Regional Commercial Head South & Southeast Asia

At Syngenta Vegetables and Flowers, we're cultivating tomorrow's diversity through innovative breeding that brings vibrant colors to gardens and nutritious vegetables to tables worldwide. We combine centuries of seed heritage with cutting-edge innovation to develop resilient, high-performing varieties that thrive in diverse climates. Join us in shaping the future of sustainable horticulture, where every seed holds the potential to enhance lives through better nutrition and natural beauty.

Role Overview

The Regional Commercial Head for the Vegetable Seeds Business leads and executes the commercial strategy for South and Southeast Asia. The role carries full accountability for regional commercial performance; portfolio deployment; and market development across a region characterized by strong growth potential; high structural diversity across countries; and varying levels of commercial and organizational maturity. The role will directly oversee the India business which is the largest in the Region.

Operating within a region of accelerating growth and rapidly evolving market dynamics; success requires building commercial capability while delivering performance; making trade-offs across countries; crops; and investments where priorities are competing and not simultaneously achievable; and developing approaches where structures; processes; and commercial models are still maturing. The role requires combining growth ambition with execution discipline to build a sustainable and scalable regional business.

Dimensions

Financial

Accountable for a growing regional business with revenue over USD 100m and strong expansion potential; including responsibility for revenue growth; contribution quality; and effective allocation of commercial resources across developing and fast-evolving market environments.

People

Direct leadership of Commercial Unit Commercial Managers; with broader accountability across regional commercial teams and cross functional contributors. Significant influence on organizational capability and leadership effectiveness across a geographically distributed and culturally diverse population.

Reports to: Global Commercial Head, Vegetable Seeds

Travel

Approximately 50-60 percent across South and Southeast Asia; plus, leadership meetings globally.

Key Performance Indicators

• Delivery of revenue; contribution; and portfolio performance targets.
• Market share and priority segment growth across focus crops and markets.
• Forecast quality and commercial planning discipline.
• Execution success of priority launches and portfolio transitions.
• Regional leadership bench strength and succession readiness.
• Stable compliance performance and license to operate.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Own and execute the regional commercial strategy; translating global priorities into differentiated country level plans reflecting diverse and evolving market conditions.
• Shape portfolio focus through lifecycle management; assortment choices; and market prioritization; making active trade-offs across crops; geographies; and investment horizons.
• Balance competing commercial priorities across markets and portfolio segments where alignment is not always achievable.
• Provide authoritative input into global portfolio; demand planning; and innovation discussions; ensuring emerging and high-growth market dynamics are reflected in global decisions.
• Develop commercial approaches in markets where structures; channel models; and commercial infrastructure are still evolving.
• Build and sustain senior level relationships with customers; distributors; industry bodies; and government stakeholders underpinning long term market access.

Sales and Revenue Growth

• Hold accountability for regional commercial outcomes; including revenue; portfolio performance; and contribution quality in fast-growing and developing markets.
• Lead commercial planning; forecasting; and performance review processes; translating growth opportunities and structural complexity into actionable priorities.
• Monitor and optimize the sales pipeline; pricing strategies; and portfolio performance; exercising judgment under uncertainty where data; market conditions; and strategic priorities are not always aligned.
• Propose regional budgets aligned to strategic priorities; ensure disciplined execution once approved.
• Represent regional performance and perspective in global commercial reviews.

Marketing and Product Management

• Drive regional marketing; product launches; and customer engagement aligned with global portfolio priorities and local market development needs.
• Collaborate with R&D and Production and Supply to ensure product availability aligned with market demand; growth trajectories; and seasonal requirements.
• Provide structured input on product innovation; variety performance; and lifecycle decisions.
• Align with Marketing; Finance; R&D; Production and Supply; and Regulatory to ensure coherent portfolio execution across developing market conditions.

Team Development and Leadership

• Build and lead a high-performing regional commercial organization with clear accountability; role clarity; and performance expectations in a fast-evolving environment.
• Develop leadership capability; succession depth; and commercial skills; with strong focus on capability building; developing judgment in others; and preparing the organization for sustained growth.
• Operate through senior leaders with distinct market realities; requiring alignment without direct control over all variables.
• Foster a culture of accountability; collaboration; and customer focus.
• Shape organizational design and recommend key leadership appointments; building a team capable of scaling performance as the region develops.

Operational Excellence

• Review and approve regional forecasts and commercial outlooks; applying judgment to assumptions and risks in environments with high variability.
• Ensure continuity of execution despite variability in market maturity; organizational capability; and commercial infrastructure.
• Ensure decisions remain effective across diverse and rapidly evolving environments where established approaches may not fully apply.
• Act as escalation point for complex issues beyond country level resolution.
• Ensure adherence to legal; regulatory; HSE; and governance standards across markets with varying regulatory maturity.
• Safeguard Syngenta reputation and long term license to operate.

Key Interfaces

• Global Commercial Leadership; Vegetable Seeds BU
• Global Crop; Portfolio; and Innovation leadership
• Regional Marketing; Finance; R&D; Production and Supply
• Crop Protection and Field Crops regional leadership
• Regulatory; Compliance; and Corporate Functions
• Senior external stakeholders; customers; distributors; industry bodies; and government representatives

Knowledge; Experience & Capabilities

• University degree in agriculture; business; or related field; advanced degree beneficial.
• 15+ years of commercial experience, with at least 5 years in a senior regional leadership role. Experience in growth-oriented and developing market environments is a plus.
• Significant exposure to the seeds industry; preferably Vegetable Seeds; with understanding of portfolio lifecycle dynamics and the commercial model requirements of emerging markets.
• Proven experience leading multi-country; multicultural organizations; with strong capability to develop teams and build organizational capacity in evolving environments.
• Strong understanding of market dynamics; customer structures; channel economics; and the challenges of building commercial infrastructure in developing markets.
• Demonstrated capability managing complex; matrixed stakeholder environments at senior level.
• Strong English proficiency; additional South or Southeast Asian language capabilities advantageous.
• Sound commercial and financial judgement in high-growth and structurally evolving environments.

Skills and Competencies

• Strong regional commercial ownership mindset with autonomy and accountability in a globally integrated structure.
• Sound judgment in complexity; ambiguity; and fast-evolving environments.
• Strong cross boundary influence; aligning diverse stakeholders without direct authority.
• Executive level communication; credible at global leadership level and with senior external stakeholders.
• Ability to scale impact through others and systems; building organizational capability in developing environments.
• Growth orientation combined with execution discipline and longer term value creation focus.
• Proficiency in CRM; commercial planning; and sales performance systems. Ability to leverage data analytics and commercial intelligence tools to drive decision-making and performance management."

Critical Capabilities

• Cross cultural collaboration and consensus building across a highly diverse and distributed environment.
• Leading through complexity and ambiguity; developing new approaches where commercial models are still maturing.
• Independent strategic judgment and portfolio prioritization across competing priorities.
• Innovative thinking in market development and commercial model building in emerging markets.
• Effective engagement across all organizational levels; including senior industry; government; and customer stakeholders.
• Change leadership and organizational development; building capability and sustaining performance through rapid market evolution.

Education

University degree in agriculture; business; or related field. 

Syngenta Leadership Behaviors

This role is expected to demonstrate the Syngenta Leadership Behaviors; which reflect how we work and lead across the organization. These behaviors are integral to how success is delivered; not just what is achieved.

• How Matters: Leads with integrity and transparency; builds trust through open communication; ethical conduct; and inclusive ways of working across diverse teams and markets.
• Determined Execution: Delivers on commitments with discipline and accountability; translates strategy into clear priorities and ensures consistent follow-through across the region.
• Growth for All: Develops people and builds organizational capability; creates an environment where teams grow; contribute; and are prepared for broader responsibility.
• Long View: Balances short-term delivery with long-term value creation; makes decisions that sustain the health and competitiveness of the region over time.
• Passion for Customers: Puts customers at the center of decisions; understands their needs and drives commercial approaches that create genuine value for growers; distributors; and channel partners.

Syngenta is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or any other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.