Website:
empath-lab.com
Job details:
Head of Commercial | Beauty and Personal Care
About the Company
We’re partnering with a high-growth, venture-backed material science and green chemistry pioneer that is redefining the future of sustainable ingredients. By converting agricultural residues into high-performance, bio-based alternatives to traditional petrochemical inputs, the business enables global manufacturers to achieve lower-carbon formulations without compromising on quality, consistency, or cost.
Having successfully validated their proprietary chemistry and launched a state-of-the-art integrated pilot facility, the company is now transitioning from technical proof-of-concept to rapid commercial expansion. To drive this next phase of growth, they are seeking a foundational Head of Commercial to own the go-to-market strategy, build the customer pipeline, and lead commercialization across the Beauty and Personal Care sector.
📍 Location: Mumbai (Preferred), with monthly travel to Bengaluru and customer sites across India
🌎 Initial Market: India (Beauty & Personal Care)
✈️ Travel: ~25% (Customer, industry, and Bengaluru pilot plant visits)
The Opportunity
This is a high-impact, "zero-to-one" leadership role for a commercial builder. You won't be inheriting a legacy portfolio or established accounts; instead, you will own the end-to-end commercial architecture, defining the market positioning, building strategic relationships with formulators and brands, and converting technical evaluations into long-term commercial supply agreements.
Working directly with the CEO and co-founders (former Tesla engineering leaders), you will bridge the gap between material science and commercial adoption. If you thrive in fast-paced startup environments, understand technical B2B ingredient sales, and want to establish an entirely new category of sustainable materials, this opportunity offers unmatched ownership and scale.
What You'll Do
Go-to-Market Strategy & Positioning
- Define and execute the commercial roadmap for the company’s bio-based ingredient portfolio.
- Translate complex material science and performance data into compelling customer value propositions.
- Identify high-potential use cases, target accounts, and optimal routes-to-market across D2C brands, contract manufacturers, and enterprise cosmetic players.
Pipeline Development & Account Activation
- Map and engage key decision-makers across R&D, formulation, innovation, and procurement teams.
- Build, qualify, and manage a robust account pipeline to achieve near-term pilot revenue targets (₹8–12 Cr) and lay the foundation for large-scale commercial facilities (₹150 Cr+).
- Lead consultative sales conversations, overcoming formulation and switching barriers.
Technical-Commercial Conversion & Operations
- Oversee the complete sample-to-order lifecycle, coordinating technical evaluations, formulation trials, and performance validation alongside internal R&D teams.
- Establish pricing models, lead commercial negotiations, and close initial purchase orders.
- Implement structured commercial operations, introducing CRM discipline, opportunity tracking, demand forecasting, and feedback loops to shape future product R&D.
What We're Looking For
Required Experience
- 8+ years of senior B2B commercial, business development, or sales leadership experience within Beauty & Personal Care ingredients, specialty chemicals, cosmetics inputs, or green chemistry.
- Proven track record of "zero-to-one" commercialization—successfully launching new products, categories, or market territories.
- Demonstrated experience navigating complex, technical sales cycles involving formulation testing, R&D sign-offs, and procurement approvals.
- Deep network across Indian Beauty and Personal Care brands, contract manufacturers (CMOs), and formulation laboratories.
Key Skills
- Category Storytelling & Value Selling
- Technical Consultative Sales
- Key Account Acquisition & Pipeline Management
- Formulation & Ingredient Qualification Knowledge
- Contract & Price Negotiation
- CRM & Sales Operations Discipline
- High Autonomy & Founder-Level Ownership
Ideal Candidate Profile
We’re looking for a commercially disciplined leader who can command respect with R&D teams while ruthlessly executing revenue targets.
The ideal candidate will:
- Possess deep credibility within the cosmetic ingredients and formulation ecosystem.
- Master the art of moving polite technical interest into firm purchase orders.
- Thrive in ambiguous, rapidly evolving environments without needing rigid corporate structures.
- Combine strategic vision with a hands-on willingness to open doors and close deals directly.
- Communicate with complete candor regarding market feedback, execution risks, and pipeline realities.
What Success Looks Like
The successful candidate will:
- Monetize current pilot capacity by securing recurring commercial orders across target accounts.
- Establish a repeatable, structured commercial operating system and sales playbook.
- Build strong brand partnerships that position the company's materials as the bio-based standard in personal care.
- Create a scalable demand pipeline that justifies and supports future commercial-scale manufacturing expansion.
Why Join?
- Point of Inflection: Join right as multi-year technical R&D transforms into commercial scale.
- Category Creation: Help introduce a new generation of sustainable inputs to a multi-billion dollar market.
- Direct Leadership Access: Work directly as a peer to visionary co-founders and scientific teams.
- High Impact & Autonomy: Build the commercial organization from scratch with low micromanagement and high trust.
- Massive Scale Potential: Drive commercialization for a technology platform capable of expanding into global markets and adjacent industrial sectors.
Click on Apply to know more.
