Business Development Director
The Business Development Director has a different mandate than the Sales Director: not managing the existing customer base, but tapping into new markets, customers, or channels. Precisely the instrument needed for expansion, new products, or new sales channels.
Leadership for growth beyond the existing customer base
The Business Development Director (or Manager) has a different mandate than the Sales Director: not managing and growing an existing customer base, but tapping into new markets, channels, or customer segments. This role combines commercial impact with an entrepreneurial, building role — often crucial during expansion, new product launches, or the rise of new sales channels such as D2C and e-commerce.
For private equity portfolio companies, this is often exactly the instrument to achieve the higher revenue the value creation plan requires within the investment horizon (typically 3-5 years) — through market expansion, new products, or digitalization, not through optimizing the existing customer relationship.
At BearField, we found the Business Development Director who increased commercial impact while preserving what makes the company unique. At Becky.works, we placed a Business Development Manager. Ford's D2C transformation is a related example of the same kind of growth assignment — new channel, new commercial playing field.