Commercial Director

SPD Scientific; Singapore; On-site; SGD 240,000 - 360,000; Full time

Job summary

SPD Scientific seeks a Commercial Director to architect and lead the regional Distribution commercial organisation across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. You will be accountable for profitable growth while building people, systems and operating discipline for repeatable performance.

The role is based in Singapore with 20–30% travel across the other markets, and carries P&L accountability for a multi-market Distribution business alongside a combined Commercial and Customer Care team.

Qualifications

• 12+ years in commercial/sales leadership with multi-country exposure in SEA.
• Healthcare/diagnostics/medical devices or technical B2B distribution experience.
• Proven in transforming sales organisations and building leadership depth.
• Strong CRM, forecasting, pipeline governance and performance management.
• AI-savvy with data-driven forecasting and reporting across markets.
• Strategic planning to customer-facing execution with executive communication.

Responsibilities

• Own Distribution revenue, gross profit, margin, market share and retention across four countries.
• Translate Group priorities into country strategies, targets and roadmaps.
• Strengthen relationships with customers and principals for high-value opportunities.
• Balance growth with pricing discipline, governance and cash considerations.
• Lead Heads of Sales and build leadership depth and accountability.
• Create a disciplined operating system covering CRM, forecasting and reviews.
• Define territories and coverage models to maximize value and reduce admin burden.
• Collaborate with Strategy, Finance, Supply Chain and HR to execute priorities.

Skills

Strategic leadership

P&L accountability

CRM & forecasting

AI tools

Executive communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Market development

Education

Bachelor's degree

Postgraduate business qualification

Tools

CRM systems

Job description

This is not a conventional Sales Director position. The Commercial Director will be the architect and leader of the regional Distribution commercial organisation, accountable for profitable growth and for building the people, systems and operating discipline that make performance repeatable.

The role will lead and develop the Heads of Sales in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, working with Corporate Strategy to translate the Group vision into focused country plans and consistent execution. The successful candidate must be visible in the markets, close to customers and capable of moving confidently between strategy, leadership coaching and field execution.

The role would be based in Singapore, with regular travel across Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam (approximately 20-30% of time). The role carries P&L accountability for a Distribution business and leading a combined commercial and Customer Care team across the four markets.

Key Responsibilities

• Own Distribution revenue, gross profit, margin, market share and customer-retention outcomes across the four countries.
• Translate Group priorities into practical country strategies, targets, resource plans and execution roadmaps.
• Strengthen strategic customer and principal relationships and support high-value commercial opportunities.
• Balance growth with pricing discipline, margin protection, cash considerations and sound commercial governance.

2. Build a Strong Commercial Leadership Bench

• Lead, coach and hold accountable the Heads of Sales, ensuring clear ownership for country performance.
• Build leadership depth, succession readiness and a high-performance culture based on accountability, collaboration and continuous development.
• Raise the capability of sales teams through structured coaching, performance reviews and consistent commercial standards.

3. Create Commercial Excellence and Productive Market Coverage

• Build a disciplined commercial operating system covering CRM, pipeline management, forecasting, dashboards, KPIs and regular business reviews.
• Redesign territories, customer segmentation and coverage models so commercial resources are deployed where they create the greatest value.
• Clarify roles across field sales, business development, sales administration, inside sales and Customer Care to reduce administrative burden and improve customer-facing productivity.
• Standardise common processes, decision rights and operating rhythms while allowing for genuine local-market requirements.
• Champion the adoption of AI-enabled tools for forecasting, pipeline scoring, customer insight and reporting — strengthening decision speed and quality while keeping ownership and accountability with the commercial leadership team.

4. Strengthen Customer Experience and Cross-Functional Execution

• Lead Customer Care and establish clear standards for responsiveness, issue resolution, retention and baseline-sales support.
• Create an integrated after-sales model with Service and Applications that improves customer confidence and lifetime value.
• Partner with Corporate Strategy, Finance, Supply Chain, HR and other functions to turn commercial priorities into reliable execution.
• Use market insight, customer feedback and performance data to identify risks, improve decisions and shape future growth.

Candidate Profile

We are looking for a commercially credible, hands-on regional leader who has built organisations, not merely inherited them. The right candidate will combine growth leadership with the discipline to create systems, develop leaders and improve execution across markets of differing maturity.

• 12+ years of progressive commercial/sales leadership experience, including 5+ years of proven leadership of a multi-country commercial, sales or distribution business in Southeast Asia.
• Strong record of sustainable revenue and margin delivery with meaningful P&L accountability.
• Experience in healthcare, diagnostics, medical devices, laboratory, life sciences or a comparable technical B2B distribution environment.
• Demonstrated success transforming sales organisations, improving coverage and embedding commercial discipline.
• Clear evidence of developing senior sales leaders and building succession depth.
• Practical command of CRM, forecasting, pipeline governance, sales productivity and performance management.
• AI-savvy: comfortable using AI and data tools to sharpen forecasting, customer insight and commercial reporting, while keeping judgement and accountability for decisions with the leadership team.
• Ability to operate from strategic planning through to customer-facing field execution.
• Resilient, collaborative and culturally agile, with strong judgement and executive communication skills. Bachelor's degree required; postgraduate business qualification is an advantage.