Alcott Global is retained to recruit a Vice President, Commercial, for a large, well-established player in the infrastructure and logistics space, based in the US.
Job Purpose
The Vice President, Commercial is responsible for accelerating profitable growth, expanding strategic customer relationships, developing new markets, and strengthening the company’s competitive position. Working closely with executive leadership and operational, technology, finance, and legal teams, the VP Commercial will translate market opportunities and customer needs into commercially viable, scalable solutions.
This executive will combine strong knowledge of the infrastructure and logistics industries with disciplined commercial leadership. They will oversee the full commercial lifecycle—from market development, solution design, pricing, and contract negotiation through customer onboarding, account growth, and long-term value realization.
Key Responsibilities
Commercial Strategy and Growth
- Develop and execute an integrated commercial strategy aligned with the company’s growth and profitability objectives.
- Identify and prioritize opportunities across ports, terminals, rail yards, intermodal operations, and logistics technology.
- Build a strong pipeline of new business, expansion, partnership, concession, and technology opportunities.
- Monitor market trends, customer requirements, trade flows, competitor activity, and industry developments.
- Provide executive leadership and the Board with commercial forecasts, insights, and recommendations.
Business Development and Customer Management
- Lead the pursuit of strategic, high-value commercial opportunities from qualification through contract award.
- Build senior relationships with shipping lines, cargo owners, port authorities, rail operators, logistics providers, industrial customers, government entities, and technology partners.
- Establish a structured approach to strategic account management, customer retention, and account growth.
- Develop value propositions that combine infrastructure, operational capabilities, data, automation, and logistics technology.
- Represent the company in major customer engagements, negotiations, and industry forums.
Commercial Solutions and Technology
- Partner with operations, engineering, product, and technology teams to develop commercially attractive customer solutions.
- Lead the go-to-market strategy for logistics technology products and digitally enabled services.
- Identify scalable revenue models, including licensing, subscriptions, managed services, and strategic partnerships.
- Ensure technology and product development priorities reflect validated market and customer needs.
Pricing, Contracts, and Governance
- Lead pricing, commercial modeling, deal structuring, tender submissions, and investment cases.
- Negotiate major customer agreements, long-term service contracts, concessions, technology agreements, and partnerships.
- Work with finance and legal teams to protect profitability, manage risk, and ensure appropriate commercial governance.
- Monitor contract performance, margins, revenue quality, and key commercial commitments.
Cross-Functional and Team Leadership
- Ensure commercial commitments are properly priced, operationally deliverable, and aligned with company strategy.
- Collaborate with finance on planning, forecasting, capital allocation, and investment evaluation.
- Support commercial due diligence for acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic investments.
- Build, lead, and develop a high-performing commercial team.
- Promote a customer-focused, accountable, and collaborative commercial culture.
Candidate Profile:
Experience
- Significant senior commercial leadership experience in ports, marine terminals, rail, intermodal transportation, logistics infrastructure, supply-chain technology, or a related sector.
- Demonstrated success in delivering profitable growth and securing complex, high-value, long-term contracts.
- Strong relationships and credibility with customers, public authorities, infrastructure operators, and strategic partners.
- Experience developing and commercializing infrastructure, operational, and technology-enabled solutions.
- Strong understanding of terminal, port, rail-yard, intermodal, or related logistics operations.
- Experience with complex tenders, concessions, strategic partnerships, pricing, and contract negotiations.
- Proven ability to build and lead high-performing commercial teams across multiple markets or business lines.
- Experience working in a capital-intensive, safety-critical, regulated, and operationally complex environment.
- Exposure to logistics software, automation, digital platforms, data solutions, or technology commercialization is strongly preferred.
- International or multi-jurisdictional commercial experience would be advantageous.
Education
- Bachelor’s degree in business, economics, engineering, logistics, supply-chain management, transportation, or a related field.
- An MBA or other relevant postgraduate qualification is preferred.