- Department: VP of Sales, Base Business Development
- Reports to: Chief Sales Officer
- Location: Remote
Position Summary:The VP of Sales, Base Business Development leads Bonduelle Americas' core retail sales organization, with accountability for several of the company's largest and most strategically important national and regional grocery accounts, as well as the private label business. Reporting to the Chief Sales Officer, this role is responsible for protecting and growing the base business - the foundation of Bonduelle's revenue and shelf presence - through disciplined account management, strong retailer relationships, and a well-run private label engine. The VP leads a team of seven: three National Account Directors covering Aldi, Wakefern, Ahold Delhaize, H-E-B, and Stater Bros; two Regional Account Managers covering a portfolio of regional grocery customers; and two Private Label Managers who own the RFP, innovation, and program management processes that support Bonduelle's private label partnerships. This is a remote, field-facing leadership role requiring frequent travel to customers, industry events, and Bonduelle's Philadelphia headquarters.
Key Responsibilities:National & Regional Account Leadership - Lead and develop a team of three National Account Directors (Aldi, Wakefern, Ahold Delhaize, H-E-B, Stater Bros) and two Regional Account Managers, setting clear account strategy, targets, and accountability.
- Own the executive-level relationship with key national and regional retail customers, serving as Bonduelle's senior sales point of contact alongside the account teams.
- Set annual volume, distribution, and profitability targets for the base business portfolio and hold the team accountable to performance against plan.
- Guide the development and negotiation of annual joint business plans (JBPs), pricing actions, and trade investment strategies across the account base.
- Ensure DSMP compliance, secondary display execution, and promotional programming are consistently delivered across national and regional accounts.
- Identify and pursue incremental distribution, new item placement, and category expansion opportunities within the existing account base.
- Partner with the Director of Sales Operations and Customer Sales Planning team to ensure accounts are set up accurately and forecasts reflect current account activity.
Private Label Leadership
- Lead and develop a team of two Private Label Managers responsible for the end-to-end management of Bonduelle's private label business.
- Oversee the development of RFP responses and business cases, ensuring competitive, profitable proposals that reflect accurate costing, capacity, and margin requirements.
- Lead private label contract and pricing negotiations, balancing volume and relationship value against margin and capacity constraints.
- Partner with Product Development/R&D on innovation and formulation for private label and co-manufactured products, ensuring customer specifications and cost targets are met.
- Oversee artwork and packaging development and approval for private label items, ensuring accuracy, regulatory compliance, and on-time execution against customer timelines.
- Own private label product lifecycle management, including item setup, specification maintenance, and coordination of product samples to customers.
- Partner with Supply Chain and Operations to ensure private label capacity planning, cost inputs, and service levels support the business case underlying each program.
Cross-Functional & Strategic Leadership
- Partner with the Chief Sales Officer to set base business and private label strategy, resource allocation, and priorities across the broader sales organization.
- Represent the base business and private label portfolio in leadership forums, providing accurate forecasts, risk assessment, and growth opportunities.
- Collaborate with Marketing, Category Strategy & Insights, and Revenue Growth Management to ensure account and private label strategies are grounded in strong data and category logic.
- Coach and develop the broader team, building a strong bench and succession plan across both the branded account and private label functions.
- Monitor competitive activity, retailer strategy shifts, and private label market trends, translating insight into proactive account and program strategy.
Minimum Qualifications:- Bachelor's degree in business, Marketing, or related field; MBA a plus.
- 10+ years of progressive CPG sales experience, including direct national account management with major grocery retailers; fresh/perishable or produce category experience strongly preferred.
- Private label experience required, including RFP/business case development, contract negotiation, and cross-functional program management.
- 5+ years of people management experience, with a track record of building and developing high-performing sales teams.
- Deep understanding of the grocery retail landscape, including experience with hard discount (Aldi), cooperative (Wakefern), and regional grocery models.
- Strong financial and analytical acumen, with experience owning P&L-level account and program economics.
- Excellent negotiation and executive presence, with the ability to represent Bonduelle credibly at the senior buyer and retailer leadership level.
- Ability to travel frequently to support customer meetings, private label program milestones, and periodic time at Bonduelle's Philadelphia headquarters.
- The base business portfolio delivers consistent, profitable growth in volume, distribution, and shelf presence across national and regional accounts.
- Private label programs are won and executed on time, with strong RFP win rates, clean artwork/packaging execution, and reliable product delivery.
- National and regional account teams operate with clear strategy, strong retailer relationships, and disciplined execution against JBPs.
- Private label and branded account strategies are well-coordinated with Supply Chain, R&D, and Marketing, avoiding surprises and capacity conflicts.
- The Chief Sales Officer views this role as a trusted steward of Bonduelle's core revenue base and a strong developer of sales talent.
