Account Lead / Business Development Manager

Account Lead / Business Development Manager
Hawthorn Innovations — New York, NY (Hybrid / Remote Flexibility)
Hawthorn Innovations is a creative agency, production studio, manufacturing partner, and global supply chain operation rolled into one. We create high-end creative campaigns and premium photo/video production for some of the biggest brands in food, beverage, and hospitality — while also designing and manufacturing custom POS, branded drinkware, and one-of-a-kind hospitality products at national scale.

From large beverage rollouts and experiential campaigns to luxury bar carts and custom-built brand moments, Hawthorn sits at the intersection of creative agency, production house, and custom manufacturing partner. Now we’re looking for someone in New York who can help drive the next phase of that growth.

Some of the brands we work with like Diageo, Suntory, Outback Steakhouse, Applebee’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, and more — taking ideas from strategy decks and concept sketches all the way through production, logistics, and national rollout.

This role is for someone with real relationships. Someone who understands how brands buy, how agencies pitch, and how to open doors. Ideally, you’ve worked inside a major spirits company, CPG brand, experiential agency, or leading creative agency and already have a network you can activate. As well as know who to manage clients and scale relationships.

We’re not looking for someone to simply “manage accounts.” We’re looking for someone who can help grow them.

What You’ll Actually Do
Drive New Business Growth
Your primary focus will be managing, generating and expanding relationships with brands, agencies, hospitality groups, and marketing teams — especially in beverage alcohol, hospitality, lifestyle, and CPG.

You’ll identify opportunities, build relationships, pitch capabilities, and bring Hawthorn into conversations where we can win creative, production, experiential, and product-based business.

Sell the Full Hawthorn Ecosystem
This role is unique because Hawthorn is unique.

You won’t just be selling one service line. You’ll be introducing clients to an integrated platform that includes:

Creative strategy and campaign development

Photo and video production

Experiential and event builds

Custom POS and branded hospitality products at scale

Product sourcing and manufacturing

Luxury custom fabrication and bar carts

Warehouse, fulfillment, and global logistics solutions

One day you may be pitching a new ad campaign package with creative and production to a global brand, and then after lunch a luxury experiential build for a festival activation. The next day you may be discussing a 1 million-unit branded cocktail vessel rollout for a national chain.

Manage and Grow Client Relationships
You’ll act as a strategic lead for key accounts in New York and beyond — helping clients move from idea to execution while coordinating internally with our creative, supply chain, production, and build teams.

You should be comfortable leading conversations with:

Brand managers

Procurement teams

Marketing directors

Innovation teams

Agency partners

Hospitality operators

C‑suite stakeholders

Represent Hawthorn in Market
You’ll be our eyes and ears in New York.

That means attending industry events, networking dinners, agency meetings, hospitality openings, conferences, and client presentations. We want someone deeply connected to the culture and business of hospitality, beverage, and brand marketing.

Who You Are
You’re commercially driven, highly connected, and naturally entrepreneurial — but you also thrive as part of a collaborative team building something bigger. You know how to develop trust quickly, navigate both corporate and creative environments with confidence, and turn relationships into long-term partnerships.

You’re excited by growth, energized by opportunity, and motivated by helping scale a company that blends creativity, production, and real-world execution in a way few others can.

You likely come from one of these worlds:

Spirits or beverage alcohol (Diageo, Suntory, Pernod Ricard, Campari, Brown‑Forman, etc.)

CPG or hospitality brands

Experiential marketing agencies

Creative agencies

Production agencies

Brand partnerships or innovation roles

Most importantly, you already have relationships and credibility in the industry.

The Hard Skills

5–10+ years in account management, brand partnerships, business development, or agency leadership

Existing network within beverage alcohol, hospitality, CPG, or experiential marketing

Experience pitching and closing six‑figure+ client engagements

Strong understanding of creative production, experiential campaigns, branded merchandise, or hospitality marketing

Ability to manage multiple client conversations and projects simultaneously

Excellent communication and presentation skills

Comfortable operating in fast‑moving entrepreneurial environments

The Stuff That’ll Make You Stand Out

Former Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Suntory, Campari, Brown‑Forman, or major CPG experience

Experience at a top creative, experiential, or production agency

Existing relationships with hospitality groups, restaurant chains, hotels, or beverage buyers

Understanding of custom manufacturing, sourcing, POS, or supply chain operations

Familiarity with hospitality trends, cocktail culture, and experiential marketing

You already use AI tools in your workflow

You thrive in high‑autonomy environments without heavy corporate structure

Who You Really Are

You Open Doors

You know people. More importantly, people answer when you call.

You’re Both Strategic and Scrappy

You can sit in a boardroom pitching a campaign in the morning and help solve an operational issue before dinner. You understand that great client service is part strategy, part execution.

You Want to Build
This is not a maintenance role inside a giant corporation. You’ll help shape how Hawthorn grows in New York and nationally.

You Understand Scale
We’re not just creating beautiful concepts — we’re building programs that are national and international ad campaigns, and custom products that ship to hundreds or thousands of locations. You understand the difference between ideas that look good in a pitch deck and ideas that actually work operationally.

What We Offer

The opportunity to help grow a highly differentiated company with national clients

A creative and entrepreneurial environment with growth opportunity

Access to a full in-house ecosystem of creative, production, fabrication, and logistics capabilities to sale

The ability to sell both high‑level strategy and real‑world execution

A company that moves fast, builds ambitious projects, and values people who take ownership

Competitive compensation structure with upside tied to growth and performance

How to Apply
Send your resume along with a short note about:

Your background

Brands or categories you’ve worked with

Relationships or industries you know well

Why you think Hawthorn is an interesting fit

Bonus points if you can tell us about a campaign, partnership, or client opportunity you helped bring to life from concept through execution.

Hawthorn Innovations is an equal opportunity employer.

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