DIRECTOR, GLOBAL CRUISE BUSINESS

Groupe SEB

1d • $160,000 - $180,000 • Onsite

About The Position

The Director, Global Cruise Business leads and expands all cruise-related activities within SEB Professional Beverage, driving profitable growth, operational excellence, and outstanding customer satisfaction across global cruise operators and key stakeholders. Combining strategic vision with an entrepreneurial mindset, this role brings strong commercial leadership and hands-on operational expertise to grow the business, strengthen partnerships, and deliver innovative beverage solutions tailored to the cruise industry. As a key leader, the Director ensures SEB Professional Beverage is the partner of choice for equipment, solutions, and services worldwide, setting the benchmark for quality, reliability, and customer experience.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Hospitality Management, or a related field (Master’s degree is a plus).
• Proven experience in a leadership role combining commercial (sales) responsibility with operational oversight in an international B2B environment.
• Demonstrated success in key account management and complex contract negotiations.
• Experience within the cruise industry and/or professional hospitality or beverage equipment sectors is highly desirable.
• Track record of effectively leading and collaborating with intercultural teams in both direct and matrix structures.
• Inspiring leadership and strong influencing skills, particularly within matrix organizations.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a strategic outlook and hands-on approach to execution.
• Exceptional sales, negotiation, and relationship-building capabilities.
• Solid understanding of operations, supply chain, warehousing, and service processes.
• Strong analytical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, supported by sound financial acumen.
• Customer-centric mindset with excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Adaptable and comfortable navigating complexity, fast-paced environments, and evolving priorities.
• Proficient in CRM systems and standard business tools; experience with S&OP is an advantage.
• Fluent in English; additional languages are a plus.
• Willingness to travel internationally, including visits to shipyards and onboard cruise vessels.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree
• Experience within the cruise industry and/or professional hospitality or beverage equipment sectors
• Additional languages are a plus
• Experience with S&OP

Responsibilities

• Develop mid- and long-term plans for the cruise business, aligned with SEB Professional Beverage strategy.
• Monitor market trends, competition and regulations to identify growth opportunities and risks.
• Provide cruise-specific input to Product Management and R&D for portfolio development.
• Contribute to overall commercial strategy and route to market of SEB Professional Beverage.
• Lead, coordinate and develop the global cruise team, including both direct reports and functional/dotted-line roles in US, Germany and UK.
• Define clear objectives, roles, KPIs and ways of working for all contributors to the cruise business, regardless of their local reporting line.
• Establish effective governance (regular calls, review meetings, escalation paths) to ensure alignment across locations and functions.
• Support hiring, onboarding and training of team members, and foster a collaborative, accountable and high-performance culture.
• Engage internal stakeholders to ensure high quality execution of critical business activities for Global Cruise business.
• Define and execute the global commercial strategy for the cruise segment.
• Acquire and develop strategic accounts (cruise lines, shipyards, key partners).
• Lead major negotiations and contracts, ensuring profitable and long-term partnerships.
• Drive upselling and cross-selling of equipment, solutions, services and digital offerings to maximize share of wallet.
• Manage the sales pipeline, forecasting and reporting to ensure transparency and predictability of the cruise business.
• Oversee end-to-end operations for cruise projects (order intake, planning, logistics, installation), coordinating work done from different locations.
• Manage, in coordination with local operations and warehouse teams, the inventory and logistics for cruise equipment and spare parts.
• Ensure efficient AP/AR and S&OP processes in collaboration with Finance and Supply Chain.
• Coordinate with central and local service organizations and partners to deliver reliable after sales support worldwide.
• Ensure efficient coordination of activities for “moving targets” (ships in different regions, short port stays, tight project windows).
• Ensure high customer satisfaction, acting as escalation point for key accounts.
• Conduct regular reviews and on-board visits to assess performance of equipment and services.
• Identify recurring issues and drive continuous improvement of products, processes and service.
• Promote the use of digital tools (e.g. CRM) and best practices across the cruise activities.

Benefits

• Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage with a generous employer contribution
• 401(k) Retirement Plan with company match
• Company-Paid Life Insurance
• 12 Paid Holidays
• Additional Voluntary Benefits and Employee Discount Programs
• A Positive, Inclusive Work Culture that genuinely values work-life balance
• Annual incentive bonus eligibility

What This Job Offers

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