Position: General Manager Sales - EU Wind Market
Location: Frankfurt, Germany
Job Id: 963
# of Openings: 1
Location: Europe – Multiple Locations
Reports to: General Manager – Global Pultrusion Sales
Date: September 8, 2025
Position Summary
The General Manager - Wind EU is responsible for managing the accounts of both new and existing key wind customers, including those located outside the EU region. This role involves overseeing customer expectations and acting as the primary advocate for customers within Zoltek’s internal operations. In addition, the General Manager serves as the liaison among cross-functional teams at Zoltek, including Sales, Quality, Engineering, and Development.
Detailed responsibilities will include:
* Responsible for building and maintaining strong relationships with wind customers, ensuring customer satisfaction, and driving business growth.
* Organize and lead customer meetings, calls, visits and other business activities to improve working relationships.
* Supporting GM Global Pultrusion Sales with contract negotiations, agreements, and pricing discussions with customers.
* Planning, scheduling, budgeting and preparing forecasts.
* Communicating regularly with Global Supply Chain & Procurement and other supporting team members to ensure customer demands are met.
* Assess and implement strategies to lower product costs and enhance overall effectiveness.
* Timely reporting on projects status and initiate escalations to management when any significant gaps are assessed, or extraordinary issues arise to meet customer demand. Must also be able to present solutions to said problems.
* Initiate risk mitigation activities for any high-risk business situations or customer-related problems.
* Able to handle high-priority customer situations and/or promptly communicate with Zoltek personnel to resolve complaints before they escalated.
* Work closely with quality teams to facilitate customer visits for audits and manage any resulting action plans or opportunities for improvement.
* Assume responsibility to produce key customer proposals, presentation.
* Seek support from internal teams (technical, operations) to capture new business, find new opportunities and ensure long-term profitable growth.
* Work with customer service teams to secure POs, give visibility on forecasts, and follow up on customer quotations.
* Attend industry conferences and exhibitions as needed to keep pulse on industry trends, and get in front of existing and potential customers.
* Monitor market and industry developments in region / at assigned customers against position of competitors.
Experience
* Minimum bachelor’s degree – technical background: Chemistry, Chemical or Mechanical Engineering preferred. MBA is a plus.
* 7-10 years’ experience acting as a sales representative for customers in the wind energy and composites industries.
* Knowledge of wind energy, composites, and the ability to present carbon fiber’s technological capabilities to customers. Manufacturing industry experience in carbon fibers, composites and pultrusion preferred.
* Demonstrated ability to directly manage individual accounts valued at +$100M.
* Must be proficient in English and understand manufacturing for an international organization. Exposure to Europe, Americas and Asia manufacturing operations and cultures is a plus.
* Depth, maturity and ability to manage tough conversations and complex negotiations.
* 5-7 years’ experience in supporting management in strategic commercial decision making and contract negotiations.
* Highly motivated and results-driven, with strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
* Proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook).
* Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with a focus on building close customer relationships and demonstrating cultural awareness. Solid understanding of customer profitability, including the ability to assess cost-to-serve and make decisions that support sustainable margins.
* Ability to synthesize complex information into actionable takeaways.
* Ability to travel up to 50%.
Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job.
* Intermittent physical activity including bending, reaching, and prolonged periods of sitting.
* Employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel.
Work Environment
The work environment characteristics described below are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
* Manufacturing environment which contains noise, moving mechanical parts and fumes or airborne particles.
Zoltek is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation or expression, religion, national origin, marital status, age, disability, veteran status or any other protected status.
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