Vice President of Sales

We are currently recruiting a Vice President Sales North America for an international manufacturer of automated storage systems, material handling solutions, and industrial automation technologies. This position will play a key role in shaping and accelerating the company’s growth strategy across the North American market.

The organization is a well-established European engineering company with a long-standing reputation for technical excellence, innovation, and long-term customer partnerships across industrial markets.

Position Summary

The Vice President of Sales North America is a senior commercial leadership role responsible for the strategic and operational development of the North American business.

The position leads a small team and combines executive sales leadership, strategic account management, and hands-on responsibility for complex project-based sales cycles in the automation and material handling sector.

The successful candidate will lead a highly technical sales organization while personally supporting key strategic opportunities and major customer relationships. The role will work closely with the European headquarters to align market strategy and long-term growth initiatives.

The role offers significant influence on the future development of the North American organization and provides direct visibility to senior executive leadership.

Why This Role Is Attractive

• Executive visibility and direct collaboration with global leadership.
• Exposure to highly engineered, complex automation projects with leading industrial customers.
• Opportunity to build and further develop the North American commercial organization.
• Long-term oriented company culture with strong market reputation and high customer retention.

Main Responsibilities

• Define and execute the North American commercial strategy across all business segments and customer groups.
• Lead, develop, and grow the regional sales organization while establishing a high-performance culture.
• Drive business development activities and identify new market opportunities across North America.
• Personally manage strategic customer relationships and major project pursuits.
• Lead complex, consultative sales processes involving automation, material handling, and storage solutions.
• Provide leadership and oversight for local finance and administrative functions, ensuring efficient business operations and alignment with corporate policies.
• Collaborate closely with engineering, operations, and project execution teams to ensure successful project delivery.
• Work closely with the European headquarters on pricing strategy, product alignment, and long-term market development.
• Represent the company at trade shows, customer events, and industry conferences throughout North America.
• Support the ongoing development of organizational structures, customer processes, and market strategy.
• Contribute to the continued expansion of the North American organization, including recruitment and development of additional commercial talent.

 Candidate Profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a comparable technical discipline; MBA preferred.
• Proven leadership experience within automated storage systems, material handling, intralogistics, or industrial capital equipment.
• Strong track record in consultative and project-based technical sales environments with long sales cycles.
• Experience leading commercial organizations and developing high-performing teams.
• Strong understanding of automation technologies, industrial customer processes, and solution-based selling.
• Ability to combine strategic leadership with hands-on customer engagement.
• Strong financial and commercial acumen with experience in forecasting, budgeting, and business planning.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and negotiation skills.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a high degree of ownership and accountability.
• Experience working in international or European business environments is highly desirable.
• Willingness to travel regularly throughout North America and internationally.