VP Commercial, Europe

VP Commercial (Fully Remote)

Following proven success commercializing energy-saving airflow, HVAC, and thermal management solutions, the business is scaling across mainland Europe. We are looking for an ambitious sales leader and enterprise hunter to build the commercial function from scratch, own regional go-to-market strategy, and close major B2B contracts across European grocery, large-format retail, and commercial building accounts.

Key Highlights of the Remit:

• Proven Tech & Value Proposition: High-impact, IP-backed cleantech offering verified energy savings, rapid ROI payback, and tangible decarbonization for enterprise estate owners.

• Clear Path to CCO: Structured 18-24 month progression route into the Chief Commercial Officer role on the executive board as international operations scale.

• High Autonomy & Ownership: Build out the European sales team, negotiate key distributor/channel partnerships, and shape go-to-market strategy across priority European geographies.

Your responsibilities

• Own and lead the commercial strategy, setting annual targets in collaboration with the CEO and CTO and driving their delivery
• Build, manage and develop the Sales and Business Development team, including direct line management of the Business Development Executive (Europe) and oversight of the wider commercial function
• Personally identify, qualify, pursue and close new business with major retail and commercial building customers across Europe, with particular focus on grocery and large-format retail.
• Develop and maintain relationships with senior decision-makers -including Sustainability Directors, Facilities Directors, and C-suite stakeholders -at target customers and prospects.
• Identify, negotiate and activate new channel partners, distributors and sales agencies in priority European markets, and actively manage the performance of the existing partner network.
• Define and execute the go-to-market approach for each priority geography, including pricing strategy, value proposition development, and market-entry sequencing.
• Lead commercial negotiations, prepare and present proposals, and manage contract discussions through to signature.
• Develop and maintain a thorough working knowledge of their products, their technical differentiation, and the commercial and regulatory environment in which they operate.
• Champion the brand at European industry events, trade shows and forums -including EuroShop, EHI Retail Institute events, and sector sustainability summits.
• Oversee CRM discipline across the commercial team, ensuring pipeline data is accurate, current and reported consistently to the board.
• Establish the commercial infrastructure -processes, tools and reporting cadences -required to support a scaling international sales function.
• Contribute to marketing strategy and the development of sales collateral, case studies and customer-facing materials.

What we're looking for

• A demonstrable track record of building and leading commercial functions in a B2B environment, with evidence of personally closing complex, high-value contracts.
• Significant experience selling into European retail or commercial building customers -ideally at facilities, energy, engineering or sustainability category level. Existing relationships with major European grocery groups are a strong advantage.
• Experience in energy efficiency, HVAC, building services, refrigeration technology, or adjacent cleantech sectors. Candidates must be able to develop sufficient technical fluency to engage the engineering team and represent the product range credibly to customers' technical buyers.
• Proven ability to operate and close business across multiple European markets, and the cultural intelligence to adapt commercial approaches by country and customer type.
• Experience managing and developing a small sales team, with the leadership qualities required to attract, retain and motivate talent in a remote-working environment.
• Ability to present commercial strategy and pipeline performance to C-suite and board-level stakeholders, and to represent the company externally at the highest level.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex engineering propositions into clear, compelling commercial narratives for non-technical audiences.
• Proficient in CRM systems and pipeline reporting tools; experienced in maintaining rigorous sales funnel discipline.
• Proficient in producing professional presentations and commercial proposals to a standard appropriate for major retail procurement processes.
• Self-directed and resilient; comfortable building without established infrastructure and energised by the challenge of creating market presence from a low base.
• A second European language is strongly desirable.