customer studios and engineering teams.
• Develop and manage the department budget.
• Monitor and ensure customer scorecard performance meets expectations with internal team support.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (BSE), Business Administration (BSBA), or a related field.
• MBA or MSE is preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years in a Vice President or Director of Sales role with established relationships across major North American automotive OEMs.
• Proven ability to develop and implement strategic sales and marketing plans.
• Strong financial acumen and data-driven business judgment.
• Exceptional negotiation skills.
• Experience presenting business cases to senior executives.
• Hands-on understanding of day-to-day sales operations.
• Strong problem-solving skills with a proactive, positive attitude.
• Proven track record in hiring, developing, and retaining high-performing talent.
• Detail-oriented and highly organized with consistent follow-through.
• Leadership style grounded in honesty, integrity, and mutual respect.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, and relationship-building skills.
• Proficient in Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
• Minimum score of 50 on the Wonderlic Select Assessment.

Nice to Have

• Experience with automotive interior systems or related industries.
• Experience working with cross-functional teams in engineering, finance, and manufacturing.
• Additional certifications or advanced degrees related to business or engineering.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Business Administration.
• MBA or MSE preferred.
• At least 5 years of senior sales leadership experience in the automotive industry.

Benefits & Perks

• Competitive salary estimated between $148K - $193K annually.
• Up to 20% travel requirement.
• Opportunity to work in a challenging and valued environment with growth potential.