THE "GO TO" PLACE FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN SPECIALTY FOOD MARKETING.
JOB AVAILABLE - VP SALES FOR CHOCOHOLICS
Chocoholics Divine Desserts
Vice President of Sales - Specialty Foods
Position Profile
Position Location
Corporate Headquarters, Clements, CA
Chocoholics Divine Desserts
San Francisco / Sacramento / Stockton Region
Company Websites http://gourmetchocolate.com
Company Overview
Chocoholics, a 15 year old privately held company, are a leader in the gourmet chocolate industry renowned for its ultra-premium chocolate, impeccable customer service, and innovative all-natural cutting-edge products. These products have attracted attention across the nation, including magazines such as In Style, Bon Appetite, Redbook, Vogue, Yahoo!, and Playboy. Chocoholics’ incredible growth performance has twice (2001 and 2003) earned the company a spot Inc. Magazine’s 500 fastest growing privately owned companies in America. Now the company is strategically positioned to capitalize on what analysts project to be a $3.5B industry by 2011, even growing at 17% over the recessionary 2009 calendar year!
With over 300 products, from truffles to chocolate Voodoo Dolls, and thousands of customers, from Victoria’s Secret to small direct retailers across the country, Chocoholics made the big leap and announced plans for their new manufacturing facility and retail store in Clements, CA just outside of Stockton. In March of 2004 the company moved into their new 22,000 sq ft manufacturing facility, housing its 40+ staff, and in the following year Chocoholics Divine Desserts Retail Shop opened. The New Retail Shop features gourmet chocolates, specialty coffee drinks, super-premium ice cream, and sundaes topped with their own branded Chocoholics decadent dessert toppings.
Chocoholics plans to extend their current wholesale success to the retail market and offer educational seminars and chocolate-making classes where guests of all ages can make their own chocolate treats while sharing in the fun of chocolate making. By surrounding themselves with a dedicated chocolate-loving staff, Chocoholics Divine Desserts continues to grow and provide an ever-increasing selection of the finest gourmet chocolate products that will always be produced and delivered to all its customers with care. Now Chocoholics is seeking the right Sales executive to join the management team as it matures beyond its initial founding team.
Reporting Relationship Position will report to Ernie Schenone, Jr., President and Founder.
Ernie Schenone founded Chocoholics after a 6 year career in international business, where he held numerous technical and managerial roles at Solar Turbines, Inc. But after growing up on a farm, pure business failed to extinguish his passion for the specialty food industry, and thus Chocoholics was born in 1995 to serve a small but wildly growing niche of gourmet chocolate lovers.
Ernie graduated with honors from Cal Poly SLO with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from the University of San Diego. He’s uniquely positioned to be successful in this role given his technical, business, and food industry experience.
Position Mission
The Vice President of Sales is chartered with formally establishing the first professional (non-founder) sales organization and will help to drive Chocoholics sales strategy, pricing, and revenue model. This senior level position will provide the vision, leadership, and experience to at first lead, and later motivate/ build a growing sales team.
Position Responsibilities
Reporting directly to the President, the Vice President of Sales will be a key member of the executive team responsible for driving the go-to-market strategy for customer relationships, both direct and through distributor/resellers. This person will own revenue for the company!
Key responsibilities will include:
Sales Leadership
• Create the national sales strategy
• Drive key accounts; create a bullet-proof pipeline while leveraging a sharp inside sales team, blending a hands-on approach with team empowering methodologies.
• Manage and grow the broker network
• Own and improve the overall sales process
• Own and improve sales team productivity, raising the level of individual and team effectiveness.
•
Executive Leadership
• Engage and collaborate with the Executive Team in driving key company decisions and initiatives.
• As a member of the executive team, contribute to the development and implementation of an overall operating strategy for the company with the ultimate goal of growing and sustaining profitable revenue streams and building significant market share.
Strategy
• Maintain proactive knowledge of the industry, assessing the competitive landscape, and keeping abreast of potential opportunities and strategic trends, to assure competitive positioning.
Execution
• Aggressively grow customer base.
• Exercise judgment and leverage learning on wins and losses; pipeline discipline to predict results both near and longer term.
• Establish reliable forecasts for operations and finance.
Position Requirements
• Full time position in office with moderate to substantial travel required. Depending on the candidate’s experience, a remote location in the San Francisco or Sacramento area will be considered provided they spend 1-2 days per week in the Clements office in the beginning.
• Skilled and experienced, with at least 10 years of proven sales success (minimum of 5 years in the Food Industry), preferably building sales teams from $0 to $10MM in a privately held company.
Interpersonal Characteristics
• Strong organizational skills: ability to multi-task and juggle many accounts making each strong prospect feel important with timely follow-through.
• Good energy and passion.
• Eager to personally drive strategic accounts and sales teams in the field.
• Autonomous, self-starter with start-up experience; comfortable working in a rapidly changing environment with ad-hoc processes.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to build relationships both internal and external. Key attributes: positive mental attitude, honest, direct, take-charge, good sense of humor.
• A quick study with excellent written and verbal communications and highly professional presentation skills and demeanor.
• Strong leadership skills which incorporate a proactive management style.
• An outstanding work ethic, high-integrity, team player attitude.
Contact Dave McMurtry
Member, Board of Directors
415.577.5906
dave@gourmetchocolate.com
Vice President of Sales - Specialty Foods
Position Profile
Position Location
Corporate Headquarters, Clements, CA
Chocoholics Divine Desserts
San Francisco / Sacramento / Stockton Region
Company Websites http://gourmetchocolate.com
Company Overview
Chocoholics, a 15 year old privately held company, are a leader in the gourmet chocolate industry renowned for its ultra-premium chocolate, impeccable customer service, and innovative all-natural cutting-edge products. These products have attracted attention across the nation, including magazines such as In Style, Bon Appetite, Redbook, Vogue, Yahoo!, and Playboy. Chocoholics’ incredible growth performance has twice (2001 and 2003) earned the company a spot Inc. Magazine’s 500 fastest growing privately owned companies in America. Now the company is strategically positioned to capitalize on what analysts project to be a $3.5B industry by 2011, even growing at 17% over the recessionary 2009 calendar year!
With over 300 products, from truffles to chocolate Voodoo Dolls, and thousands of customers, from Victoria’s Secret to small direct retailers across the country, Chocoholics made the big leap and announced plans for their new manufacturing facility and retail store in Clements, CA just outside of Stockton. In March of 2004 the company moved into their new 22,000 sq ft manufacturing facility, housing its 40+ staff, and in the following year Chocoholics Divine Desserts Retail Shop opened. The New Retail Shop features gourmet chocolates, specialty coffee drinks, super-premium ice cream, and sundaes topped with their own branded Chocoholics decadent dessert toppings.
Chocoholics plans to extend their current wholesale success to the retail market and offer educational seminars and chocolate-making classes where guests of all ages can make their own chocolate treats while sharing in the fun of chocolate making. By surrounding themselves with a dedicated chocolate-loving staff, Chocoholics Divine Desserts continues to grow and provide an ever-increasing selection of the finest gourmet chocolate products that will always be produced and delivered to all its customers with care. Now Chocoholics is seeking the right Sales executive to join the management team as it matures beyond its initial founding team.
Reporting Relationship Position will report to Ernie Schenone, Jr., President and Founder.
Ernie Schenone founded Chocoholics after a 6 year career in international business, where he held numerous technical and managerial roles at Solar Turbines, Inc. But after growing up on a farm, pure business failed to extinguish his passion for the specialty food industry, and thus Chocoholics was born in 1995 to serve a small but wildly growing niche of gourmet chocolate lovers.
Ernie graduated with honors from Cal Poly SLO with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from the University of San Diego. He’s uniquely positioned to be successful in this role given his technical, business, and food industry experience.
Position Mission
The Vice President of Sales is chartered with formally establishing the first professional (non-founder) sales organization and will help to drive Chocoholics sales strategy, pricing, and revenue model. This senior level position will provide the vision, leadership, and experience to at first lead, and later motivate/ build a growing sales team.
Position Responsibilities
Reporting directly to the President, the Vice President of Sales will be a key member of the executive team responsible for driving the go-to-market strategy for customer relationships, both direct and through distributor/resellers. This person will own revenue for the company!
Key responsibilities will include:
Sales Leadership
• Create the national sales strategy
• Drive key accounts; create a bullet-proof pipeline while leveraging a sharp inside sales team, blending a hands-on approach with team empowering methodologies.
• Manage and grow the broker network
• Own and improve the overall sales process
• Own and improve sales team productivity, raising the level of individual and team effectiveness.
•
Executive Leadership
• Engage and collaborate with the Executive Team in driving key company decisions and initiatives.
• As a member of the executive team, contribute to the development and implementation of an overall operating strategy for the company with the ultimate goal of growing and sustaining profitable revenue streams and building significant market share.
Strategy
• Maintain proactive knowledge of the industry, assessing the competitive landscape, and keeping abreast of potential opportunities and strategic trends, to assure competitive positioning.
Execution
• Aggressively grow customer base.
• Exercise judgment and leverage learning on wins and losses; pipeline discipline to predict results both near and longer term.
• Establish reliable forecasts for operations and finance.
Position Requirements
• Full time position in office with moderate to substantial travel required. Depending on the candidate’s experience, a remote location in the San Francisco or Sacramento area will be considered provided they spend 1-2 days per week in the Clements office in the beginning.
• Skilled and experienced, with at least 10 years of proven sales success (minimum of 5 years in the Food Industry), preferably building sales teams from $0 to $10MM in a privately held company.
Interpersonal Characteristics
• Strong organizational skills: ability to multi-task and juggle many accounts making each strong prospect feel important with timely follow-through.
• Good energy and passion.
• Eager to personally drive strategic accounts and sales teams in the field.
• Autonomous, self-starter with start-up experience; comfortable working in a rapidly changing environment with ad-hoc processes.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to build relationships both internal and external. Key attributes: positive mental attitude, honest, direct, take-charge, good sense of humor.
• A quick study with excellent written and verbal communications and highly professional presentation skills and demeanor.
• Strong leadership skills which incorporate a proactive management style.
• An outstanding work ethic, high-integrity, team player attitude.
Contact Dave McMurtry
Member, Board of Directors
415.577.5906
dave@gourmetchocolate.com
Add a Comment
-
Comment by clive zickel on August 1, 2009 at 6:04pm
- This looks like a great job in a growing marketplace. Did they fill it yet?
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