Head of Sales, China

Head of Sales

This role is the strategic leader for Diageo's General Trade channel in China, which represents a significant portion of the company's sales. The holder is fully accountable for the P&L objectives for this critical channel. The role requires managing a large, nationwide sales team and a complex network of distributors and key accounts to drive sustainable and profitable growth.

About this role

To create a robust, high-performing, and healthy General Trade network for Diageo China. This involves developing and executing a winning trade strategy to ensure superior product availability, impactful in-store presence, and compelling consumer promotions. The role is central to maximizing return on investment, evolving Route-to-Market, and building best-in-class commercial capabilities

You will be responsible for:

1. Strategic & Commercial Planning

• Develop and implement the comprehensive General Trade channel strategy and commercial plan for China, fully aligned with the overall commercial and marketing strategy.
• Own the full P&L responsibility to achieve the Annual Operating Plan (AOP) for the General Trade business.
• Prioritize and provide clear direction for all commercial activities and initiatives to ensure plan delivery.
• Embed Sales Drivers into all plans and operations to focus investment on the right customers, channels, and categories for growth.
• Create a robust, bottom-up process for budget management, forecasting, and ensuring spend effectiveness.

2. Sales Leadership & Team Development

• Provide strong leadership, direction, and coaching to the national GT sales team and direct reports.
• Manage sales resources to maximize return on investment and achieve market share growth.
• Grow talent, build a solid pipeline of commercial talents, and ensure a robust succession plan for the department.
• Foster a high-performance culture through continuous employee development and high employee engagement.
• Oversee the delivery of tools and capabilities required for excellent sales execution.

3. Route-to-Market & Customer Management

• Plan and implement the overall RTM strategy, including wholesaler selection, engagement, and development.
• Negotiate trading terms with distributors and key accounts to ensure account-wise profitability and target coverage.
• Ensure excellent relationships with authorized distributors and key on-trade & off-trade customers.
• Develop and oversee the execution of annual account plans for all key customers.

4. Commercial Execution & In-Market Excellence

• Ensure the effective utilization of the promotion budget, leveraging data and global best practices to create innovative programs.
• Coordinate with the Marketing team to ensure the development of effective visibility tools, POP materials, and customer incentive packages.
• Secure dominant space and execution, particularly during critical peak and festive seasons where a significant portion of sales occurs.
• Ensure the right products are available at the right place with the right promotions.

5. Business Analysis & Cross-Functional Leadership

• Analyze market trends and consumer preferences, providing strategic inputs to the Marketing and Strategy teams.
• Create accurate rolling forecasts and ensure high adherence to projections.
• Closely collaborate with Finance, Supply, Marketing, and HR on cross-functional projects to drive business goals.
• Sponsor global commercial capability programs, tailoring them into localized initiatives to drive commercial excellence in China.

Qualifications and Experience Required

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field; MBA is a plus.
• Minimum of 10+ years of progressive commercial experience in Alcohol, Beverage, or FMCG, with a strong preference for the alcohol beverage industry.
• Proven track record of leading a large, national sales team and managing significant P&L responsibilities.
• Deep expertise and a strong network within China's General Trade channel, including both on-trade and off-trade environments.
• Demonstrated success in developing trade strategy, Route-to-Market evolution, and managing key distributor relationships.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, collaboration, and analytical skills. Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, with strong attention to detail and the ability to work under pressure.
• Knowledge of legal and regulatory requirements in the alcohol industry in China.

Barriers to Success in Role

• Lack of strategic commercial planning and P&L management skills.
• Inability to build and maintain strong relationships with customers and internal stakeholders.
• Failure to lead, develop, and inspire a large, diverse team.
• Poor analytical skills and inability to leverage data for decision-making.

Working with Us

Celebrating our inclusive and diverse culture is core to Diageo’s purpose of “celebrating life every day everywhere”. This purpose is, in itself, inclusive in nature, as it values everybody irrespective of background, disability, religion, gender identity, sexuality or ethnicity.

We know that for our business to thrive and for Diageo to realize its ambition, we depend on having diverse talent with a range of backgrounds, skills and capabilities in each of the 180 countries in which we operate and to reflect our broad consumer base. We view diversity as one of the key enablers that helps our business to grow and our values, purpose and standards set the conditions for us to respect the unique contribution each person brings.

About Us

From Arthur Guinness to Johnnie Walker, our business was founded on people of great character and in 250 years, nothing’s changed. We’re the world’s leading premium alcohol company. Our brands are industry icons. And our success is thanks to the strength of our people, in every role. It’s why we trust them with our legacy. And it’s why we reward them with the career-defining opportunities that they deserve.

Our ambition is to create the best performing, most trusted and respected Consumer Products Company in the world. To achieve these, we need the world’s very best people.

We're looking for people with creativity, boldness and a sense of purpose to take Diageo and our timeless, pioneering brands to the next level.                                        

Feel inspired? Then this may be the opportunity for you.