Customer Executive | South Africa | Executive

Lead the commercial performance of a strategic customer portfolio and shape partnerships that deliver sustainable growth. This is an executive-level opportunity for a commercially astute customer leader who can connect strategy, profitability, operational performance and customer value.

The Customer Executive will take accountability for customer strategy, growth, retention and profitability across a portfolio of strategic customers and principals. Leading Strategic Key Account Managers and broader customer teams, you will ensure customer strategies translate into revenue growth, stronger margins, outstanding service and long-term commercial partnerships.

This is a broad commercial leadership mandate spanning portfolio strategy, executive relationship management, pricing and profitability, business development, customer analytics, operational governance and innovation. You will also work closely with operational leadership to strengthen supply chain performance and ensure customer commitments are consistently delivered.

Our client is an established Southern African logistics and supply chain business operating an integrated, temperature-controlled distribution network. The organisation supports major customers through logistics, sales, merchandising and supply chain capabilities and operates in a commercially demanding environment where customer service, operational performance and sustainable growth are closely connected.

What You'll Do

• Provide strategic leadership across a portfolio of key customers and principals.

• Develop customer portfolio strategies, segmentation and prioritisation.

• Drive revenue growth, retention, portfolio profitability and margin expansion.

• Build and maintain C-suite relationships with customers, principals and industry stakeholders.

• Lead executive business reviews, joint strategic planning and multi-year growth roadmaps.

• Oversee pricing strategy, commercial governance, contract profitability and cost recovery.

• Identify and address revenue leakage while improving customer value.

• Drive account expansion, cross-selling, solution-led selling and new market opportunities.

• Build and manage a long-term commercial opportunity pipeline.

• Use customer, financial and operational analytics to identify growth and performance opportunities.

• Oversee customer profitability reviews and cost-to-serve analysis.

• Provide strategic oversight of customer service and supply chain performance, including OTIF and DIFOT.

• Partner with operations leadership on optimisation, continuous improvement and risk mitigation.

• Champion customer innovation, digital transformation, analytics-driven solutions and supply chain redesign opportunities.

• Lead strategic business development, new customer acquisition and executive-level negotiations.

• Lead, coach and develop Strategic Key Account Managers and customer-facing teams.

What You Bring

• Matric or Grade 12.

• Bachelor's degree in Commerce, Supply Chain, Logistics, Business Management or a related field.

• Postgraduate qualification advantageous.

• Minimum 10 years' experience in Commercial, Customer Management, Key Account Management, Business Development or Supply Chain environments.

• Minimum 5 years' experience leading customer-facing commercial teams.

• Proven experience managing strategic customer portfolios.

• Demonstrated success in revenue growth, profitability improvement and customer retention.

• Strong commercial, financial and supply chain acumen.

• Experience within FMCG, Logistics, Supply Chain or 3PL environments.

• Proven ability to manage senior and executive-level customer relationships.

• Strong analytical capability with the ability to translate commercial and operational insight into action.

• Valid Code EB driver's licence.

What Success Looks Like

• Sustainable revenue growth and improved profitability across the customer portfolio.

• Strong retention of strategic customers and principals.

• Deeper executive-level relationships and effective long-term customer planning.

• Improved margins, contract profitability and cost recovery.

• Strong execution of account growth and customer strategies.

• Consistent delivery against customer service and operational commitments.

• A healthy pipeline of account expansion and new business opportunities.

• Innovation that improves customer outcomes and strengthens the organisation's market proposition.

• High-performing Strategic Key Account Managers with strong succession and development pipelines.

• A customer team that is commercially focused, customer-centric and data-driven.