VP, Commercial Sales

VP, Commercial Sales

Overview

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Vice President of Commercial Sales reports to the SVP, Foodservice Sales & Marketing and is a critical member of the organization’s sales leadership team. The Commercial team focus’ on the top 250 Restaurant chains, top 100 C-Store chains, and Co-Manufacturing/Toll Roasting across all channels. This role is responsible for developing and executing the strategic customer plan for the Foodservice Commercial Division, ensuring alignment with annual sales operating plans and overall company goals. Leading a team of National Account Managers. The Vice President will drive performance through strong leadership, coaching, and the development of a high-performing sales team. This individual will play a pivotal role in accelerating growth, strengthening customer relationships, and advancing sales expertise across the organization. Beyond customer and team leadership, the Vice President will serve as a collaborative partner within the broader Royal Cup Sales organization, fostering cross-functional alignment and contributing to enterprise-wide initiatives. The successful candidate will fuel profitable growth by expanding business with existing customers and securing new opportunities.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Recruit, interview, hire, and train key personnel within the Commercial sales team.
• Oversee the daily workflow of the team
• Provides constructive and timely performance evaluations
• Handles coaching, discipline and termination of employees in accordance with company policy
• Collaborate with other functions and team leadership to ensure cohesive team approach for execution and performance improvement
  
  
  

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide strategic leadership to the Commercial team within the Foodservice Sales Channel by defining vision, strategy, and priorities
• Direct the execution of sales strategies for Commercial Accounts to achieve business plans and improve penetration in the Foodservice market
• Establish goals, objectives, and performance expectations for the Commercial team
• Drive the team to meet or exceed annual business targets, including top-line revenue, profitability, market share growth, cost management, forecasting accuracy, customer receivables, and trade spend efficiency (ROI)
• Commercial efforts are focused on:
• Contract manufacturing/Toll roasting for Foodservice and non-Foodservice customers
• Large Commercial Foodservice chains within the top 250, emphasizing the morning daypart
• Large C-Store chains within the top 100
• Monitor and evaluate individual account plans and sales performance regularly
• Maintain a consistent managerial cadence, including one-on-one meetings and monthly customer and prospect visits to ensure accountability and focus
• Instill discipline, rigor, and structure in the sales planning process; dedicate significant time to face-to-face coaching and mentoring team members
• Oversee pipeline activities and performance using CRM tools
• Coach, develop, and motivate National Account Managers (NAMs), enhancing their functional capabilities, business acumen, and leadership skills
• Build and maintain a strong talent pipeline for the Commercial team
• Ensure the team has the training and development needed to adapt quickly to changing market conditions
• Collaborate with the SVP of Foodservice and other senior leaders to refine key sales processes (e.g., S&OP, account planning, costing, pricing reviews)
• Strengthen and maintain senior-level relationships with strategic customers
• Work cross-functionally with Sales Distribution, Sales Support, Operations, Equipment, and Technical Service to ensure aligned execution
• Leverage market knowledge, consumer insights, and competitive intelligence to identify opportunities and address key business challenges with national customers
• Partner with Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance, and other functions to develop go-to-market strategies and plans
• Represent the Commercial sales perspective in business decisions, providing input on new initiatives and projects to maximize the impact of the sales organization
• All other duties as assigned
  
  

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Marketing, Business, or a related field
• 7–10 years of experience in a similar field
• Proven track record of leading high-performing sales teams and driving growth in top-tier consumer goods companies, ideally within the food and beverage sector
• Strong knowledge of Foodservice, consumer products, brands, and their interaction within Foodservice and the broader marketplace
• Experience commercializing customer brands and/or private label products
• Customer-focused with deep relationships across Commercial National Account Chains (top 250), Large C-Store Chains (top 100), at multiple levels of the organization
• Strong negotiation skills with a history of building collaborative business plans that create win-win outcomes
• Broad experience across the Foodservice ecosystem, field and key account sales across all classes of trade
• Skilled in fact-based selling, leveraging data and analytics, and developing joint business and customer plans; experienced in building and growing leading brands and driving market share
• Hands-on leader, comfortable “rolling up sleeves” while also building team capability; results-driven with energy, drive, and a strong bias for action
• Positive collaborator, able to work effectively with cross-functional teams
• Ability to travel, as required and regularly requiring overnight stays to travel to customer locations, attend meetings, training and other work-related events as scheduled
• Ability to successfully complete the pre-employment process
  
  
  

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Prior experience in the coffee category
  
  
  

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Frequent sitting, standing, walking, reaching, typing, reading, talking, and hearing.
• The ability to lift up to 15 pounds with or without assistance.