Senior Account Manager

Description

THE COMPANY

Founded in 1946, HI-LEX is a leading supplier of window regulators, door modules, power lift gate systems, and mechanical control cables primarily serving the automotive industry, but also the power sports, marine, construction equipment, and medical device sectors. Headquartered in Takarazuka, Japan (near Osaka), and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), HI-LEX employs more than 12,000 associates across its global footprint. 

In the Americas region, HI-LEX has grown steadily in the region, and now has ten (10) manufacturing facilities across the the United States, Mexico, and Brazil. In the U.S., HI-LEX operates under three divisions: HI-LEX America in Battle Creek, Michigan; HI-LEX Controls in Hudson, Litchfield, and Hazel Park, Michigan; and Daedong HI-LEX of America in Cusseta, Alabama. The company’s automotive center is in Rochester Hills, Michigan which consists of finance, sales, engineering, testing, and program management, and will serve as an Senior Account Executive within this facility.

POSITION SUMMARY

HI-LEX is looking for a dynamic leader to take HI-LEX NA to the next level. The Senior Account executive a HI-LEX is an executive leader that is charged with managing a sector of the business to meet mission, vision and objectives of the organization. The Account Executive may have up to 4 direct reports, with an extended team of 8 team members consisting of account managers and sales administrators. Success in this role is to effectively balance market knowledge, structured approach to account management, cultivating new opportunities and the tactical execution of long-term customer commercial relationships.  

This is the most senior role focused on the commercial leadership of a specific customer sector within the organization and bears the authority and responsibility that comes with it. Leading the commercial relationship with our customers through this role, coaching and mentoring the commercial and cross functional teams, and inspiring customer satisfaction provides a challenging and rewarding opportunity to positively impact the long-term vision of HI-LEX.

KEY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Responsible for the development of an annual fiscal sales budget & 5-year forecasts for the customer segment customer portfolio. 
• Supports the creation and maintenance of business development strategies to identify new markets, business opportunities and customer / competitor strategies. 
• Establishes and sets customer-penetration strategies for responsible customer segments to achieve annual and long-term sales objectives. 
• Leads, trains and develops team members to achieve specified personal and corporate growth objectives. 
• Supports and executes within the structure and process of commercial organization from opportunity prospecting through production / service.
• Utilizes and maintains CRM tools within the organization to provide real-time data and use. 
• Responsible for developing and obtaining approvals for quotations based on approval level requirements. 
• Responsible for managing customer portals, Quote submissions and customer required administration directly or through the team.
• Supports marketing plan including, templates, marketing materials, Brand Identity, Customer Segmentation, Digital Marketing, Market research, public relations, and customer demonstrations.
• Coordinates with other internal departments (purchasing, quality, engineering, etc) to meet and exceed customer expectations. 
• Develops & maintains relationships with customer decision-advisors at the specific customer sector.
• Leads continuous improvement activities to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of sales processes & procedures. 
• Prepares and presents Quality Management System metrics to senior executive management.

Qualifications

EDUCATION

• 4-year degree in business administration, marketing, engineering or equivalent. 
• MBA or MS degree preferred. 
• Above average computer skills with proficiency of MS office applications and knowledge of Salesforce / ERP systems.

FUNCTIONAL EXPERIENCE 

• Above average computer skills with proficiency of MS office applications and/or Google Suite.
• Excellent skills in excel / google sheets to manage data.
• Knowledge of ERP systems preferred.
• Experience with and knowledge CRM tools preferred.

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE 

• Experience with the Primary US customer base including GM, SLTA, Ford, Toyota, Honda and Nissan. 
• Experience with startup EV customers (Tesla, Rivian, Scout, etc) is a plus.
• Experiences in adjacent industries such as aftermarket, recreational vehicles, equipment manufacturing is a plus.

CORE COMPETENCIES

• Minimum 8 years business development, account management or sales experience with an automotive background.
• Minimum 2 years in people leadership experience. Preferred people leadership within an automotive commercial management team. 
• Experience in sales organization process, procedures and ontology to evolve the current processes / systems.