About the Company
IMI plc
We are a global specialist engineering company that creates breakthrough solutions. We are curious and like to solve problems, partnering with our customers to solve the demands of today and prepare for the challenges of tomorrow. We embrace innovation and care about outcomes that are good for business, everyday life and making a better world – creating lasting impact for everyone. We design, build and service highly engineered products in fluid and motion control applications. We focus on five market sectors: Industrial Automation, Process Automation, Climate Control, Life Science and Transport. Industrial Automation create solutions for our customers which enable smarter, safer, more productive and sustainable factories, production lines and warehouse operations. Our pneumatic and electric motion systems help machine builders and end users around the world automate and optimise manufacturing and warehousing processes. We employ approximately 10,000 people in over 50 countries around the world, find out more about IMI plc here.
About the Role
The Distributon Regional Sales Manager, is accountable for leading and executing the regional distribution strategy in alignment with EMEA Industrial Automation commercial objectives. This role will drive above-market growth by managing a team of Distributor Account Managers, cultivating high-performance partner networks, and ensuring strong alignment with internal stakeholders across commercial, product, and operational functions. This position requires visionary leadership, a deep understanding of indirect sales through distributors, and the ability to influence at all levels to deliver sustained growth, improved partner capability, and customer value. Extensive travel across the assigned region is essential to build executive-level distributor relationships and provide leadership across multiple markets.
Responsibilities
* Sales Execution & Growth
* Define and implement the regional distribution sales strategy in partnership with the EMEA Distribution Director.
* Translate EMEA objectives into actionable regional plans and KPI’s.
* Lead the deployment of Korn Ferry Effective Partner Plans through the team to maximize partner productivity and market penetration.
* Use CRM tools (e.g., Salesforce) and data analysis to enhance forecasting, opportunity conversion, and pipeline health.
* Supporting DAM’s in implementing the company pricing strategy.
* Account Management
* Direct strategic partner evaluations and guide decision-making on improvements or transitions where necessary.
* Build and maintain director-level distributor relationships across the region.
* Champion initiatives to enhance customer satisfaction, including Net Promoter Score (NPS) improvement strategies.
* Promote distributor self-sufficiency through digital transformation, in collaboration with customer service.
* Collaboration & Insights
* Foster collaboration across the EMEA Distribution Team, encouraging knowledge sharing and cross regional alignment.
* Monitor market trends and channel performance to advise senior leadership on investment priorities and innovation needs.
Qualifications
Critical Competencies for Success
* Strategic Alignment
* Proven ability to lead regional growth agendas through a multi-channel distribution strategy.
* Supporting the team in building growth plans for the area and also specifically within each partner to ensure that IMI financial targets are delivered.
* Communication & Influence
* Exceptional leadership communication—able to simplify complexity and inspire action.
* Communicates clearly and persuasively across levels, adapting style to the audience.
* Good English Communication (Business Language).
* Strong commercial negotiation capability to deliver mutual value.
* A growth mindset and positive can do / will do attitude and ability to work calmly under pressure.
* Initiative & Decision Making
* Makes timely and informed decisions by balancing analysis, input, and urgency.
* Empowers teams to make decisions and solve challenges independently.
* Continuously seeks out and champions improvement opportunities.
* Customer Focus
* Deep understanding of customer buying behaviors in industrial and pneumatics markets.
* Prioritises actions that create meaningful value for both end users and distribution partners.
* Builds strategic solutions rooted in long-term customer success.
* Organisational & Cultural Insight
* Leads with authenticity and emotional intelligence through change.
* Drives high performance by fostering a culture of accountability, adaptability, and growth.
* Understands customer dynamics that shape delivery, loyalty, and satisfaction.
* Leads client interactions through change by creating clarity, supporting transition, and reinforcing purpose.
* Must have a drive for winning and the skills to manage multiple tasks prioritizing effectively so that opportunities are converted into commercial successes and delivered to plan.
IMI Values in Action
* Always Care: Builds long-term trust and resolves issues with transparency and urgency.
* Be Curious: Challenges assumptions and uses insights to grow value for both customer and IMI.
* Create Impact: Drives measurable results and embeds customer needs into execution.
Equal Opportunity Statement
IMI is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to age, race, creed, colour, national origin, ancestry, marital status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, nationality, sex, or veteran status.