Commercial Director, China

Campari Group today is a major player in the global branded spirits industry, with a portfolio of over 50 premium and super premium brands, marketed and distributed in over 190 markets around the world, with leading positions in Europe and the Americas.

Headquartered in Milan, Italy, Campari Group owns 25 plants worldwide and has its own distribution network in 26 countries, and employs approximately 4,700 people.

Shares of the parent company Davide Campari - Milano N.V. are listed on the Italian Stock Exchange since 2001. Campari Group is today the sixth-largest player worldwide in the premium spirits industry.

General Description

Campari Group is a major player in the global spirits industry, with a portfolio of over 50 premium and super premium brands that include Aperol, Campari, SKYY, Wild Turkey and Courvoisier. The Group was founded in 1860 and is today the 6th largest player worldwide in the premium spirits industry. Listed on the Italian Stock Exchange, it has a global distribution reach, trading in over 190 markets around the world with leading positions in Europe and the Americas.

Campari Group has great ambitions in Asia, and Campari China will play an instrumental role in expanding the Group’s business in this continent. In China (which includes Hong Kong & Macau), the company directly manages brand equity development through above and below the line initiatives and partners closely with local distributors on the commercialization of the portfolio across all key channels.

The Commercial Director is a key member of the China leadership team and is accountable for the delivery of Campari China’s topline, distribution quality, and execution excellence across all commercial channels. This role leads the evolution and management of the route to market strategy, translating the portfolio strategy into winning channel and customer propositions, scalable execution models and sustainable geographical growth strategies that have synergy with the fast-evolving market, ensuring Campari’s House of Brands portfolio wins with customers and Chinese consumers across all channels.

The role partners closely with Marketing, CCM, Finance, Supply Chain and Global Brand Houses to deliver effective commercial strategy and execution, sustainable growth and profitability.

Key Responsibilities

1. China Commercial Strategy & Route-to-Market Leadership

• Own and continuously progress the China route-to-market strategy across all channels
• Establish and implement portfolio priorities for each channel/region/city
• Define channel roles, customer segmentation, and coverage models aligned to portfolio priorities
• Lead distributor and partner management framework, including selection, governance, capability building, and performance management
• Drive national commercial priorities with clear regional execution frameworks
• Lead the growth modelling for the market and establish the necessary synergies between business growth, resource allocation, capabilities, trade investment, brand investment and route to market models to ensure long term sustainable growth
• Actively contributes to the development of Campari China’s 5Y strategic plan, annual budget and revised budgeting cycles, by bringing her/his commercial perspective

2. Channel Excellence & Customer Leadership

• Lead the formulation of key customer strategies and establish joint business plans with regional distributors and key national customers
• Own the trade investment strategy, commercial terms, and promotional architecture, ensuring ROI discipline
• Accountable to drive and deliver Perfect Store / Perfect Serve standards by channel and segment
• Ensure a relentless discipline for executional excellence in distribution, brand visibility and activation

3. P&L Delivery & Commercial Discipline

• Accountable for the delivery of the China net sales, gross margin, and commercial effectiveness outcomes
• Drive disciplined pricing, mix management, and Revenue Growth Management (RGM)
• Closely partner Finance on forecasting, demand planning, and performance management cadence
• Ensure strong commercial governance, accountable for trade spend control, contract discipline, ROI evaluation and risk management

Cross-Functional Leadership & Organizational Impact

• Act as a strategic partner to Marketing & CCM to ensure brand strategies land in trade with impact
• Partner Supply Chain to ensure service level excellence and scalable growth readiness
• Collaborate with HR on commercial capability building and talent pipeline development
• Represent China commercial priorities with APAC and Global stakeholders, shaping two-way dialogue to garner support and alignment to enable long term success

5. People & Leadership

• Be a visible, high-impact member of the China Leadership Team, collaborating with the wider leadership team on shaping culture and ways of working
• Build, lead, and inspire a high-performing commercial leadership team across channels and regions
• Develop next-generation commercial leaders with strong customer, channel, and distributor management capabilities
• Foster a culture of Performance, Accountability, Collaboration, Continuous Learning and Integrity

6. Leadership Expectations

• Acts as a China business leader first, not only a functional head
• Champions Campari’s House of Brands mindset in trade and customer execution
• Leads with clarity, gravitas, pace and integrity
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity, speed, and change
• Builds trust across all functional Local, Regional and Global teams

Reporting relationship

• The role reports to the Managing Director for China, who in turn reports to the Managing Director for APAC. He/she will lead a progressive and growing team of dynamic sales professionals nationwide.

Experience

• 15+ years of commercial and/or customer marketing leadership experience, ideally within wine & spirits, premium FMCG, Spirits, or luxury consumer brands
• Proven track record in multi-channel commercial organisations in China
• In depth experience with On and Off trade route-to-market models and distributor management in complex geographies
• Experience operating in matrixed global organisations

Capabilities

• Strong commercial strategist with sharp P&L ownership mindset
• Deep understanding of China route-to-market complexity and regional diversity
• Strong conceptual thinking ability with ability to communicate complex issues and information to all levels of the organization across multiple countries and cultures
• Excellent negotiator and stakeholder manager
• Ability to lead change and transformation with clarity and at pace
• Strong people leader with the ability to build scalable organisations and successors
• Data-driven, with strong commercial acumen and execution rigor
• Fluency and proficiency in English and Mandarin required

Success Measures

• Sustainable topline growth across priority brands and channels
• Improved distribution quality and execution standards
• Stronger pricing, mix, and profitability outcomes
• Elevated distributor and key account performance
• Robust commercial talent pipeline and leadership bench
• Positive contribution to China Leadership Team’s effectiveness and culture

Other Requirements

• Ability to travel nationally and internationally on an ad hoc basis
• Passionate team player, with a brand building and results oriented approach
• Pragmatic problem-solver with an eye on the bigger picture
• High level of integrity

Education

• Degree qualified, major in Business Administration or Marketing a plus

Our commitment to Diversity & Inclusion:

At Campari Group we believe in building more value together, thus we see diversity in all forms as a source of enrichment. Our employment policies and practices ensure that we are committed to providing equal employment opportunities in all aspects of employment without regard to any individual’s race, religion, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or characteristics or expression, political affiliation or activity, age, veteran status, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Campari Group believes that fair compensation and equal opportunities are crucial for employees’ well-being, empowerment, and engagement.  Our efforts to ensure fair pay have earned us the Fair Pay Certification by Fair Pay Workplace, an independent organization dedicated to dismantling pay disparities based on gender, race and their intersection.

Note to applicants:

Your application will be assessed based on your abilities, expertise, general knowledge and experience, not because of any confidential, proprietary or trade secret information you may possess. You must not disclose to Campari Group any such information. In the event that you are asked a question that cannot be answered without disclosure of any confidential, proprietary or trade secret information (including from a current or prior employer or their vendors or customers), you must decline to answer the question.

Notice to third party agencies:

Please refrain from cold-calling or emailing our executive leadership team or the HR community directly. The Talent Acquisition department manages centralized recruiting operations globally, including the selection and management of external suppliers. Currently, our preferred supplier list is at full capacity. To ensure we have your information on file for future consideration, we kindly request that you complete the online form provided here.