Director Strategic Market Development (50380)

Welbilt•Coppell, TX

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director Strategic Market Development is responsible for identifying, developing, and expanding Merrychef’s presence within non‑traditional foodservice segments, including healthcare, higher education, corporate dining, food manufacturing, government, and specialty institutional environments. This leader will build strategic partnerships across the foodservice ecosystem, develop segment‑specific go‑to‑market strategies, expand distribution pathways, and enhance brand visibility across emerging verticals. A core focus of the role is building long‑term, value‑driven relationships with food manufacturing partners to align menu development, product innovation, and equipment capabilities in ways that deliver measurable value to end users. The role is highly collaborative, requiring close alignment with Sales, Marketing, Culinary, Product, consultants, and external partners to accelerate growth in underdeveloped market channels. Reporting directly to the VP Sales, this position will be based out of Coppell, TX, with the ability to work remotely. Frequent travel is required.

Requirements

8+ years of progressive experience in commercial foodservice equipment sales, strategic market development, institutional channel expansion, or food manufacturing related environments is required.
Demonstrated success growing business in healthcare, education, government/military, corporate dining, food manufacturing, managed services , or other non-traditional foodservice segments.
Proven ability to build and sustain long‑term strategic partnerships with food manufacturers, operators, consultants, engineers, and procurement/GPO stakeholders.
Strong go-to-market strategy, market segmentation, and business development experience across complex, multi‑stakeholder environments.
Excellent communication skills (written and verbal), that can transcend all levels of the business, including empathy for the end-user.
Experience leading product demonstrations, testing initiatives or operator validations.
Ability to meet deadlines, manage time and multi-task in an ever-changing work environment.
Business acumen and experience in business case development.
Ability to translate customer culinary needs into actionable solutions.
Excellent leadership, teamwork, collaboration, negotiating and strategy development skills.
Proficiency in computer software; including spreadsheets, databases and presentation platforms.
Ability to create compelling customer-facing and internal content; including presentations, playbooks, training materials, and sales enablement tools.
Consistently operate in a manner that aligns to the Company Core Values.
Strong culinary knowledge and experience collaborating with food manufacturing partners, culinary teams, and operators to develop menu solutions optimized for high-speed cooking technology, operational efficiency, and end-user satisfaction.
Ability to translate culinary and operational needs into strategic equipment solutions through product demonstrations, menu development, testing initiatives, and customer-facing culinary presentations.
Experience partnering cross-functionally with Culinary, Sales, Marketing, and Product teams to support menu innovation, customer education, and demand creation across non-traditional foodservice segments.
Consistently demonstrate alignment to Company core values.
Ability to sit/stand/walk for extended periods of time in a commercial kitchen environment, office setting, tradeshow/event, or in the field.
Must have valid US passport and driver’s license.

Nice To Haves

Experience with high‑speed cooking technologies, ventless solutions, or kitchen automation (preferred).
Background in spec writing, kitchen design standards, or equipment standardization programs (preferred).
Must be able to lift, push, or pull 50 pounds.
Ability to work extended hours, as needed.
Ability to travel – up 75% of the time - regionally, locally and requiring overnights.
Occasional international travel.

Responsibilities

Market Expansion & Strategy Development: Identify growth opportunities across non traditional institutional segments; develop segment specific go to market strategies focused on customer needs, procurement processes, and operational workflows.
Strategic Relationship Building: Build and sustain strong relationships with food manufacturers, consultants, healthcare procurement leads, university dining directors, corporate dining stakeholders, and grocery/retail decision makers to influence specifications, menu strategies and purchasing decisions.
Food Manufacturing Partnerships & Menu Alignment: Collaborate with food manufacturing partners on menu development and product focus to ensure offerings are optimized for Merrychef technology, operational performance, and real‑world end‑user needs. Act as the connection point between market alignment, partner product innovation and operator success.
Sales Channel Development: Partner with internal sales leadership to define effective distribution pathways for institutional and non-traditional buyers, including alternative dealer networks, GPOs, food manufacturing collaborations, and specialty channel models.
Ecosystem & Industry Partnerships: Engage with key industry associations, trade groups, consultant networks, and manufacturer partners to elevate brand visibility, create thought leadership opportunities, and expand access to target segments.
Demand Creation, Training & Education: Deliver targeted education through product demonstrations, culinary collaboration, webinars, test kitchen sessions, and curated content that highlight Merrchef’s value in partnership-driven and menu-led solutions.
Competitive & Market Intelligence: Monitor trends, competitor activity, food manufacturing innovation, emerging technologies, and regulatory shifts to strengthen market positioning and inform strategic decisions.
Cross Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Marketing, Sales, Product, and Culinary teams to develop targeted campaigns, segment-specific messaging, and solution bundles, and co-developed offerings that align with customer and end-user needs.
Performance Metrics: Track and report segment performance, including new partnerships, specification wins, menu integrations, pipeline growth, and revenue expansion across non traditional and food manufacturing-linked markets.