Vice President of Commercial Operations

About Us

Flow Control Group (FCG) is a leading provider of fluid handling, process, and industrial automation solutions across North America. We are a 100% employee-owned organization made up of over 3,000 team members and 115+ entrepreneurial brands, each empowered to think big, move fast, and bring innovative ideas to life.

At FCG, we believe in the power of partnership and entrepreneurship. We work collaboratively across our brands to drive growth, unlock new opportunities, and deliver real impact for our customers, combining local expertise with national strength.

Visit our Website: flowcontrolgroup.com

Responsibilities & Qualifications

Position Overview

The Vice President of Commercial Operations is a critical enterprise leadership role responsible for driving revenue growth, commercial discipline, and operational excellence across a decentralized network of industrial distribution brands. This leader serves as the connective tissue between the corporate commercial strategy and the front-line selling organizations, translating strategy into execution across 10 Technology Groups (TGs) without disrupting the entrepreneurial culture that makes each brand within the TGs successful.

This is not a role for someone who manages from a dashboard. The right leader spends time in the field, builds relationships with technology groups, commercial leaders, brand leaders, and sellers, and earns the trust of decentralized operators by demonstrating commercial credibility. At the same time, they must be able to proficiently articulate a clear, data-driven commercial narrative to executive leadership.

The role sits at the intersection of strategy and execution and reports directly to the EVP, Commercial Operations. This position owns the commercial operating system (Salesforce) and metrics architecture (pipeline, bookings, win rates). The position will work closely with teams focused on pricing, cross-selling leadership, and strategic/national account programs while enabling each brand to run its own P&L with autonomy.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

1. Commercial Strategy & Revenue Growth

• Partner with brand, commercial, and technology group leaders to set growth targets, identify whitespace opportunities, and build actionable territory plans.

• Support cross-selling initiatives by jointly developing tools, incentives, training, and coordination structures that enable multi-brand selling without disrupting brand autonomy.

• Build and maintain the commercial calendar, including QBRs, pipeline reviews, seller performance reviews, and board-level commercial updates.

• Work directly with brands to define and implement actions to pursue new and emerging markets and customers.

2. Salesforce CRM Ownership & Commercial Operations

• Own the Salesforce platform(s) as the commercial operating system, focusing on adoption, data quality, pipeline integrity, and continuous improvement.

• Drive Salesforce adoption across 100+ brands, from onboarding through advanced usage. Build a culture where sellers see CRM as a tool that helps them win, not a reporting burden.

• Work with the Commercial Operations team to design and maintain the pipeline architecture, including stage definitions and opportunity hygiene standards that support forecasting methodology.

• Build and deliver the commercial reporting suite for field and management teams, including weekly pipeline reports, monthly bookings dashboards, quarterly board presentations, and ad hoc analytics for leadership.

• Partner with IT and Salesforce administrators to evaluate, implement, and optimize new capabilities, such as CPQ integration, seller mapping, Marketing Cloud integration, and AI-assisted selling tools.

• Ensure data integrity and consistency across brands by establishing and maintaining standardized account hierarchies, contact management, and activity logging to support cross-brand visibility.

3. Seller Performance & Enablement

• Build and manage the seller performance framework. Develop and implement common practices for quota setting, attainment tracking, performance tiering, and accountability structures across a decentralized organization.

• Partner with HR and brand leadership to identify, develop, and retain top commercial talent. This includes succession planning for key sales leadership roles and building a pipeline of future sellers and sales leaders.

• Design and deploy seller enablement programs. Work closely with Learning and Development on product training, competitive positioning, value-based consultative sales methodology, and Salesforce proficiency.

• Establish a coaching culture through field ride-alongs, joint customer calls, and quarterly seller reviews that combine data with direct observation.

• Build and track leading indicators of seller health, including activity levels, pipeline creation rates, win rates by category, and new logo acquisition trends.

• Identify and develop a President's Club structure. Establish the KPIs required for qualification, administration, and ongoing management. Through this program, work closely with the field to build a world-class sales organization.

4. Management Reporting

• Prepare and present commercial updates to the FCG Leadership Team and private equity commercial sponsors, including monthly commercial operating reviews and market context.

• Develop and maintain the commercial KPI framework and utilize metrics that provide an accurate picture of business performance, including early-warning bookings indicators that surface issues before they become problems.

• Partner with the CFO, Operations, and Finance teams to align commercial forecasting with financial projections. Ensure the commercial pipeline translates accurately into revenue and margin guidance.

Minimum Requirements and Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive commercial leadership and direct sales experience, with at least 5 years in a VP or Director-level role with broad commercial scope.

• Experience operating within a decentralized, multi-brand, or multi-location industrial distribution, manufacturing, or services organization. Must have the ability to influence without direct authority.

• Deep Salesforce proficiency, not only as a user but as a platform owner. Extensive experience driving adoption, building reporting architecture that meets field needs, and managing CRM as a commercial operating system across a complex organization.

• Demonstrated track record of building and scaling commercial operations infrastructure from the ground up. Proven sales management success leading commercial teams that have successfully built pipeline frameworks, seller performance systems, and cross-selling capabilities.

• Strong financial acumen and the ability to construct a revenue bridge from pipeline generation (coverage models/bowling charts), model pricing and volume impacts from system KPIs, and communicate credibly with FCG leadership.

• Experience presenting to private equity sponsors or public company boards. Systems and processes built must be capable of supporting publicly traded company performance standards within 3–5 years.

• Industrial distribution, specialty distribution, or industrial services background strongly preferred. Clear and demonstrated understanding of buying motions, customer types, and channel dynamics of MRO and project-based industrial selling.

• Ability to leverage data to identify and build a team of sellers capable of progressing from Level 1 to Level 4 management structures, demonstrating proficiency in sales engagement processes, and partnering with the Strategic Accounts team to secure multi-site, large, complex deals.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a private equity-backed platform business, including an understanding of value creation plans, EBITDA management, and the commercial levers that drive enterprise value.

• Strategic accounts or national accounts leadership experience.

• Cross-selling or integrated solutions selling experience in a multi-brand or multi-product environment.

• Familiarity with industrial end markets, including:

  • Energy

  • Power generation

  • Aerospace

  • EPC / Construction

  • Food & Beverage

  • Water / Wastewater

  • Automotive

  • Industrial manufacturing

  • Pulp & Paper

  • Data centers

• Experience with eCommerce in an industrial or B2B context, including the ability to promote and integrate eCommerce into sellers' daily workflows to maximize sales opportunities.

• MBA or equivalent advanced degree in business, engineering, or a related field.

#flowcontrolgroup #manycompaniesoneteam #fcgcareers

Why Build a Career with Us?

Everyone’s an Owner of the Company Because every team member contributes to Flow Control Group’s success, employees share in that success through a broad-based ownership program available across our portfolio companies.

Competitive Benefits Enjoy a comprehensive benefits package that includes Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage, competitive 401(k) matching, paid time off, holidays, parental leave, wellness resources, and employee referral programs.

The Climb Financial Program Your financial wellbeing matters. Through Flow Control Group’s Climb Financial Program, employees have access to tools and resources designed to support both immediate needs and long-term goals. Programs may include emergency assistance funds, earned wage access, financial coaching, low-cost loan options, retirement planning resources, and opportunities to build long-term wealth through employee ownership.

Training & Development FCG University is available to all employees, offering access to more than 80,000 learning courses to help you build new skills and advance your career.

Career Growth Opportunities With a growing network of brands across North America, Flow Control Group provides opportunities for advancement, cross-functional experience, mentorship, and professional development in a supportive environment where your contributions make an impact.

Equal Opportunity Employer Flow Control Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or any other legally protected status.