12-15+ years in CPG/beverage commercial leadership, ideally with private label experience.
Proven track record in leading customer negotiations and managing large customer relationships.
Strong cross-functional leadership experience, particularly with Supply Chain, Quality, R&D, and Finance.
Ability to navigate a matrixed organization and deliver results under governance constraints.
Excellent analytical skills related to economics, cost-to-serve, and operational feasibility.
Strong negotiation, communication, and relationship-building abilities.
Bachelor's Degree is required.
Responsibilities
Set and execute annual and multi-year growth strategies for the Private Label Business Unit.
Own P&L outcomes, delivering on revenue, margins, and operational plans.
Lead and develop the private label commercial team for effective customer engagement.
Establish rigorous processes for bid qualification and elevate opportunities requiring strategic discussion.
Oversee end-to-end commercialization from award to shelf execution with a focus on quality and compliance.
Manage demand signal integrity to ensure service performance and reliability.
Balance SKU complexity with profitability while proposing solutions for capacity issues.
Benefits
Opportunity for performance-based bonuses.
Exposure to senior leadership, including the Division President and CEO/Board.
Engagement in high-level strategic discussions and decision-making forums.
Involvement in dynamic and growing private label markets.
Full Job Description
Pay Range for this position is: $285,000-$325,000 plus annual bonus, depending on experience and geographical location.
POSITION SUMMARY
The General Manager, U.S. Private Label is accountable for profitable, scalable growth of the U.S. Private Label Business Unit. This leader owns the end-to-end private label commercial engine-from pipeline and RFP pursuits through commercialization and launch stabilization-while ensuring opportunities align with network capacity, operational fit, and integrated division economics. The role carries full P&L responsibility for the Private Label unit and partners within President-led governance to manage cross-unit trade-offs (capacity, mix, complexity, and shared SG&A).
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategy & Growth: Set and execute the annual and multi-year strategy (target customers/channels/categories, value proposition, and "win themes"). Build and manage a prioritized pursuit roadmap aligned to plant capabilities, capacity, and profitability guardrails.
P&L Ownership / Financial Performance: Own Private Label P&L outcomes, including revenue, margin, cost-to-serve, and working cross-functionally to deliver the annual operating plan and multi-year growth plan. Ensure disciplined business cases for bids/expansions and adherence to pricing/trade governance and profitability thresholds.
Commercial Leadership: Lead and develop the private label commercial team across account leadership, RFP/bid management, and commercialization execution. Drive negotiation excellence and customer retention.
Deal Qualification & Governance: Establish rigorous bid qualification (feasibility, complexity, service terms/penalties, lead times, operational fit, and line/run efficiency). Elevate opportunities requiring cross-unit trade-offs through the President-led decision forum.
Commercialization & Launch Execution: Own award-to-shelf execution (specs, packaging approvals, item setup, production slotting, DC onboarding, resets/shelf verification). Run stage-gated governance with tracking and escalation; ensure post-launch stabilization (first 8-12 weeks).
Demand & Service Performance: Own demand signal integrity and partner with Demand Planning/S&OP to reduce volatility and protect service. Manage customer scorecards, escalations, corrective actions, and commit quality/forecast metrics.
Integrated Economics & Complexity Management: Manage mix quality, SKU/pack complexity, and service-term discipline; surface capacity/complexity/margin trade-offs early and propose solutions.
Quality/Compliance & Cross-Functional Execution: Ensure programs meet quality and compliance requirements and that customer specifications are operationally feasible; remove cross-functional blockers with urgency.
Executive Communication: Provide clear, decision-oriented updates to the Division President (and as needed CEO/Board) on performance, risks, outlook, major wins/losses, capacity/service constraints, and margin/cost-to-serve impacts.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
Minimum Required Qualifications
12-15+ years in CPG/beverage commercial leadership, including private label or contract manufacturing environments
Proven experience leading RFP/bid cycles, customer negotiations, and large customer relationships
Strong cross-functional leadership with Supply Chain, Quality/Regulatory, R&D, and Finance
Demonstrated ability to operate in a matrix and deliver results with shared assets and governance constraints
Strong analytical capability: economics, cost-to-serve, and operational feasibility thinking
Excellent negotiation, communication and relationship building skills.
Bachelor's Degree required
Additional Preferred Qualifications
Beverage/juice category experience (aseptic/ambient and/or chilled a plus)
Experience managing broker networks and retail execution via third parties
Experience with commercialization processes, stage-gate governance, and award-to-shelf acceleration
CRM/TPM adoption leadership experience
Strategic thinking with strong executional discipline
Data-driven decision making
Collaborative leadership across functions
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS & WORKING CONDITIONS
This position requires sufficient physical ability to work in a typical office setting; driving a motor vehicle and occasionally working in the field.
FREQUENT: sitting, upward and downward flexion of neck; fine finger dexterity and light to moderate finger pressure to include extended periods of keyboard and mouse use, side-to-side turning of neck, walking, standing, bending and stooping, pushing/pulling, twisting at waist, moderate wrist torque to twist equipment knobs and dials.
OCCASIONAL: squatting, kneeling, reach above and at shoulder height, moderate grasp to manipulate reference books and manuals; lifting objects weighing 20 - 35 lbs. from below waist to above shoulders and transporting distances up to 50 feet.
VISION: Ability to see in the normal visual range with or without correction.
HEARING: Ability to hear in the normal audio range with or without correction.
This job description is not intended to contain a comprehensive list of the responsibilities that are required to successfully perform in this position. Other duties as assigned are part of every job description. The conditions herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals to perform the essential job functions.
