Global Sales Director & Business Unit Lead – Emulsifiers & Hydrocolloids

We are seeking a Global Sales Director – Food Ingredients to lead global commercial development and portfolio strategy across North America, Asia, Latin America, and Europe.

The role combines global sales leadership with strong product and portfolio management responsibility. It will define commercial priorities, identify growth markets and applications, and ensure the portfolio is aligned with customer needs, competitive dynamics, and regional opportunities.

Working closely with regional affiliates, Sales, R&D, Application, Marketing, and Operations, the Global Sales Director will translate global strategy into local commercial execution and accelerate sustainable business growth.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement the global sales and go-to-market strategy.
• Define portfolio priorities by region, customer segment, application, and product category.
• Drive growth across customers, markets, and applications.
• Translate global strategy into regional commercial plans with local affiliates.
• Manage and optimize the global product portfolio, including growth, innovation, differentiation, and rationalization.
• Support market development in meat, dairy, prepared foods, and other food categories.
• Monitor market trends, customer needs, competitors, pricing, and application opportunities.
• Support key account development and major customer projects.
• Coordinate product launches and commercialization with cross-functional teams.
• Provide market insights to guide innovation and new product development.

Profile

• Strong experience in the food ingredients industry, ideally with emulsifiers, hydrocolloids, starches, texturizers, stabilizers, or functional ingredients.
• Good knowledge of food applications, particularly meat and dairy.
• Proven experience in global or regional sales, product management, portfolio management, or business development.
• Strong product and portfolio management background with a clear commercial mindset.
• Experience developing go-to-market strategies and commercializing technical ingredient solutions.
• Strong strategic, analytical, communication, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Ability to work effectively across regions, cultures, and international affiliate organizations.

Location & Working Model

• Based at the Hamburg headquarters.
• Home office possible on a regular basis, combined with a strong office presence.