Key Account Director

A global equipment manufacturer in the packaging & processing sector is seeking a senior commercial leader to head Service Account Management across the U.S. market (with additional oversight across Canada and the Caribbean). This position will be based in the Atlanta area, where the core team is already located.

This is a key succession‑plan role, with a clear pathway to take on broader responsibility within the organisation.

Opportunity

This individual will lead a team of Service Account Managers responsible for a major aftermarket sales portfolio (up to ~$80M initially).

The remit covers all service‑based commercial offerings including:

• Technical services

You will be responsible for customer lifecycle management, sales strategy execution, revenue performance, and ensuring customer satisfaction at national level.

What You Will Lead

In this role you will:

• Lead and develop a team of eight Service Account Managers, covering 200–300+ active customer accounts
• Support a mature team with high experience levels (tenure spanning 5 to 38 years) and teach advanced sales process, funnel management and value‑based selling
• Manage a multimillion‑digit service budget and deliver year‑on‑year growth targets (~5% expected)
• Shape commercial methodology: strategic planning, prioritisation, upsell/modernisation approach, long‑term account planning
• Act as escalation partner for key strategic customers (example: portfolio customers spending up to ~$30M annually)
• Drive best‑practice across customer engagement, forecasting accuracy, pipeline quality and margin improvement

This position exists due to business expansion and a need to introduce a more structured commercial leadership layer.

What Success Looks Like

You will be measured on:

• Growth of service revenue and margin (annual targets)
• Improved customer sentiment and experience
• Developing the team’s ability to sell consultatively vs reactively
• Retention and expansion of strategic national accounts
• Building readiness for succession – eventually stepping into broader senior responsibility

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate would bring:

• Degree in Business, Engineering or related discipline (MBA or business school strongly preferred)
• 10+ years in commercial leadership roles (Aftersales, Key Accounts, National Sales, Aftermarket Sales, or Service Sales)
• Experience managing a P&L, territory or national commercial budget
• Experience in selling engineered solutions, industrial equipment, packaging equipment, warehouse automation, food/beverage processing or similar capital equipment
• Strong commercial methodology: pipeline management, funnel conversion, strategic account planning
• Ability to coach senior‑tenure teams and introduce structure
• Strong communication, negotiation and executive‑level customer presence
• Technical background or technical credibility (does not need to be a mechanical expert, but must understand engineered service offerings)

Seniority level

Director

Employment type

Part‑time

Job function

Sales, Management, and Customer Service

Industries: Industrial Machinery Manufacturing, Machinery Manufacturing, and Automation Machinery Manufacturing