Director, Strategic Marketing

Manager (Manager/Supervisor of Staff) Education Level: Bachelor's Degree Contact Information Reference Code: 1692 Job Description Director, Strategic Marketing         Director, Strategic Marketing Golden Valley, MN     Company Overview   Pentair is a diversified operating company headquartered in Minnesota.  Its Water Group is a global leader in providing innovative products and systems used worldwide in the movement, treatment, storage and enjoyment of water.  Pentair's Technical Products Group is a leader in the global enclosures market, designing and manufacturing standard, modified, and custom enclosures that house and protect sensitive electronics and electrical components.  Sales from continuing operations in 2007 were $3.4 billion.  Pentair has approximately 16,000 employees worldwide.   Going forward, Pentair has aspirations to continue to grow at double-digit rate with about half of that growth coming from organic growth and the rest from acquisitions. Bolstering strategic marketing capabilities across all regions – North America, Europe and Asia – is central to its growth strategy. Pentair has recently launched an initiative termed “IGNITE” to create strategies, processes, tools and capabilities to achieve the organic growth ambitions.   The executive leadership team of Pentair is comprised of seasoned industrial leaders who previously worked at industry-leading organizations. This team is building a high performance culture, and to date has delivered exceptional value to shareholders with the aspiration to become a global leader in Water and Technical Products.     Position Summary   Reporting to the Senior Vice President, Strategy and Marketing, this position will be responsible for supporting strategic marketing competency for all Pentair businesses by understanding the customer base deeply and formulating strategies and building capabilities for organic growth. The broad scope of this assignment includes all facets of the strategy development for the businesses within Pentair.   Pentair has recruited a number of talented individuals and has a track record of moving them into leadership roles within businesses. This is a high-impact, high-visibility role with an opportunity to shape the future direction of the company.     Major Responsibilities Owns the creation of strategic marketing capability across the businesses, specifically in the areas of segmentation, new product development, channel management and pricing by facilitating the deployment of the IGNITE program. Define a global strategy aimed at increasing market penetration, improving the brand equity, and positioning each product correctly. Translate the strategy into specific operational marketing plans and drive implementation of organic growth plans by partnering with the leaders across the businesses. Position’s impact will be primarily measured by the successful delivery of actions which lead to the achievement of profitable organic sales growth.   Why Pentair – Value Proposition to Candidates   Medium-sized Manufacturing Company Scale and spend Conservative capital structure with enough resources to fuel growth Attractive Businesses with Significant Growth Potential Product-market leadership Medium technology, sustainable business model Profitable with opportunities for improvement Evolving global footprint Many growth opportunities Open Culture Candid, non-bureaucratic style Freedom and autonomy to take initiative Company built up through successful integration of many acquisitions Continues to reinvent itself Performance driven culture Excellent Senior Management Team from the best companies in the world Dedicated to growing Pentair Committed to developing people Visible Roles and Jobs Real jobs where a new person can make a difference and be recognized Roles that have direct line of sight between ideas, actions and results Many opportunities to learn and grow personally and professionally Terrific Location Twin Cities rated one of the most livable metro areas in the U.S. Ideal for dual career families; 19 Fortune 500 companies based in area         Pentair is an Equal Opportunity Employer.   Ideal Experience   The successful candidate will have an MBA with three to five years strategy consulting experience with blue chip consulting firms such as McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, Booz Allen Hamilton or Bain & Company. The candidate could also have subsequent experience in an industrial company in a corporate development or strategy role.   The candidate will be a business strategist with a strong industrial marketing bent. With a minimum of five years’ work experience, the candidate must possess outstanding analytical and problem-solving skills. Experience should include segmenting the industrial markets, deploying tools and processes that unearth customer needs, identifying product offerings, devising channel and pricing strategies, and executing the strategy within the organization and marketplace. Thought leadership in identifying, qualifying, and modeling new markets or products is critical.   The candidate should currently be on a “growth path” within his/her own organization, indicating the capacity for increased responsibility. International experience is desirable.   Critical Competencies for Success   Strategic Thinking: Individual with creative energy and a track record of leading major strategic initiatives that focus on core business issues, defining challenges and goals, proposing new and alternative solutions visioning the strategic value of partnerships, and setting strategic direction to achieve immediate to mid- and long-range objectives. Analytical Ability: Individual must possess outstanding analytical and problem-solving skills and exhibit leadership in identifying, qualifying, and modeling new markets or products. Must demonstrate an ability to be sensitive to emerging customer needs and competitors’ positions. Influencing Skills: Must be an excellent communicator, capable of formulating a strong thesis and winning the support of the entire organization with current knowledge of the marketplace. Natural charisma and credibility is very important. Must have the ability to develop effective working relationships with the various functional and business heads in this fast-paced company. Will be a team player with strong interpersonal skills and the ability to drive new concepts and ideas without having direct control. Must be confident enough to constructively challenge executives on their approach and thinking. Entrepreneurial Acumen: Takes initiative to identify and kick-start growth opportunities.   Ideal Experience   The successful candidate will have an MBA with three to five years strategy consulting experience with blue chip consulting firms such as McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, Booz Allen Hamilton or Bain & Company. The candidate could also have subsequent experience in an industrial company in a corporate development or strategy role.   The candidate will be a business strategist with a strong industrial marketing bent. With a minimum of five years’ work experience, the candidate must possess outstanding analytical and problem-solving skills. Experience should include segmenting the industrial markets, deploying tools and processes that unearth customer needs, identifying product offerings, devising channel and pricing strategies, and executing the strategy within the organization and marketplace. Thought leadership in identifying, qualifying, and modeling new markets or products is critical.   The candidate should currently be on a “growth path” within his/her own organization, indicating the capacity for increased responsibility. International experience is desirable.   Critical Competencies for Success   Strategic Thinking: Individual with creative energy and a track record of leading major strategic initiatives that focus on core business issues, defining challenges and goals, proposing new and alternative solutions visioning the strategic value of partnerships, and setting strategic direction to achieve immediate to mid- and long-range objectives.   Analytical Ability: Individual must possess outstanding analytical and problem-solving skills and exhibit leadership in identifying, qualifying, and modeling new markets or products. Must demonstrate an ability to be sensitive to emerging customer needs and competitors’ positions.   Influencing Skills: Must be an excellent communicator, capable of formulating a strong thesis and winning the support of the entire organization with current knowledge of the marketplace. Natural charisma and credibility is very important. Must have the ability to develop effective working relationships with the various functional and business heads in this fast-paced company. Will be a team player with strong interpersonal skills and the ability to drive new concepts and ideas without having direct control. Must be confident enough to constructively challenge executives on their approach and thinking.   Entrepreneurial Acumen: Takes initiative to identify and kick-start growth opportunities.   Pentair is an Equal Opportunity Employer.