Chief Commercial Officer

Kalon Search•West Chicago, IL

2d•Remote

About The Position

Our client is seeking an accomplished, growth-oriented Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) to lead the company’s commercial strategy and accelerate revenue growth across the nutraceutical and specialty ingredient markets. The CCO will own the development and execution of a differentiated go-to-market strategy spanning sales, business development, marketing, customer growth, product positioning, pricing, and channel development. This executive will be responsible for building a scalable, data-driven commercial organization that consistently delivers new customer acquisition, strategic account expansion, cross-selling, improved profitability, and long-term enterprise value. The ideal candidate is a hands-on commercial leader with a demonstrated record of success in the nutritional ingredient industry or an adjacent health and wellness category. This individual should bring experience across both sales and marketing, strong relationships with leading dietary supplement, functional food, and beverage brands, and the ability to translate science-backed product differentiation into compelling commercial value. The CCO will work closely with the CEO, executive leadership team, board, and private equity sponsor, as applicable, to drive value-creation initiatives and build a high-performing commercial engine capable of supporting continued scale and exit readiness.

Requirements

15 or more years of progressive commercial leadership experience, including senior responsibility for sales, business development, marketing, or general commercial management.
Demonstrated success driving significant revenue growth through new customer acquisition, strategic account expansion, cross-selling, and channel development.
Strong experience in nutritional ingredients, dietary supplements, functional foods, functional beverages, specialty ingredients, or a closely related health and wellness category.
Established relationships with leading dietary supplement, functional food, beverage, pharmaceutical, consumer health, or wellness brands.
Experience leading both sales and marketing functions, or a demonstrated ability to integrate these disciplines effectively.
Proven experience commercializing science-backed products, ingredients, technologies, or innovations supported by clinical research or published scientific data.
Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with technical, scientific, R&D, regulatory, and executive audiences.
Experience developing commercial organizations, account segmentation models, territory structures, performance metrics, and incentive plans.
Strong understanding of pricing strategy, pipeline management, forecasting, market analysis, and commercial operations.
International sales, distributor management, and global partnership experience.
Experience working in a private equity-backed or similarly performance-oriented environment preferred.
Demonstrated success recruiting, developing, and leading high-performing commercial teams.
Willingness and ability to travel domestically and internationally as needed.

Responsibilities

Lead the company’s commercial growth strategy, driving revenue through new customer acquisition, account expansion, cross-selling, channel development, and market growth.
Lead strategic negotiations and prioritize opportunities that support profitable, sustainable growth.
Develop go-to-market, product positioning, pricing, branding, and commercial launch strategies across direct sales, distribution, and strategic partnerships.
Partner with Science, R&D, and Product Development to commercialize science-backed ingredients and translate technical data into customer value.
Build and scale the commercial organization across Sales, Business Development, Sales Operations, Customer Success, and Marketing.
Establish organizational structure, targets, incentives, sales processes, forecasting, account planning, and performance management systems.
Establish and monitor KPIs related to revenue, margins, pipeline performance, customer acquisition, retention, pricing, productivity, and forecast accuracy.
Use customer data, market intelligence, pipeline analytics, and financial performance to guide decisions and improve accountability.
Develop trusted relationships with leaders across dietary supplements, functional foods, beverages, pharmaceuticals, and broader health and wellness markets.
Build strategic partnerships with customers, distributors, contract manufacturers, formulators, and other industry stakeholders.
Expand international business through strategic management of global customers, distributors, agents, and partners.
Evaluate global opportunities while considering regional customer needs, supply capabilities, regulatory requirements, and profitability.
Recruit, develop, and lead a high-performing commercial team with clear goals, accountability, and a strong focus on execution.
Collaborate with Science/R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Regulatory, Finance, and Human Resources to align commercial objectives with business capabilities.
Partner with the CEO, executive team, board, and private equity sponsor to drive commercial value-creation initiatives.
Provide clear recommendations and performance updates while building a scalable commercial platform that supports continued growth and exit readiness.