Sales Manager Asia (located in Vietnam, Thailand or Malaysia)

Purpose of the Role

The Sales Manager Asia is responsible for driving sustainable sales growth, distributor performance, customer development and market expansion across assigned Asian markets.

Reporting directly to the Regional Sales Manager Asia, this role owns the commercial performance of a portfolio of countries and distributor partners. The Sales Manager Asia develops and executes local commercial plans, strengthens distributor capabilities, identifies new business opportunities and ensures outstanding market execution.

The position requires a hands-on commercial leader who spends significant time in-market with distributors, customers and key industry stakeholders. The role combines strategic thinking with strong executional discipline and is expected to operate with a high degree of autonomy while remaining closely aligned with regional objectives and priorities.

Key Responsibilities

Sales Growth & Commercial Ownership

• Own the commercial performance and sales results for assigned countries and markets within Asia.
• Achieve agreed annual sales, revenue, profit and market share targets.
• Develop and execute annual country business plans aligned with the regional growth strategy.
• Build and maintain a robust sales pipeline and actively convert opportunities into revenue.
• Monitor sales performance, forecasting accuracy and commercial KPIs.
• Implement corrective actions where performance falls below expectations.
• Identify opportunities for growth across customers, channels, categories and market segments.

Distributor Management

• Serve as the primary commercial contact for assigned distributors.
• Build long-term, performance-driven relationships with distributor management and sales teams.
• Establish annual business plans, commercial objectives and performance metrics with distributors.
• Conduct regular business reviews and performance evaluations.
• Support distributors in improving market penetration, customer coverage and sales effectiveness.
• Drive accountability and ensure agreed actions are executed.
• Identify capability gaps and implement development plans where required.

New Distributor Development

• Identify markets requiring new distribution capabilities or enhanced market coverage.
• Source, evaluate and assess potential distributor partners.
• Develop business cases and recommendations for the Regional Sales Manager Asia.
• Support commercial negotiations, appointment and onboarding of new partners.
• Ensure new distributors are effectively integrated and rapidly become productive.

Customer & Market Development

• Maintain a strong presence in priority markets through frequent customer and distributor visits.
• Develop relationships with key customers, operators, retailers, wholesalers and industry stakeholders.
• Identify new customers, channels and route-to-market opportunities.
• Monitor competitive activities, pricing, consumer trends and market developments.
• Provide insights and recommendations to support regional decision-making.
• Support market entry and expansion initiatives where required.

Business Reviews & Performance Management

• Lead Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) with assigned distributors.
• Ensure business reviews focus on performance, accountability and future growth opportunities.
• Track progress against agreed action plans.
• Escalate significant risks, challenges or opportunities to the Regional Sales Manager Asia.

Strategy Execution

• Translate regional sales strategy into actionable market-level plans.
• Execute regional growth initiatives within assigned markets.
• Ensure distributor alignment with strategic priorities.
• Identify barriers to execution and proactively resolve them with internal and external stakeholders.
• Provide market feedback to support future strategic decisions.

Internal Collaboration

• Work closely with Marketing, Customer Service, Supply Chain, Finance and other relevant functions.
• Ensure alignment between customer needs, commercial priorities and operational execution.
• Share market insights and best practices across the wider commercial organization.
• Actively contribute to forecasting, budgeting and annual planning processes.

Candidate Profile

Experience & Background

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Commercial Economics, Marketing, International Business or a related field.
• Minimum 7-10 years of successful B2B sales and business development experience.
• Proven experience managing distributors and indirect sales channels.
• Strong experience operating across multiple countries and cultures within Asia.
• Demonstrated track record of achieving sales growth and developing profitable customer relationships.
• Experience in distributor selection, onboarding and development is highly desirable.
• Strong understanding of Asian route-to-market structures and commercial dynamics.

Preferred Market Knowledge

• Deep understanding of on-trade markets in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and China.
• Good understanding of retail environments in Japan and South Korea.
• Experience working within FMCG, beverages, foodservice, consumer products or related industries is preferred.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong commercial acumen and results orientation.
• Excellent relationship-building and stakeholder management skills.
• Proven negotiation and influencing capabilities.
• Strong analytical and business planning skills.
• Ability to translate strategy into measurable action.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a proactive approach to problem-solving.
• Strong presentation and communication skills.
• Cultural awareness and ability to work effectively across diverse Asian markets.
• Ability to work independently in a remote and internationally dispersed organization.
• Fluency in English is essential.
• Mandarin, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese or another Asian language is considered an advantage.