Director, Commercial Appliance

Robertshaw • Itasca, IL

6d

About The Position

Robertshaw is seeking an accomplished Commercial Director to lead the commercial performance of its Appliance business across domestic and global accounts. The role owns commercial strategy and revenue and margin results for the Appliance segment, leads and develops the Key Account team, and serves as the senior executive relationship owner for Robertshaw’s largest appliance OEM customers. The director applies deep knowledge of appliance customers, platforms, sourcing practices, regulatory drivers, and the competitive landscape to accelerate profitable growth, win new platforms, and strengthen Robertshaw’s position as a strategic industry partner.

The position is based in Itasca, Illinois. Robertshaw is a private equity-owned global design, engineering, and manufacturing company serving the appliance, automotive, and HVAC industries. The company describes itself as an industry leader in advanced flow-control components and systems for water, gas, and other fluids, with more than 125 years of experience and a global focus on innovation.

Requirements

• At least 10 years of commercial experience in the appliance industry in sales, key account management, or business leadership serving major appliance OEMs.
• At least 5 years of experience leading commercial teams with direct people-management responsibility.
• Proven success owning and growing a significant revenue and margin portfolio, with measurable new-business wins and share growth.
• Deep understanding of appliance OEM sourcing processes, platform development cycles, supplier selection, and quality and launch requirements, such as APQP/PPAP.
• Strong technical aptitude for components, sub-assemblies, or systems such as controls, valves, sensors, ignition, and gas and water flow control, including design, development, testing, and manufacturing processes.
• Demonstrated success negotiating complex, multi-year supply agreements and executing pricing strategies, including cost and inflation recovery.
• Executive presence and excellent communication skills, with the ability to influence at the C-suite level and across a matrixed organization.
• Strategic, analytical, data-driven decision-making and ability to thrive in a fast-paced, results-oriented, private equity-backed environment.
• Willingness to travel frequently, domestically and internationally, to engage with customers and Robertshaw sites.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Marketing, or a related field.

Nice To Haves

• MBA.
• Experience in adjacent markets such as HVAC, water heating, or commercial refrigeration.
• Experience managing global or multi-region accounts.
• Additional European languages; Italian in particular is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own the Appliance segment’s commercial strategy and annual operating plan, with accountability for revenue, gross margin, pricing, and bookings targets; use market and customer insights to develop a multi-year growth plan.
• Lead, coach, and develop Key Account Managers and other commercial professionals; set goals, account plans, and performance metrics, build team bench strength, and foster a customer-first, high-performance culture.
• Act as senior executive sponsor for strategic appliance OEM accounts and build relationships across customer sourcing, engineering, quality, and executive leadership.
• Drive the platform pipeline from early design-in through award and launch; win new programs, product categories, and customers, and expand share across cooking, laundry, refrigeration, dishwashing, and water-heating applications.
• Lead negotiations for long-term supply agreements, pricing, and commercial terms, including material, inflation, and tariff cost recovery, productivity commitments, rebates, and payment terms; ensure contract compliance and protect margin.
• Partner with Engineering, Product Management, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, and Finance to deliver launches, resolve customer issues, and align capacity with demand through the S&OP process.
• Track appliance market trends, regulations, electrification, connected appliances, and competitor activity, and translate insights into product-roadmap and commercial strategies.
• Own the segment sales forecast and commercial reporting, providing executive leadership and ownership with timely updates on performance, risks, and opportunities.
• Represent Robertshaw with industry influencers, trade associations such as AHAM, and at industry events.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director