Director Business Development - Commercial Real Estate

Job Title

Position Overview

Shaw Contract creates innovative flooring solutions for a global and diverse customer base. Our extensive product line includes carpet tile, broadloom, area rugs, LVT, PVC-free resilient, porcelain, and engineered hardwood. With sales teams in over a dozen countries, our products are featured in office buildings, schools, healthcare facilities, multifamily and senior living spaces, hotels, and resorts worldwide. At Shaw Contract, we prioritize sustainability and design excellence, crafting products that positively impact people and the planet. Our commitment to design optimism ensures we deliver flooring solutions that blend aesthetics with function, meeting the highest standards of quality and sustainability. Shaw Contract is a part of Shaw Industries, a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. with more than $5 billion in annual sales and approximately 18,000 associates worldwide.

Position Summary

The Director of Business Development – CRE serves as Shaw Contract’s “tip of the spear” within the New York City commercial real estate market, identifying and influencing commercial interior opportunities at the earliest stages of the project lifecycle. The role builds strategic relationships with brokers, developers, owners, asset managers, project managers, corporate real estate leaders, and other key influencers to create access to new construction, repositioning, tenant improvement, and renovation opportunities before they enter the traditional specification process.

This position is intentionally not a quota-carrying account executive role. Instead, the Director creates access, opens doors to key decision-makers, and positions Shaw Contract upstream of the traditional sales process. Acting as a market connector, this individual partners closely with the Shaw Contract NYC sales team to qualify and transition opportunities into active pursuits, ensuring Shaw is engaged early with the right stakeholders and positioned to compete effectively.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a strategic business development plan focused on the New York City commercial real estate market.
• Build trusted relationships with commercial real estate brokers, developers, landlords, asset managers, tenant representatives, project managers, and corporate real estate executives.
• Identify new construction, repositioning, tenant improvement, and renovation opportunities before they are publicly bid or specified.
• Qualify opportunities and transition them seamlessly to the appropriate Shaw Contract account executives for pursuit and project management with A&D and dealer channels.  
• Work alongside the local sales team to develop pursuit strategies that maximize Shaw’s opportunity to specify and win projects.
• Influence projects upstream by ensuring Shaw is introduced to all critical decision-makers throughout the project lifecycle.
• Develop relationships across the entire project ecosystem, including:
  • Owners
  • Developers
  • Commercial real estate brokers
  • Asset managers
  • Corporate real estate leaders
  • Architects
  • Interior designers
  • Project management firms
  • General contractors
  • Dealer partners
• Increase Shaw Contract’s visibility within the NYC commercial real estate community through industry organizations, networking events, thought leadership, and strategic partnerships.
• Maintain a robust pipeline of future opportunities and provide regular market intelligence to sales leadership.
• Track leads, project status, and relationship activity through CRM and pipeline management tools.
• Share market trends, competitive intelligence, and emerging development activity with the broader Shaw organization.

Key Performance Indicators

• Qualified pipeline generated
• Early-stage opportunities identified
• Revenue influenced
• Specification opportunities created
• Conversion of opportunities into active pursuits
• Number and quality of strategic relationships developed
• Collaboration effectiveness with local sales teams and other partners

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree
• 7–10+ years of experience in commercial real estate, business development, construction, architecture, design, contract interiors, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience developing business and creating new opportunities through strategic relationship development.
• Strong communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
• Proven ability to collaborate across teams and influence without direct authority.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Established relationships within the New York City commercial real estate community, particularly with brokers, developers, owners, corporate real estate leaders, general contractors, project managers, and other project influencers.
• Strong knowledge of the NYC commercial real estate ecosystem and project lifecycle, with the ability to identify new construction, repositioning, tenant improvement, and renovation opportunities at an early stage.
• Proven ability to translate market intelligence and relationships into actionable business opportunities, connecting internal sales teams with the right stakeholders and projects.
• Consultative, executive-level presence with the ability to establish credibility, navigate senior-level relationships, and position the organization as a valued resource rather than simply a product provider.
• Strong market connectivity and business development orientation, with the ability to maintain visibility across the market, recognize emerging opportunities, and expand organizational presence within influential industry networks.

Critical Competencies:

• Influence Others
• Build Trusting Relationships
• Demonstrate Good Judgement
• Initiate Action
• Deliver Compelling Communication

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