Director, Industrial Gas & Chemical
About the Role
As a member of Anova's Executive team, the Director, Industrial Gas & Chemical carries P&L-level accountability for the Industrial Gas and Chemical business - revenue growth, financial health, strategic direction, and operational performance - delivered through close partnership with Sales, Product/Engineering, Data & AI, and Operations leadership rather than direct authority over those teams. Reporting directly to the CEO, this leader sets the product strategy, owns customer outcomes, and is accountable for revenue results across both verticals, while aligning that matrix of partners around a single, coherent vertical vision.
This is a heavily product-oriented, customer-facing executive role. The Director serves as the primary voice of the customer at the leadership table - synthesizing market intelligence, customer feedback, and competitive insight into clear product and business decisions that drive growth, operational excellence, and an industry-leading customer experience. Success depends on being an exceptional cross-functional communicator: someone equally comfortable shaping a product roadmap and driving commercial strategy, who can align sales, product, data, and operations teams around a single, clear vision for the business. Alignment is not optional - this leader is accountable for ensuring every function the vertical depends on is moving in the same direction, with clarity on priorities, metrics, and the customer outcomes that define success.
Job Duties and Responsibilities:
Market Ownership & Business Leadership
- Serve as the accountable P&L owner for the Industrial Gas and Chemical business, responsible for revenue, growth, and customer outcomes across both segments, delivered through close partnership with Sales, Product, Data, and Operations teams.
- Act as the internal champion for the customer, ensuring customer feedback is continuously gathered, synthesized, and reflected in product, sales, and operational decisions.
- Define the go-to-market strategy for each vertical and partner with the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) to translate it into the sales motion across Inside Sales, Customer Success, and Business Development teams.
- Establish and monitor key performance indicators spanning revenue growth, customer retention, product adoption, and operational throughput.
- Partner directly with the CEO and executive team on strategic planning, capital allocation, and competitive positioning.
Product Strategy & Decision-Making
- Own end-to-end product decisions for the Industrial Gas and Chemical verticals, from roadmap prioritization through feature definition, launch, and lifecycle management.
- Lead a dedicated Vertical Product Manager and partner with a UI/UX and application engineering team to deliver innovative, market-driven products with speed and quality.
- Establish a rigorous product development cadence grounded in customer research, field intelligence, and data-driven prioritization.
- Ensure products and digital tools evolve in response to market needs, emerging technologies, and competitive shifts.
- Drive continuous product improvement, balancing innovation with reliability and scalability.
- Partner with the CTO on the shared hardware and software platform, co-signing the platform roadmap each quarter and providing input on platform team performance.
- Partner with the Chief Data & AI Officer (CDAO) on AI and data capabilities serving Industrial Gas and Chemical customers - including applied AI in customer-facing products and analytics - and track the customer impact of that work.
Enterprise Sales Alignment & Customer Focus
- Partner closely with the CRO and the broader sales organization - including Inside Sales, Customer Success, and Business Development - to keep market feedback loops active and to jointly commit to demand forecasts.
- Champion a culture of intense customer focus, ensuring every cross-functional team prioritizes the customer experience.
- Participate in strategic enterprise sales pursuits, providing product expertise, market credibility, and executive sponsorship on critical accounts.
- Work with Customer Success and Operations teams to ensure seamless handoffs from sale to installation to ongoing customer success.
- Maintain a regular cadence of face-to-face customer interactions - on-site visits, executive briefings, and joint business reviews - to stay directly connected to customer needs and challenges.
- Represent Anova at industry trade shows, conferences, and market events, building relationships, gathering market intelligence, and elevating the Anova brand.
- Serve as a visible, credible ambassador for Anova in the Industrial Gas and Chemical markets, reinforcing the company's focus on customers, innovation, and partnership in every external interaction.
Marketing, Training & Communications
- Direct the vertical's training, documentation, and marketing communications function to develop compelling product messaging, sales enablement tools, and market-facing communications for Industrial Gas and Chemical audiences.
- Oversee training content and documentation so internal teams and customers have the resources they need to get full value from Anova's products.
- Drive marketing communication strategies that reinforce brand positioning and generate qualified pipeline.
Operations & Technical Support Leadership
- Partner with VP Operations and regional operations leaders to set demand priorities and customer-experience standards, and to hold the operations organization accountable for delivery quality and timing.
- Partner with the vertical's Customer Support team, holding it accountable for response speed, resolution quality, and customer satisfaction.
- Continuously evaluate operational processes and support capabilities to identify opportunities that improve speed and service for customers.
- Ensure operational readiness keeps pace with product evolution and market growth.
Team & Partnerships
The Director, Industrial Gas & Chemical reports to the CEO and leads a Vertical Product Manager directly, with indirect oversight of the vertical's Customer Support and Training/Marketing Communications teams. This leader also partners closely with senior leadership across Sales, Product & Platform Engineering, Data & AI, Operations, and Finance to align the business around a shared vertical strategy, and with Anova's Program Management function to keep vertical initiatives synchronized with company-wide strategic priorities.
What Success Looks Like
Success in this role spans all four of Anova's company-wide performance dimensions at once: revenue growth against plan, customer and account retention, product adoption, and gross margin. That breadth reflects the scope of the job - this leader owns outcomes across the full customer and business lifecycle for the vertical, not one slice of it. No single metric can be optimized at the expense of the others - growth funded by heavy discounting, or margin protected by under-serving accounts, would show up as a problem elsewhere.
What You'll Need to Succeed
The Director, Industrial Gas & Chemical is expected to exemplify and reinforce the following in all aspects of leadership:
- Intense Customer Focus - Every decision begins and ends with the customer. The Voice of the Customer is not a program; it is a discipline.
- Speed & Innovation - Markets move fast. We move faster. This leader drives urgency without sacrificing quality or customer trust.
- Ownership - This role operates with the mindset of a full P&L business owner: accountable, decisive, and committed to outcomes over activity. The Director owns every product decision and every customer outcome in the Industrial Gas and Chemical markets, and is accountable for the revenue and growth of the business - delivered by aligning closely with sales, product, data, operations, and finance partners through Anova's structured cross-functional planning and review process, rather than working in isolation.
- Operate At Our Best - Great outcomes require alignment. This leader builds bridges across functions and ensures no team operates in isolation.
- Market Dictates the Roadmap - Products and services are shaped by what the market needs, not internal assumptions. Customer intelligence drives strategy.
Minimum Requirements
- 10+ years of progressive experience in business leadership, product management, or commercial roles within industrial gas, chemical, or related industrial markets.
- Proven track record of owning a P&L or equivalent market-level business accountability with measurable revenue and growth outcomes.
- Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams through influence in a matrixed organization.
- Deep understanding of enterprise sales cycles and the ability to partner effectively with sales organizations at senior levels.
- Strong product management acumen, with experience driving product roadmaps from concept through delivery.
- Exceptional customer orientation - a track record of building Voice of Customer processes and translating customer insight into business and product decisions.
- Outstanding communication and executive presence; able to represent the company credibly with customers, partners, and internal stakeholders at all levels.
- Background in B2B SaaS/HaaS or technology-enabled service businesses.
Preferred Qualifications
- Direct experience in the industrial gas, chemical, or process manufacturing industry.
- Experience overseeing or closely partnering with engineering and product development functions.
- Familiarity with multi-region field operations management.
Physical Requirements
- Extended sitting during office work, travel, and meetings.
- Standing and walking through customer sites, field locations, and trade show floors.
- Occasional lifting up to 25 lbs. (marketing materials, samples, demo equipment).
- Visual and auditory acuity for presentations and face-to-face interactions.
- Ability to work in varied environments, including industrial and outdoor settings.
- Manual dexterity for standard office and mobile technology.
Travel Requirements
- 30-40% annual travel expectation, dictated by business need.
- Trade show and conference attendance, including multi-day and weekend travel.
- Valid driver's license and passport required.
- Ability to manage a variable, demand-driven travel schedule independently.
