Chief Commercial Officer - Global Brand EU

TRP Recruitment ltd; Greater London; On-site; GBP 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

TRP Recruitment ltd is seeking a Chief Commercial Officer to lead the next growth phase across Europe. The role owns the European commercial agenda across wholesale, strategic accounts, distributors, agents, and business development, delivering sustainable growth and improved cash generation.

The successful candidate will drive pricing discipline, profit optimization, and partner engagement with major retailers.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of senior commercial leadership in sporting goods, athletic footwear or lifestyle brands.
• Proven success leading European wholesale businesses or distributor networks.
• Established network of senior decision-makers across Europe’s leading sporting goods retailers.
• Exceptional deal-making skills and experience negotiating commercial agreements.
• Track record of delivering profitable growth, not just revenue growth.

Responsibilities

• Lead the brands' European commercial strategy across Europe, channels and categories.
• Drive sustainable and profitable growth with disciplined commercial execution.
• Manage strategic retail partnerships with key partners and expand distribution.
• Lead distributor and agent networks with clear growth plans and accountability.
• Build and recruit a high-performance commercial organisation with a culture of accountability.

Skills

Senior leadership

European wholesale

Deal-making

Profit growth

Job description

We are seeking an exceptional Chief Commercial Officer to lead the next phase of growth across Europe. The CCO will own the entire European commercial agenda across wholesale, strategic accounts, distributors, agents, and business development. This executive will be responsible for delivering sustainable and profitable growth across Europe, strengthening the brand's presence with key retail partners, identifying high-quality distribution opportunities, and building long-term value for the business. The CCO will balance growth ambitions with disciplined commercial execution, ensuring that revenue expansion, gross margin improvement, customer profitability and healthy cash generation remain central to all commercial decisions.

Main Responsibilities Will Include:

Lead The Brands' European Commercial Strategy

• Develop and execute the commercial strategy across Europe; drive sustainable and profitable growth; identify and prioritize growth opportunities by market, channel and category; build annual and long-range plans; ensure excellence in distribution and execution.

Deliver Profitable Growth

• Drive sustainable profitable growth; ensure revenue growth is accompanied by gross margin, operating profit and cash generation; maintain discipline around pricing, trade investment and customer profitability; evaluate all opportunities through both growth and profitability lenses.

Manage Strategic Retail Partnerships

• Personally lead strategic relationships with Deichmann, Decathlon, Intersport, Sports Direct/Frasers, Foot partnerships, expand distribution, increase digital visibility and unlock profitable growth opportunities.

Lead Distributor and Agent Network

• Manage and develop the network of distributors and sales agents in markets where the company does not operate directly; establish profitable growth plans, accountability frameworks and strong brand execution standards.

Build a High-Performance Commercial Organisation

• Lead, develop and recruit top commercial talent; create a culture of accountability, ambition and execution; strengthen organizational capabilities and succession plans.

Key Performance Indicators

• Revenue growth
• Customer profitability
• Growth of priority accounts
• Distributor performance and profitability
• Team engagement and succession development

What Success Looks Like After 24 Months

• Improved gross margins and customer profitability.
• Stronger positions with key European retailers.
• Improved distributor performance across indirect markets.
• A stronger and more capable commercial organisation.

Person Specifications:

• Minimum 15 years of senior commercial leadership experience within sporting goods, athletic footwear, apparel or lifestyle brands.
• Proven success leading European wholesale businesses (and, ideally, distributor networks).
• Deep European sporting goods industry experience.
• Established network of senior decision-makers across Europe's leading sporting goods, footwear and lifestyle retailers.
• Candidates should possess an established network of senior relationships across major European sporting goods and footwear retailers, with the credibility and access to engage decision-makers immediately upon joining.
• This role is not suited to someone who needs time to develop relationships.
• Exceptional deal-making skills and experience negotiating commercial agreements.
• Demonstrated track record of delivering profitable growth, not simply revenue growth.