Senior Vice President, Principal Management – Azelis US
Location: United States
Reports to: Managing Director, US
Direct Reports: Principal Management Team
Function: Commercial Leadership / Strategic Supplier Partnerships
Position Summary
The Senior Vice President, Principal Management is a key commercial leadership role responsible for developing and leading Azelis US’s principal (supplier) strategy across all market segments. This role oversees the full Principal Management function and is accountable for building strategic supplier partnerships that drive sustainable growth, profitability, and competitive differentiation across the US business.
Reporting directly to the Managing Director, US, this executive will lead and develop the Principal Management team, ensuring strong alignment between supplier strategy, commercial priorities, and market segment growth plans. The role will serve as the senior relationship owner for key principals and will partner closely with market segment leaders, sales leadership, supply chain, technical teams, finance, and global commercial leadership.
This leader will play a critical role in strengthening Azelis’s position as the partner of choice for suppliers in the US market and in creating a disciplined, scalable approach to principal engagement and performance management.
Key Responsibilities
Principal Strategy & Relationship Leadership
- Develop and execute the US principal management strategy across all market segments
- Build and maintain executive-level relationships with key principals and strategic supplier partners
- Serve as the senior escalation point for supplier opportunities, negotiations, and relationship risks
- Lead executive business reviews with key principals to align on growth priorities, innovation pipelines, and performance expectations
- Drive supplier retention, expansion, and new principal acquisition opportunities
Team Leadership & People Management
- Lead, coach, and develop the Principal Management team across the US business
- Establish clear roles, responsibilities, and performance expectations for the team
- Build strong succession and talent development plans within the function
- Create consistent ways of working, governance, and reporting across the team
- Foster strong cross-functional collaboration with commercial, technical, and operational leaders
Commercial Growth & Portfolio Management
- Partner with market segment leaders to drive profitable growth through principal partnerships
- Identify white-space opportunities across market segments and regions
- Lead joint business planning with strategic principals
- Optimize supplier portfolio mix based on growth, margin, innovation, and strategic fit
- Drive share gains, product line expansion, and market penetration initiatives
Cross-Functional Leadership
- Work closely with Sales, Supply Chain, Technical Labs, Finance, and HR to ensure principal strategies are executable and well-supported
- Partner with leadership teams to translate supplier priorities into commercial action plans
- Support customer innovation and technical development initiatives with key suppliers
M&A and Integration Support
- Support supplier due diligence and relationship risk assessments during acquisitions
- Lead principal integration planning for acquired businesses
- Ensure supplier continuity and strategic alignment post-close
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree required; MBA preferred
- 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in commercial, supplier, or principal management roles
- Strong experience in specialty chemicals, ingredients, or B2B distribution environments
- Proven leadership experience managing teams and developing talent
- Executive presence with strong influencing and negotiation skills
- Experience operating in a matrixed, multi-segment organization
- Strong financial and strategic business acumen
Success Measures
- Principal retention and growth
- Revenue and GP contribution from strategic principals
- Team effectiveness and talent development
- New principal wins
- Margin expansion
- Supplier relationship strength
- Cross-segment portfolio optimization
