Chief Commercial Officer

Kalon Executive Search; West Chicago (IL); Remote; USD 270,000 - 330,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Equity

Full benefits

Job summary

Kalon Staffing is partnered to recruit a Chief Commercial Officer for a growth-focused, PE-backed organization in the nutraceutical space.

The CCO will own go-to-market strategy across sales, BD, marketing, pricing, and channel development, building a data-driven commercial engine for scale.  The ideal candidate brings 15+ years leading sales, marketing, and business development in health and wellness, with a track record of revenue growth and strategic partnerships.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive commercial leadership across sales, business development, marketing, or general commercial management.
• Proven ability to drive revenue growth through new customer acquisition, account expansion, cross-selling, and channel development.
• Strong experience in nutritional ingredients, dietary supplements, functional foods, beverages, or related health/wellness categories.

Responsibilities

• Lead commercial growth strategy across sales, BD, marketing, pricing, and channel development.
• Build a scalable, data-driven commercial organization with KPIs, forecasting, and performance management.
• Develop and maintain strategic relationships with leaders in dietary supplements, functional foods, beverages, pharma, and wellness sectors.

Skills

Commercial leadership

Sales leadership

Marketing leadership

Strategic partnerships

Global/international experience

Health & wellness industry knowledge

Data-driven decision making

Job description

Our client is seeking an accomplished, growth-oriented Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) to lead the company’s commercial strategy and accelerate revenue growth across the nutraceutical and specialty ingredient markets.

The CCO will own the development and execution of a differentiated go-to-market strategy spanning sales, business development, marketing, customer growth, product positioning, pricing, and channel development. This executive will be responsible for building a scalable, data-driven commercial organization that consistently delivers new customer acquisition, strategic account expansion, cross-selling, improved profitability, and long-term enterprise value.

The ideal candidate is a hands-on commercial leader with a demonstrated record of success in the nutritional ingredient industry or an adjacent health and wellness category. This individual should bring experience across both sales and marketing, strong relationships with leading dietary supplement, functional food, and beverage brands, and the ability to translate science-backed product differentiation into compelling commercial value.

The CCO will work closely with the CEO, executive leadership team, board, and private equity sponsor, as applicable, to drive value-creation initiatives and build a high-performing commercial engine capable of supporting continued scale and exit readiness.

Location: Remote with travel required; Chicago area is ideal.

Key Responsibilities

• Commercial Growth and Strategy: Lead the company’s commercial growth strategy, driving revenue through new customer acquisition, account expansion, cross-selling, channel development, and market growth.
• Lead strategic negotiations and prioritize opportunities that support profitable, sustainable growth.
• Go-to-Market and Marketing Leadership: Develop go-to-market, product positioning, pricing, branding, and commercial launch strategies across direct sales, distribution, and strategic partnerships.
• Partner with Science, R&D, and Product Development to commercialize science-backed ingredients and translate technical data into customer value.
• Commercial Organization and Operating Rigor: Build and scale the commercial organization across Sales, Business Development, Sales Operations, Customer Success, and Marketing.
• Establish organizational structure, targets, incentives, sales processes, forecasting, account planning, and performance management systems.
• Data-Driven Commercial Management: Establish and monitor KPIs related to revenue, margins, pipeline performance, customer acquisition, retention, pricing, productivity, and forecast accuracy.
• Use customer data, market intelligence, pipeline analytics, and financial performance to guide decisions and improve accountability.
• Industry Expertise and Strategic Relationships: Develop trusted relationships with leaders across dietary supplements, functional foods, beverages, pharmaceuticals, and broader health and wellness markets.
• Build strategic partnerships with customers, distributors, contract manufacturers, formulators, and other industry stakeholders.
• International and Global Commercial Development: Expand international business through strategic management of global customers, distributors, agents, and partners.
• Evaluate global opportunities while considering regional customer needs, supply capabilities, regulatory requirements, and profitability.
• Leadership and Cross-Functional Collaboration: Recruit, develop, and lead a high-performing commercial team with clear goals, accountability, and a strong focus on execution.
• Collaborate with Science/R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Regulatory, Finance, and Human Resources to align commercial objectives with business capabilities.
• Executive and Private Equity Partnership: Partner with the CEO, executive team, board, and private equity sponsor to drive commercial value-creation initiatives.
• Provide clear recommendations and performance updates while building a scalable commercial platform that supports continued growth and exit readiness.

Qualifications

• 15 or more years of progressive commercial leadership experience, including senior responsibility for sales, business development, marketing, or general commercial management.
• Demonstrated success driving significant revenue growth through new customer acquisition, strategic account expansion, cross-selling, and channel development.
• Strong experience in nutritional ingredients, dietary supplements, functional foods, functional beverages, specialty ingredients, or a closely related health and wellness category.
• Established relationships with leading dietary supplement, functional food, beverage, pharmaceutical, consumer health, or wellness brands.
• Experience leading both sales and marketing functions, or a demonstrated ability to integrate these disciplines effectively.
• Proven experience commercializing science-backed products, ingredients, technologies, or innovations supported by clinical research or published scientific data.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with technical, scientific, R&D, regulatory, and executive audiences.
• Experience developing commercial organizations, account segmentation models, territory structures, performance metrics, and incentive plans.
• Strong understanding of pricing strategy, pipeline management, forecasting, market analysis, and commercial operations.
• International sales, distributor management, and global partnership experience.
• Experience working in a private equity-backed or similarly performance-oriented environment preferred.
• Demonstrated success recruiting, developing, and leading high-performing commercial teams.
• Willingness and ability to travel domestically and internationally as needed.

Compensation: $300,000+, plus a bonus, equity and full benefits

Kalon Staffing is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.