General Manager- Business Development Drives

Schneider Electric; Gurgaon; On-site; INR 2,000,000 - 3,000,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading industrial automation firm is seeking a Business Development Leader to drive growth and market penetration in South India. The successful candidate will manage a team of Product Specialists, oversee business development strategies, and collaborate with sales and marketing teams. Qualifications include a Bachelor's in engineering preferred, 12-16 years of related experience, and strong leadership abilities. The role offers the opportunity to make significant impacts on product adoption and market share.

Qualifications

• 12-16 years experience in Industrial Automation, Drives, Controls.
• Proven business development or technical sales experience.
• Prior team management experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of Product Specialists in product lines.
• Drive business development across South India for Industrial Automation.
• Manage pricing and ensure offer saturation across channels.

Skills

Leadership and people management

Industrial automation knowledge

Stakeholder management

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering (Electrical/Electronics/Instrumentation preferred)

MBA

Job description

Role Overview

The Business Development Leader for the Industrial Automation Business Unit will be responsible for driving growth, market penetration, and product adoption across South India. This is a people leadership role, managing a team of Product Specialists across key automation product lines including PAC, Variable Speed Drives, Human Machine Interface (HMI), Machine Solutions, and Transactional Offerings. The role requires close collaboration with the Sales Organization, Channel Partners, and National Sales teams to execute business strategies, enhance offer saturation, build application capabilities, and accelerate customer conversions.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & People Management

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of 5-6 Product Line Specialists across designated automation product portfolios.
• Set clear goals, monitor performance, and ensure capability building within the team.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and high performance.

Business Development

• Drive overall product business development for the Industrial Automation portfolio in South India.
• Identify growth opportunities across segments, OEMs, and channels, and develop targeted action plans.
• Lead demand generation initiatives to build a robust opportunity pipeline.
• Support the Sales Organization in enhancing product penetration and achieving revenue targets.

Strategic & Operational Responsibilities

• Manage pricing: Oversee standard pricing and SPA (Special Pricing Agreements) in alignment with corporate guidelines.
• Offer saturation: Ensure full offer deployment and penetration across channels, key segments, and target markets.
• Offer application build-ups: Develop and scale application use cases to strengthen solution relevance for customers.
• Product mix enhancement: Drive the right product mix strategy to increase margin, profitability, and market competitiveness.
• Customer conversions: Partner with National Sales teams to convert strategic customer opportunities into wins.

Collaboration & Stakeholder Management

• Work closely with Sales, Marketing, Channel Partners, and National Business Teams to drive aligned go‑to‑market strategies.
• Conduct joint customer visits with Sales teams to support opportunity shaping and solution positioning.
• Provide market intelligence, competitor insights, and product feedback to the BU for portfolio enhancement.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering (Electrical/Electronics/Instrumentation preferred); MBA is an added advantage.
• 12-16 years of experience in Industrial Automation, Drives, Controls, or related domains.
• Proven experience in business development, product management, or technical sales.
• Prior experience managing teams is preferred.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong leadership and people management skills.
• Deep understanding of Industrial Automation products and market trends.
• Excellent stakeholder and channel management capability.
• Strong analytical and commercial acumen.
• Ability to drive execution, manage complexity, and influence without authority.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and customer engagement skills.

Success Measures

• Achievement of revenue, growth, and product mix targets.
• Increased offer saturation across South India.
• Successful demand generation and opportunity conversion.
• Strong team performance and capability uplift.

At Schneider Electric, we uphold the highest standards of ethics and compliance, and we believe that trust is a foundational value. Our Trust Charter is our Code of Conduct and demonstrates our commitment to ethics, safety, sustainability, quality and cybersecurity, underpinning every aspect of our business and our willingness to behave and respond respectfully and in good faith to all our stakeholders. You can find out more about our Trust Charter here.

Schneider Electric is an Equal Opportunity Employer. It is our policy to provide equal employment and advancement opportunities in the areas of recruiting, hiring, training, transferring, and promoting all qualified individuals regardless of race, religion, color, gender, disability, national origin, ancestry, age, military status, sexual orientation, marital status or any other legally protected characteristic or conduct.