Role Purpose
The Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) APAC is accountable for defining and executing the APAC commercial strategy to drive sustainable growth, margin expansion, and customer leadership across a highly diverse region. The role leads the end-to-end commercial agenda spanning sales, marketing, pricing, customer strategy, and commercial excellence, ensuring strong alignment with Group and Segment strategies while addressing APAC-specific market dynamics. The CCO APAC builds high-performing commercial organizations and positions the company as the preferred specialty chemicals distribution partner across APAC.
Key Accountabilities
Lead the APAC Commercial Strategy
- Define and execute an APAC commercial strategy aligned with Group priorities and tailored to regional growth opportunities and market maturity.
- Translate global strategy into clear, actionable APAC roadmaps with measurable milestones and accountability.
- Balance short-term growth delivery with long-term capability building across emerging and mature markets.
Drive Financial Performance & Growth
- Own APAC gross profit growth, pricing discipline, and margin optimization.
- Drive portfolio mix optimization, cross-selling, and commercial productivity.
- Define, track, and act on commercial and financial KPIs to ensure sustainable performance.
Market, Segment & Principal Alignment
- Partner with Market Segment Directors to execute segment strategies consistently across APAC.
- Convert segment insights into country-level commercial actions while maintaining regional coherence.
- Build strong strategic relationships with key customers and principals.
Champion Commercial & Digital Excellence
- Lead deployment of commercial excellence frameworks in coordination with Group Commercial Excellence.
- Embed customer segmentation, sales effectiveness, pricing governance, and pipeline management.
- Drive adoption of digital tools (e.g. CRM, analytics platforms) to improve decision-making, conversion, and margin.
Build a High-Performance APAC Commercial Organization
- Develop and lead a diverse team of Managing Directors and commercial leaders across APAC.
- Build leadership bench strength and succession pipelines.
- Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Qualifications & Experience
Education
- Master's degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Business, Economics, or a related discipline.
Experience
- 10+ years of senior commercial leadership experience within specialty chemicals, ingredients, or value-added distribution.
- Strong exposure to APAC markets, including both growth and mature economies.
- Proven experience leading in matrixed, multinational organizations.
Critical Skills & Competencies
- Strategic and financial acumen
- Deep understanding of APAC market diversity and cultural complexity
- Customer-centric, data-driven decision-making
- Inspirational people leadership and change management capability
- Strong stakeholder management across regional, global, and local levels
Scope & Complexity
Geographical Scope: Asia-Pacific
Direct Reports: Approx 8-12
Overall, Team Size: Approx 600 FTEs across APAC
Complexity: High - driven by market diversity, growth expectations, and varying commercial maturity levels.
