Sr. Director, Kroger

Colgate • Cincinnati, OH

9h • Hybrid

About The Position

As the Senior Director of Customer Development (Sales team), you will be the strategic architect of our partnership with Kroger, one of Colgate-Palmolive’s most critical retail partnerships. You will lead our Cincinnati-based team to drive sustainable growth, optimize category performance, and deepen our relationship with Kroger’s merchant leadership. You will be responsible for the total P&L across our iconic brands within the Kroger ecosystem. This role requires a visionary leader who understands the nuances of Kroger’s go to market strategies, division / banner operations, Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM) retail media solution, 8451 competence along with having an Omnichannel mindset to drive success on Kroger.com. Our ideal candidate is an experienced and versatile business leader who has a proven track record of high performance, thinks big, and operates at depth. In addition, this leader has experience managing diverse teams in a highly dynamic business environment.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree
• 12+ years of proven CPG sales experience, with specific working knowledge around managing Kroger and their overall go-to-market strategies.
• Experience working and leading in a variety of retail environments, managing P&Ls and navigating global, matrixed organizations.
• Exceptional leadership and interpersonal skills, with a successful track record of building and leading high-performing sales teams.
• Familiarity with the in-market retail community and Kroger’s internal "way of working."
• Proven track record of navigating complex negotiations and securing "win-win" outcomes.

Nice To Haves

• Microsoft Office or Google Suite proficiency (i.e, Sheets, Slides, Docs)
• MBA
• Ability to travel as needed (25%)

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of a multi-year profitable growth plan that aligns Colgate-Palmolive's corporate goals with Kroger’s strategic priorities and value proposition.
• Serve as the primary face of Colgate-Palmolive to Kroger’s leadership, deepening relationships, fostering trust and high-level advocacy.
• Position our brands as a category thought leader by leveraging data-driven insights to influence Kroger’s assortment and shelf strategies.
• Oversee the Kroger team’s field office, fostering high-performance culture that attracts and retains top-tier CPG talent.
• Lead a multi-disciplinary team across Sales, Category Management, Supply Chain, and Finance to ensure seamless execution.
• Coach and develop Account Managers and National Account Executives for future leadership roles.
• Manage the full Kroger P&L, including gross/net sales, trade spend, and profitability.
• Collaborate with digital teams to ensure "best-in-class" presence on Kroger.com and maximize ROI on KPM media investments.
• Partner with Demand Planning to ensure high in-stock levels, particularly during peak seasonal windows and promotional periods.
• Able to lead and influence across multiple levels of the organization and effectively lead, collaborate, communicate and influence in a matrix environment.
• Take the lead by influencing the agenda through collaboration, negotiation and thought leadership.
• Find creative opportunities to grow and improve the business across the board.
• Adapt and adjust the strategy, willingness to take risks, and incorporate findings into the strategy quickly.
• Leveraging insights, challenge the status quo.
• Analyze relevant data, insights and information to identify opportunities and develop strategic plans to drive a commercial agenda.
• Grasp of the big picture and can clearly identify areas of opportunity.
• Collaborate with key cross functional partners to identify opportunities for growth and build selling stories.
• Proven experience leading and collaborating within cross-discipline teams, networking and building strong relationships with Insights and Analytics, Marketing, Supply Chain, Research & Development, and Sales.
• Strong oral and written communication skills; ability to effectively and efficiently educate and influence internal and external stakeholders at all levels.
• Seek opportunities to improve via creative solutions.
• Dig into the reason behind the numbers, look at the results and find out the reasons for what is driving those results and guide the team accordingly.

Benefits

• medical
• dental
• vision
• basic life insurance
• paid parental leave
• disability coverage
• participation in the 401(k) retirement plan with company matching contributions subject to eligibility requirements
• a minimum of 15 vacation/PTO days
• 13 paid holidays
• Paid sick leave is adjusted based on role and location in accordance with local laws.

What This Job Offers

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