Opportunity · Based in Germany
Head of Sales - Germany
LDC is turning an existing commercial responsibility into a national sales leadership for Germany. What is changing is where the strategy gets set: more of it is decided in the country, and Germany weighs more inside the group. You lead the two German sales offices and the teams already in place, reporting directly to the general management of LDC International.
Permanent role · English is the working language · French a real asset
100 M€
Revenue of the two German sales offices
c. 10
People across the two sales teams
2 offices
German sales teams you lead directly
The context
The group you are joining
LDC International generates close to 7 billion euros in revenue. It is a food group specialised in poultry, with a deeply decentralised culture: each entity keeps its autonomy, decisions are made close to the field, and coordination rests on shared values rather than vertical hierarchy.
In Germany, the two LDC sales offices generate 100 M€. Until now they have been run side by side, each with its own accounts and its own reporting line. Bringing the two of them under one national leadership, reporting to the general management of LDC International, is the purpose of this role.
Your playing field
The two offices, and what surrounds them
The two offices · 100 M€ · You lead them directly
Cologne / Ruhr and the Southern office
Cologne / Ruhr, focused on grocery retail: a manager was just recruited, starting in October, 3 key accounts, a team of 4. The Southern office, focused on foodservice: 2 salespeople and an assistant. Two geographies, two selling cultures, and from now on one country leadership above them.
Around you in Germany
ECF and the group companies
You are not alone on the ground. ECF, the German company of the group, has its own sales force and its own management, and it stays outside your scope: you work with it as a peer, not above it. Several other companies of the group sell into Germany through importers. What is changing is where the strategy gets set: more and more of it is decided in Germany.
Your mission
Turning customer relationships into value
A large share of the German business is still sold through intermediaries. You build the direct relationship with German retail buyers, the piece the current setup is missing.
Selling direct shortens the chain and improves the margin. It also gives the two offices standing they do not have today: they negotiate for themselves, instead of depending on someone else to open the door. That is what this role is for.
The ground you cover
Hard discount
German retail means discount. Aldi and Lidl sit alongside the full range retailers as part of the ground you cover, not as a separate project to launch later. Discounters account for close to half of German food spending, and private label for a third of the market: your teams work that reality every day, in grocery retail and in foodservice alike.
The profile we are looking for
An organiser who leads teams
We are looking for a solid commercial manager, not a turnaround profile. You have run a sales team selling volume to German retail, you know category management, and you start from market and consumer demand to improve the performance of the offer.
🐔 Manage two offices with distinct profiles, across two geographies.
🐔 Report directly to the general management of LDC International.
The quality that matters most
Your ability to build buy-in and to convince. In a decentralised group, your standing rests on what you make possible for your teams and for their customers, as much as on the org chart.
English is essential, the working language of LDC International. French is a real asset. You are based in Germany.
Where you come from
You know German retail from the inside
Your experience was built in poultry, or more broadly in meat and charcuterie, or in fast-moving fresh and frozen products sold in volume to German retail. You have operated in an environment where private label and the direct relationship with buying centres are central. It is in these worlds that the competence this role requires is acquired.
The cultural challenge you take on
Bridging two managerial cultures
LDC operates with a Latin managerial culture: tolerance for ambiguity, quick adaptation, formalisation that comes after action. German teams, in turn, thrive on clear perimeters and readable org charts.
Your value is to bridge the two: you give German teams the structured framework they expect, while absorbing the flexibility inherent to the group. The group has already made this work in Germany, with a German leader who carries a genuine Latin touch.
What this role offers you
A defined perimeter, and the authority to run it
🐔 A national scope: the two German sales offices report to you, and you report straight to the general management of LDC International.
🐔 More of the strategy set in Germany: decisions that used to travel now get made in the country.
🐔 The genuine autonomy of a decentralised European group, with decisions made close to the field.
Interested?
If this mandate speaks to your experience, let us talk. The conversation is direct and confidential.
Let's talk !
Around you in Germany