Senior Account Manager - Bakery
AAK, Louisville, KY, United States
Making Better Happen
Our story goes back more than 150 years, to the windy coast where Sweden and Denmark meet. From our success in Scandinavia, we've grown into the world's leading specialist producer of plant‑based oils, employing more than 4000 people all across the globe. We work with our customers to make the products you love even better. The oils we produce go into making your chocolate extra creamy or putting the crunch into your croissant. And it's not just food – we work across industries to make products that are higher quality, healthier and better for the planet. Every one of us works towards our shared purpose: Making Better Happen™. Everything we do is about Making Better Happen together. Join nearly 4,000 like‑minded colleagues globally and build a better future with us.
Build a better future as a Sr. Account Manager in Edison, NJ or Louisville, KY. Compensation Range: $121,000 - $197,000. Possible Bonus: 20% SIP. Fully remote position with 60% travel requirement.
About The Role Drive new customer acquisition and profitable growth within AAK USA’s industrial bakery segment. This role is responsible for identifying high‑potential bakery manufacturers, establishing strategic relationships with key decision makers, and converting opportunities into long‑term commercial partnerships. This position will build and manage a structured growth pipeline, develop multi‑year account strategies, and lead early‑stage customer expansion until accounts are stable and positioned for long‑term success. This role is critical to expanding AAK’s footprint in the U.S. bakery market and delivering sustainable volume and margin growth.
Specific for the Bakery Segment
Identify and convert mid‑to large‑scale industrial bakery manufacturers into long‑term commercial partnerships
Maintain active visibility within the bakery industry through targeted events and associations to strengthen AAK’s position and uncover growth opportunities
Develop multi‑year volume and profitability plans for targeted accounts with structured forecasts for new wins with clear ramp assumptions
Other Account Management Responsibilities
Establish, maintain and grow value‑based customer relationships that will make AAK a trusted partner with its chosen customers to meet or exceed annual financial targets
Formulate pricing, negotiate contracts and supply agreements in partnership with Pricing and Sourcing & Trading
Work with AAK’s Sourcing & Trading group to provide raw material market information to customers
Work closely with customers to develop solutions for formulation challenges with an understanding of multiple customer functional areas, inclusive of Product Development/R&D and Procurement
Prepare annual territory strategic plans to execute upon goals
Prepare & maintain Account Plans for all accounts
Provide technical and commercial feedback to customers as needed
Align AAK US or global technical resources with our customers’ technical groups on a select basis; build and maintain a disciplined pipeline with defined stage gates, probabilities, and conversion timelines
Engage with Customer Innovation/Technical, Customer Service, and Operations to ensure successful onboarding of new customers and handle the administrative work associated with onboarding customers (credit applications, for example)
Work with customer service and A/R on collections when needed and other tasks associated with account management
About You
BA/BS degree, preferably in a Scientific field/MBA
5–10 years of experience within the bakery or food ingredients industry, including exposure to sales, technical service, or commercial roles
Exceptional “hunting” skills to uncover new business opportunities with a sense of urgency; strong business acumen
Demonstrated strong customer relations skills with excellent presentation and communication skills
Exceptional problem solving and relationship building skills (internal and external)
Highly organized with structured pipeline discipline
Entrepreneurial thinker and self‑starter
Proficiency in SalesForce
Proficiency in Microsoft Office tools
About AAK Everything AAK does is about Making Better Happen™. We specialize in plant‑based oils that are the value‑adding ingredients in many of the products people love to consume. We make these products better tasting, healthier, and more sustainable. At the heart of AAK’s offer is Customer Co‑Development, combining our desire to understand what better means for each customer, with the unique flexibility of our production assets, and a deep knowledge of many products and industries, including Chocolate & Confectionery, Bakery, Dairy, Plant‑based Foods, Special Nutrition, Foodservice and Personal Care. Our 4,000 employees support our close collaboration with customers through 25 regional sales offices, 15 dedicated Customer Innovation Centers, and with the support of more than 20 production facilities. Listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and with our headquarters in Malmö, Sweden, AAK has been Making Better Happen™ for more than 150 years.
AAK prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, religion, veteran status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under state or federal law in any aspect of the access to, admission, or treatment of students in its programs and activities, or in employment and application for employment.
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Our story goes back more than 150 years, to the windy coast where Sweden and Denmark meet. From our success in Scandinavia, we've grown into the world's leading specialist producer of plant‑based oils, employing more than 4000 people all across the globe. We work with our customers to make the products you love even better. The oils we produce go into making your chocolate extra creamy or putting the crunch into your croissant. And it's not just food – we work across industries to make products that are higher quality, healthier and better for the planet. Every one of us works towards our shared purpose: Making Better Happen™. Everything we do is about Making Better Happen together. Join nearly 4,000 like‑minded colleagues globally and build a better future with us.
Build a better future as a Sr. Account Manager in Edison, NJ or Louisville, KY. Compensation Range: $121,000 - $197,000. Possible Bonus: 20% SIP. Fully remote position with 60% travel requirement.
About The Role Drive new customer acquisition and profitable growth within AAK USA’s industrial bakery segment. This role is responsible for identifying high‑potential bakery manufacturers, establishing strategic relationships with key decision makers, and converting opportunities into long‑term commercial partnerships. This position will build and manage a structured growth pipeline, develop multi‑year account strategies, and lead early‑stage customer expansion until accounts are stable and positioned for long‑term success. This role is critical to expanding AAK’s footprint in the U.S. bakery market and delivering sustainable volume and margin growth.
Specific for the Bakery Segment
Identify and convert mid‑to large‑scale industrial bakery manufacturers into long‑term commercial partnerships
Maintain active visibility within the bakery industry through targeted events and associations to strengthen AAK’s position and uncover growth opportunities
Develop multi‑year volume and profitability plans for targeted accounts with structured forecasts for new wins with clear ramp assumptions
Other Account Management Responsibilities
Establish, maintain and grow value‑based customer relationships that will make AAK a trusted partner with its chosen customers to meet or exceed annual financial targets
Formulate pricing, negotiate contracts and supply agreements in partnership with Pricing and Sourcing & Trading
Work with AAK’s Sourcing & Trading group to provide raw material market information to customers
Work closely with customers to develop solutions for formulation challenges with an understanding of multiple customer functional areas, inclusive of Product Development/R&D and Procurement
Prepare annual territory strategic plans to execute upon goals
Prepare & maintain Account Plans for all accounts
Provide technical and commercial feedback to customers as needed
Align AAK US or global technical resources with our customers’ technical groups on a select basis; build and maintain a disciplined pipeline with defined stage gates, probabilities, and conversion timelines
Engage with Customer Innovation/Technical, Customer Service, and Operations to ensure successful onboarding of new customers and handle the administrative work associated with onboarding customers (credit applications, for example)
Work with customer service and A/R on collections when needed and other tasks associated with account management
About You
BA/BS degree, preferably in a Scientific field/MBA
5–10 years of experience within the bakery or food ingredients industry, including exposure to sales, technical service, or commercial roles
Exceptional “hunting” skills to uncover new business opportunities with a sense of urgency; strong business acumen
Demonstrated strong customer relations skills with excellent presentation and communication skills
Exceptional problem solving and relationship building skills (internal and external)
Highly organized with structured pipeline discipline
Entrepreneurial thinker and self‑starter
Proficiency in SalesForce
Proficiency in Microsoft Office tools
About AAK Everything AAK does is about Making Better Happen™. We specialize in plant‑based oils that are the value‑adding ingredients in many of the products people love to consume. We make these products better tasting, healthier, and more sustainable. At the heart of AAK’s offer is Customer Co‑Development, combining our desire to understand what better means for each customer, with the unique flexibility of our production assets, and a deep knowledge of many products and industries, including Chocolate & Confectionery, Bakery, Dairy, Plant‑based Foods, Special Nutrition, Foodservice and Personal Care. Our 4,000 employees support our close collaboration with customers through 25 regional sales offices, 15 dedicated Customer Innovation Centers, and with the support of more than 20 production facilities. Listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and with our headquarters in Malmö, Sweden, AAK has been Making Better Happen™ for more than 150 years.
AAK prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, religion, veteran status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under state or federal law in any aspect of the access to, admission, or treatment of students in its programs and activities, or in employment and application for employment.
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