Global Business Director, Optical Materials

The Global Business Director, Optical Materials, will lead the Optical and Dye business within the Specialty Products business unit and will be responsible for the development and execution of strategic plans, delivering sales and profit growth while driving a high performing team culture.

Key Responsibilities:

Manages all commercial aspects of the Optical and Dye business. This includes sales, new business development, new product development, technical service, and segment strategy.

• Accountable for Revenue, EBIT, EBIT Growth and return on invested capital.
• Thought leader responsible for defining and implementing strategic plan for the Optical and Dye business that delivers profitable growth while also improving the competitive position of the business and setting the business up for long-term success based on strong understanding of key markets, customers and macro trends and our ability to win
• Work with strategic marketing, including portfolio management, product line and growth roadmaps
• Develop product portfolio strategy, identify growth opportunities from new products and new markets. Work with Science & Technology (S&T) and marketing resources to develop and execute product roadmaps and growth plans
  • Drive a strong new product development (NPD) process, centered around a) proving improved performance vs Next Best Alternative (NBA) b) quantifying value advantages and disadvantages vs NBA and c) demonstrating performance in the customer’s end product and manufacturing process.
• Profitably grow the business
  • Create a robust sales and profit plan with specific actions for key customers
  • Drive implementation and adoption of PPG’s commercial excellence program (Selling Machine) focused on enhancing customer relationships, developing robust sales pipelines, and achieving steady new business wins
  • Develop and execute pricing strategies to meet/exceed segment profit plans.
  • Identify barriers to short and long-term growth and work with appropriate stakeholders (e.g., manufacturing, supply chain) to develop appropriate business plans to overcome o Identify opportunities to penetrate geographic regions where PPG is under-represented
• SIOP- Provide direction and market intel to monthly sales forecasting process; address forecasting accuracy issues as they arise and drive adoption of IBP process through commercial organization
• Manufacturing (supporting role)– support the plant managers through:
  • Optimizing the product portfolio to drive operational excellence through productivity and CPU improvement
  • Translating long term growth plans into capital-efficient capacity plans
  • Prioritizing customers and products to the plants supporting highest output/lowest cost production
• Establish and cultivate relationships with key customers (internal and external) and relevant industry associations at all levels.
• Provide leadership to product managers, strategic marketing and communications to establish branding, messaging and to drive new sales.
• Lead and develop high performing team:
  • Leads through the PPG Way behaviors:
  • Sets Direction, Develops Diverse Talent, Builds Effective Teams and prepares succession plans
  • Supervise recruitment, training, development of commercial team.
  • Ensure resource deployment in a manner consistent with defined strategy.
  • Manage engagement process to ensure continuous improvement in team engagement metrics through Gallup surveys

Financial/Organizational Dimensions:

Annual Sales: ~$150MM

Personnel managed: 7

Geography: Global

Position Requirements

· Education: B.S. degree in business, chemical engineering, or related field + MBA strongly preferred

· Experience: 12+ years diverse roles with demonstrated commercial success, career progression and high performing team leadership; sales experience preferred

· Experience Focus: Business Development, P&L Management, Marketing, Sales, Product Management

Medical Dental Vision

401K

How we work: At PPG, we bring teams together to accelerate collaboration and career development, with in-person work Monday through Thursday and the opportunity to work remotely on Flexible Fridays. Schedules may vary by location.

About us: 

PPG: WE PROTECT AND BEAUTIFY THE WORLD 

Through leadership in innovation, sustainability and color, PPG helps customers in industrial, transportation, consumer products, and construction markets and aftermarkets to enhance more surfaces in more ways than does any other company. To learn more, visit www.ppg.com and follow @PPG on X. 

The PPG Way 2030  

We are customer champions 

Proactive. Bold. Trustworthy. Everything we do starts with our customers. We listen, move fast and don’t stop until we solve their biggest challenges. When our customers win, we all grow. 

We act with purpose and speed 

Agile. Data-driven. Empowered. We take smart risks to stay ahead of the competition. We work proactively with agility, using quality data to develop solutions that create value.  

We are excellent operators 

Productive. Collaborative. Accountable. No matter our role, we identify problems, take ownership and always bring solutions. We are both proactive and responsive to drive continuous improvement and deliver results. We support our frontline, the faces of PPG to our customers.   

We compete to win 

Future-focused. Driven. Ambitious. We are passionate about growing our business and winning with our customers. We deliver results, embrace new technologies and leverage agility and speed as strengths. 

We are PPG proud 

Strong. United. Passionate. We work safely, act with integrity and value our diverse perspectives. We celebrate achievements and take pride in the positive impact we create together to protect and beautify the world. 

At PPG we use AI in the hiring process to make the process more efficient. AI tools do not make hiring decisions. You can learn more by going to  https://careers.ppg.com/us/en/candidate-resources.  

PPG provides equal opportunity to all candidates and employees. We offer an opportunity to grow and develop your career in an environment that provides a fulfilling workplace for employees, creates an environment for continuous learning, and embraces the ideas and diversity of others. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, pregnancy, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, age, disability status, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.  

If you need an adjustment due to a disability, please email recruiting@ppg.com. 

PPG pay ranges and benefits can vary by location which allows us to compensate employees competitively in different geographic markets. PPG considers several factors in making compensation decisions including, but not limited to, skill sets, experience and training, qualifications and education, licensure and certifications, and other organizational needs. Other incentives may apply.  
Our employee benefits programs are designed to support the health and well-being of our employees. Any insurance coverages and benefits will be in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans and associated governing plan documents.  Benefits will be discussed with you by your recruiter during the hiring process. 

PPG values your feedback on our recruiting process. We encourage you to visit Glassdoor.com and provide feedback on the process, so that we can do better today than yesterday.