VP of Commercial Operations

Flow Control Group•Houston, TX

About The Position

The Vice President of Commercial Operations is a critical enterprise leadership role responsible for driving revenue growth, commercial discipline, and operational excellence across a decentralized network of industrial distribution brands. This leader serves as the connective tissue between the corporate commercial strategy and the front-line selling organizations, translating into execution across 10 Technology Groups (TGs) without disrupting the entrepreneurial culture that makes each brand within the TGs successful. This is not a role for someone who manages from a dashboard. The right leader spends time in the field, builds relationships with technology groups, commercial, brand leaders and sellers, and earns the trust of decentralized operators by demonstrating commercial credibility. At the same time, they must be able to proficiently articulate to a room of executive leaders a clear, data-driven commercial narrative. The role sits at the intersection of strategy and execution and reports directly to the EVP, Commercial Operations. Owning the commercial operating system (Salesforce), the metrics architecture (pipeline, bookings, win rates). The position will work closely in supporting teams focused on pricing, cross-selling leadership, and the strategic/national account programs, while enabling each brand to run its own P&L with autonomy.

Requirements

15+ years of progressive commercial leadership and direct sales experience, with at least 5 years in a VP or Director-level role with broad commercial scope.
Experience operating within a decentralized, multi-brand, or multi-location industrial distribution, manufacturing, or services organization. Must have the ability to influence without direct authority.
Deep Salesforce proficiency. Not only as a user, but as a platform owner. Deep experience driving adoption, building reporting architecture that meets the fields needs, and managing CRM as a commercial operating system across a complex organization.
Demonstrated track record of building and scaling commercial operations infrastructure from the ground up. Proficient sales management success whereby leading a commercial team that has successfully built pipeline frameworks, seller performance systems, and cross-selling capabilities.
Strong financial acumen and the ability to construct a revenue bridge from pipeline generation (coverage models/bowling charts), model pricing/volume impacts from the system KPIs, and speak credibly with FCG leadership.
Experience presenting to private equity sponsors or public company boards. Systems and processes built must be ready for publicly traded company performance within 3-5 years.
Industrial distribution, specialty distribution, or industrial services background strongly preferred. Clear and demonstrated understanding with the buying motions, customer types, and channel dynamics of MRO and project-based industrial selling.
Ability through data to identify and build a team of sellers that can move from level 1 to level 4 management structures and be proficient in sales engagement processes work with the Strategic Account team to land multi-site, large complex deals.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a PE-backed platform business. Understanding of value creation plans, EBITDA management, and the commercial levers that drive enterprise value.
Strategic accounts or national accounts leadership experience.
Cross-selling or integrated solutions selling experience in a multi-brand or multi-product environment.
Familiarity with industrial end markets: Energy, power generation, aerospace, EPC / construction, food & beverage, water/wastewater, automotive, industrial manufacturing, pulp and paper, and datacenters.
Experience with eCommerce in an industrial or B2B context. Ability to promote and integrate eCommerce into the everyday life of a seller in which to exploit all opportunities to proficiently sell.
MBA or equivalent advanced degree in business, engineering, or related field.

Responsibilities

Partner with brand, commercial and technology group leaders to set growth targets, identify whitespace opportunity, and build actionable territory plans.
Support cross-selling initiatives by jointly developing tools, incentives, training, and coordination structures that enable multi-brand selling without disrupting brand autonomy.
Build and maintain the commercial calendar — QBRs, pipeline reviews, seller performance reviews, and board-level commercial updates.
Work directly with the brands to define and implement actions to pursue new and emerging markets and customers.
Own the Salesforce platform(s) as the commercial operating system. Focus on adoption, data quality, pipeline integrity, and continuous improvement.
Drive Salesforce adoption across 100+ brands from onboarding through advanced usage. Build a culture where sellers see CRM as a tool that helps them win, not a reporting burden.
Work with the Commercial Operations team to design and maintain the pipeline architecture. Stage definitions, opportunity hygiene standards that lead to forecasting methodology.
Build and deliver the commercial reporting suite for the field and management teams. Build weekly pipeline reports, monthly bookings dashboards, quarterly board presentations, and ad hoc analytics for leadership.
Partner with IT and Salesforce administrators to evaluate, implement, and optimize new capabilities, such as CPQ integration, seller mapping, marketing cloud integration, and AI-assisted selling tools.
Ensure data integrity and consistency across brands by establishing and maintaining standardized account hierarchies, contact management, and activity logging to support cross-brand visibility.
Build and manage the seller performance framework. Develop and implement common practices for quota setting, attainment tracking, performance tiering, and accountability structures across a decentralized organization.
Partner with HR and brand leadership to identify, develop, and retain top commercial talent. This includes succession planning for key sales leadership roles and seller pipeline generation. i.e. Build a bench.
Design and deploy seller enablement programs. Work closely with Learning and Development for product training, competitive positioning, value-based consultative sales methodology, and Salesforce proficiency.
Establish a coaching culture through field ride-alongs, joint customer calls, and quarterly seller reviews that combine data with direct observation.
Build and track leading indicators of seller health including activity levels, pipeline creation rates, win rates by category, and new logo acquisition trends.
Identify and develop a Presidents Club structure. Develop the KPIs required for admittance, management and maintenance. Through this program, work closely with the field to build a World Class sales organization.
Prepare and present commercial updates to the FCG Leadership team and PE commercial sponsors. Including the monthly commercial operating reviews and market context.
Develop and maintain the commercial KPI framework and utilize metrics that tell an honest story of the business and early-warning bookings indicators that surface issues before they become problems.
Partner with the CFO, Operations and Finance team(s) to align commercial forecasting with financial projections. Ensure the commercial pipeline translates accurately into revenue and margin guidance.