Head - General Trade - FMCG

Role Overview: The Head of General Trade will be responsible for driving the company's offline sales growth across traditional trade channels. The role will focus on owning the P&L for General Trade, expanding distribution, building strong channel partnerships, improving market execution, and creating scalable GTM systems for long-term growth. This role requires someone who combines strong execution capability with strategic thinking, and has experience building and scaling FMCG brands in General Trade. Key Responsibilities: Business Growth & Strategy: - Own the complete General Trade P&L. - Lead the overall General Trade strategy across regions and markets. - Drive primary and secondary sales growth while ensuring sustainable and profitable expansion. - Be responsible for revenue growth, profitability, trade spends, margins, and overall channel health within the GT business. - Identify new market opportunities, regional priorities, and expansion plans. - Build annual, quarterly, and monthly GT business plans aligned with company goals. Distribution & Market Expansion: - Build and strengthen distributor, super-stockist, and retail networks across India. - Increase numeric and weighted distribution across key markets. - Ensure strong outlet coverage, route productivity, and market penetration. - Drive expansion into new towns, cities, and high-potential geographies. Market Execution Excellence: - Ensure strong on-ground execution across visibility, merchandising, activations, and retailer engagement. - Improve secondary sales tracking and in-market execution systems. - Monitor stock movement, availability, and market hygiene. - Ensure effective implementation of trade schemes and channel programs. Team Leadership: - Lead and manage the General Trade function across India, with all regional and field GT teams reporting into this role. - Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing General Trade sales team across geographies. - Ensure strong discipline, accountability, ownership, and execution standards across the GT organization. - Create robust review mechanisms, KRAs, reporting structures, and performance management systems. - Drive a culture of integrity, transparency, and operational excellence across teams and channel partners. - Support capability building and coaching for regional and field sales teams. Cross-functional Collaboration: - Work closely with Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance, and Operations teams to ensure seamless execution. - Partner with marketing teams on trade activations, launch plans, and visibility initiatives. - Coordinate with supply chain teams to improve fill rates and inventory management. Commercial & Operational Discipline: - Ensure healthy distributor ROI and commercial sustainability. - Monitor collections, claims, trade spends, and scheme effectiveness. - Drive data-led decision making through sales analytics, forecasting, and reporting. - Build scalable systems and processes for long-term GT growth. What We're Looking For: - 8 - 15 years of experience in FMCG sales, with significant exposure to General Trade. - Strong experience in building and scaling distribution networks. - Proven track record of driving sales growth across multiple regions. - Experience working with emerging or fast-growing consumer brands is preferred. - Strong leadership, execution, negotiation, and relationship management skills. - Ability to operate in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment. - Data-driven mindset with strong commercial understanding. Success in This Role Would Look Like: - Strong growth in GT sales, profitability, and distribution reach.