WECO - A Duravant Company

With over 30 years of optical color and sorting expertise, California-based WECO (Woodside Electronics Corporation) is a world leader in our industry. We have been designing, manufacturing and servicing electronic sorters for more than three decades, and thousands of our units are deployed worldwide. WECO equipment serves several fruit and nut processing sectors: tomato sorting on the harvester, walnut and pecan line sorting and drying, hops kiln moisture monitoring, and small fruit sorting of blueberries, cranberries, olives, coffee cherries and wine grapes.

 

Position Summary:

The Director of Sales - LATAM is responsible for and provides leadership, strategic planning, and execution of all business vertical sales activities to ensure the commercial organization achieves maximum profitability and growth in line with the vision and goals of the region.

***Can be located in Chile, Brazil, or Mexico****

Essential Responsibilities:

Oversee all sales channel activities for WECO and Multiscan products, either direct or through Representatatives, for the Region. Develop sales objectives and strategies to penetrate major business markets to create opportunities to accelerate growth in region. Develop market initiatives (vertical channel, growth…etc.) for Region. Develop and implement go to market strategy in different end use markets, including agent strategies versus company sales employees; buy versus lease model, and other relationships. Coordinate with vertical vice presidents for BerryTek, TomatoTek, PecanTek, FreshPack, etc., to identify and develop applications or projects that could utilize WECO and Multiscan equipment. Collaborate with leaders and teams in Food Sorting and Handling businesses, Duravant, and other operating company personnel to maximize customer and Duravant win. Call on customers and effectively present WECO and Multiscan equipment. Work with customer management, technical personnel, and operations personnel to identify and develop applications or projects that could utilize WECO equipment. Lead and manage sales professionals in the Region. Hire and develop talent as needed to accelerate growth initiatives. Coordinate and provide guidance for the Region’s aftermarket service teams. Develop sales forecasts and reports and report out results with acceleration and gap closure plans to key stakeholders and top management. Thoroughly understand customer decision process, identify and influence crucial decision makers, and understand customer budgeting and capital approval cycle, to effectively direct sales efforts and competitive responses. Formulate and regularly update both near, and long-term, bookings forecasts for the Region. Position reports to WECO President and is a member of the WECO Leadership Team. Performs other Major Account Management duties as may be assigned.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES
Direct supervisory responsibility of any Sales Managers in the Region and support team members in the Region. This includes hiring, discipline, performance, training, etc.
 

Position Requirements:

Education and/or Experience 

Bachelor’s degree in engineering or other technical discipline. MBA or other advanced degree a plus.  At least 10 years of sales leadership / management in the Region, preferably at least 5 years of which were with a multinational company. Previous experience selling highly engineered industrial equipment. Technical knowledge in electrical or mechanical industries.

Language Skills

Must be fluent in Spanish and English, at a level to lead commercial discussions in both languages. Portuguese would also be a plus.   Able to effectively communicate with diverse audiences ranging from top management and customers to project service team members of diverse functions. Strong presentation and communication skills; able to develop good rapport and to secure sales.   Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, or other functional management.   Able to read, analyze, and interpret common scientific and technical journals, financial reports, and legal documents.

Other Skills/Abilities

Must be able to quickly adapt to new and constantly changing situations. Develop strong product knowledge and technical application capability on Food Sorting and Handling equipment and also on competitive equipment, to be able to effectively present features and benefits. Develop process knowledge to serve as basis for defining appropriate applications and to build customer trust. Possess clear understanding of the Food Sorting and Handling Markets and the entire value chain, including agency representation and channel partners Maintain professional appearance. High degree of personal professional integrity for dealing with both internal and external customers. Self-motivation and discipline to work independently and use time effectively and efficiently. Enthusiasm for high level of effort to achieve goals.  Skilled in the use of MS Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook). Sound understanding of Project Management principles and manufacturing practices. Understanding of food processing technology.  Hazard and Sanitation Analysis, and various related Industry and Government Standards for regional requirements is a plus.

Travel

Willingness to travel extensively on frequent basis throughout the territory and, as directed, outside the territory. Must be willing to travel on short notice and use all common means of transportation.  Duration of trips may vary widely. Off-site trips to support sales and/or customers will normally involve an environment that is quite different than the day-to-day working environment.  

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS 
•    A current passport and ability to acquire company credit card and work authorizations in other countries is required.