IAM Business Development Lead

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We are seeking a high-impact Business Development Manager - IAM Channel to lead a small team of Regional Business Development Managers focused on growing and activating customers within the Independent Aftermarket (IAM) sales channel. This role will be responsible for expanding market share, increasing customer engagement, and driving profitable sales growth through auto parts distributors, trading groups, buying groups, warehouse distributors, and strategic channel partners.

The ideal candidate will bring strong knowledge of the automotive aftermarket landscape, understand how distributors and buying groups operate, and know how to turn relationships into measurable sales results. This leader will coach the regional team while personally driving key strategic opportunities across the market.

Key Responsibilities

IAM Channel Growth & Customer Activation

• Develop and execute strategies to grow sales and market penetration within the Independent Aftermarket channel.

• Lead initiatives to activate dormant, underperforming, or low-share customers into consistent revenue-producing accounts.

• Increase customer participation in programs, promotions, training, and product adoption initiatives.

• Drive conquest opportunities to win new distributors, jobbers, retailers, and service networks.

• Identify whitespace opportunities by region, customer segment, and product category.

Leadership of Regional BDM Team

• Manage, coach, and develop a team of Regional Business Development Managers.

• Set territory objectives, account growth plans, and customer activation targets.

• Conduct regular pipeline reviews, opportunity planning, and field execution check-ins.

• Share best practices across regions to improve speed and effectiveness of customer growth.

• Build a performance culture focused on accountability, urgency, and results.

Distributor / Buying Group / Trading Group Management

• Build strong relationships with key automotive parts distributors, program groups, and buying organizations.

• Understand how national accounts, member groups, rebate structures, line reviews, and category decisions are made.

• Position the company as a preferred supplier through value propositions, service levels, and growth programs.

• Support annual program negotiations, strategic reviews, and customer business planning.

• Navigate channel dynamics to maximize sell-in and sell-out opportunities.

Commercial Execution & Revenue Growth

• Build and maintain a qualified pipeline of growth opportunities across all assigned regions.

• Partner with Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain, and Category teams to execute growth plans.

• Monitor pricing, competitive activity, market trends, and customer behavior.

• Ensure CRM discipline, forecasting accuracy, and performance reporting across the team.

• Deliver revenue, margin, and customer activation targets.

Market Intelligence & Strategic Development

• Maintain deep awareness of the North American automotive aftermarket landscape.

• Track consolidation trends, competitor moves, buying group priorities, and emerging channel opportunities.

• Recommend new partnerships, product opportunities, and go-to-market strategies.

• Provide voice-of-customer feedback to internal leadership teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Automotive Management, or related field preferred.

• 8+ years of experience in automotive aftermarket sales, business development, or channel management.

• Strong working knowledge of auto parts distributors, warehouse distributors, jobbers, buying groups, trading groups, and IAM market structures.

• Prior people leadership experience managing regional or field-based teams preferred.

• Proven track record of customer activation, share gain, and profitable revenue growth.

• Strong negotiation, relationship-building, and executive communication skills.

• Experience with CRM systems, pipeline management, and commercial analytics.

• Ability to travel regularly within North America.

Full-time

At Stellantis, we assess candidates based on qualifications, merit, and business needs. We welcome applications from all people without regard to sex, age, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or any characteristic protected by law. We believe that diverse teams reflect our identity as a global company, enabling us to better address the evolving needs of our customers and care for our future.