Kerry
Country Head & Commercial Lead - Vietnam (Retail)
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About Kerry
Kerry is the world's leading taste and nutrition company for the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries. Every day we partner with customers to create healthier, tastier, and more sustainable products consumed by billions of people worldwide. Our vision is to be our customers' most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition. A career with Kerry offers an opportunity to shape the future of food while providing growth in a truly global environment.
About the Role
The Country Head & Commercial Lead for our Food and Beverage (Retail) business is a highly driven and strategic leader responsible for full ownership of Taste & Nutrition business in Vietnam. This role carries end-to-end financial responsibility (P&L) and accountability for delivering profitable and sustainable growth in one of Southeast Asia's most dynamic food markets.
Core Responsibilities
This position entails defining and executing country strategy, accelerating growth across key categories (Beverage, Dairy, Savoury, Snacks), and fostering strong partnerships with multinational and leading local food companies. It also plays a critical role in shaping regional commercial agendas by representing the Vietnam market to the broader Southeast Asia leadership team.
This high-impact commercial leader is expected to have:
- Deep expertise in ingredients/flavours
- Track record in scaling businesses
- Ability to build and lead high-performing teams in fast-growth markets
Job Title: Country Head & Commercial Lead, Vietnam Position Type: Full-time (FT), Permanent Location: Vietnam Reports To: GM & Retail Commercial Lead – Malaysia (MY)/Singapore (SG), Thailand (TH), Vietnam (VN)
Key Responsibilities
1. Business Leadership & Profitability Ownership
- Lead the Vietnam business with full P&L accountability for revenue growth, margin expansion, and long-term value creation.
- Define and execute country strategy while aligning with global and regional priorities.
- Identify and unlock new growth opportunities across categories, customers, and applications.
2. Commercial Strategy & Execution
- Develop and deliver a commercial strategy to drive above-market growth and market share gains.
- Define and refine the route-to-market model, balancing direct engagement and distributor partnerships.
- Lead pricing, portfolio, and margin management for sustainable profitability.
- Drive disciplined pipeline and project management for strong conversions and resource prioritization.
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3. Market Development & Customer Leadership
- Build strong partnerships with key food industry players in Vietnam, positioning Kerry as the Most Valued Partner.
- Navigate Vietnam’s relationship-focused, fast-moving market while balancing global accounts and emerging local brands.
- Expand Kerry’s presence in strategic categories with insights, innovation, and technical support.
4. Cross-Functional & Matrix Leadership
- Collaborate with R&D, Supply Chain, Finance, and Regional Teams for integrated solutions.
- Act as the voice of Vietnam within the regional organization by shaping strategy and resource allocation.
- Ensure strong S&OP, service delivery, and customer compliance alignment.
5. Team Leadership & Capability Building
- Build, inspire, and lead a high-performing commercial team.
- Develop next-generation leaders to strengthen succession planning and build high-performing capabilities.
- Cultivate a performance-driven, agile, and collaborative culture with strong accountability and engagement.
6. Innovation, Sustainability & Growth
- Drive innovation-led growth leveraging Kerry’s Taste & Nutrition capabilities.
- Accelerate execution of Kerry’s Sustainability 2030 agenda, embedding sustainable nutrition initiatives with customers.
- Identify and scale entrepreneurial growth opportunities while ensuring disciplined execution.
7. Governance, Risk & Compliance
- Ensure adherence to Vietnam’s regulatory, food safety, and commercial standards.
- Maintain governance across commercial practices, contracts, and customer engagements.
Professional Qualifications & Experience
- 15+ years of experience in food industry ingredients and/or flavours, with relevant education in Business, Marketing, Food Technology, or affiliated fields.
- Proven track record as a Country Head, General Manager, or Senior Commercial Leader.
- Experience in building and scaling businesses in Vietnam or comparable emerging markets.
- Strong B2B experience, including key account management, project-based selling, and strategic negotiations.
- Deep understanding of ingredients/flavours, techno-commercial insights, and food applications.
- In-depth knowledge of Vietnam’s food industry dynamics, customer relationships, and regulations.
- Ability to translate market insights to winning commercial strategies.
- Highly owner-driven, focused on profitable growth.
- Needs to balance strategic thinking with disciplined execution.
- Ability to influence stakeholders within matrix organizations.
- Adaptability in ambiguous, fast-paced environments.
- Passion for developing talent and high-performance teams.
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Leadership Competencies
A successful candidate will demonstrate: ✅ Customer Focus: Building robust relationships and delivering customer-centric solutions. ✅ Strategic Mindset: Foreseeing opportunities and creating breakthrough strategies. ✅ Ensures Accountability: Holding self and others to commitments. ✅ Drives Results: Consistently achieving outcomes even under pressure. ✅ Collaborates Effectively: Building partnerships for shared objectives. ✅ Attracts & Develops Talent: Recruiting and aligning diverse and high-caliber teams. ✅ Builds High-Performing Teams: Developing teams with shared purpose and diverse perspectives. ✅ Drives Vision & Purpose: Inspiring alignment with leadership goals and strategy. ✅ Instils Trust & Credibility: Operating with honesty and authenticity. ✅ Demonstrates Self-Awareness: Using feedback for critical self-improvement. ✅ Entrepreneurial Mindset: Proactive, agile, and self-starting.
Success Measures
- Consistent above-market revenue growth
- Margin expansion and improved profitability
- Gain in market share across key categories
- Pipeline growth and strong conversion rates
- Expansion of collaborations with strategic customers
- Development of engaged, high-performing commercial teams
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