26027 | Country Manager Benelux | Leading European Professional Lighting Solutions Provider

The Organization

For one of our clients, a leading European premium provider of professional lighting and smart building solutions, we are searching for a Country Manager Benelux to lead and further develop their organization across the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

The company has a strong heritage in high-quality, sustainable and energy-efficient lighting solutions for professional indoor and outdoor environments. The Benelux organization is mature and profitable, with a strong position in the Dutch premium lighting market and clear growth potential in Belgium, Retail and Smart Lighting.

The role

As Country Manager Benelux, you will be responsible for the overall business performance and continued development of the Benelux organization. The role combines strategic market development with hands-on commercial leadership, senior customer engagement and people leadership.

You will drive sustainable growth by translating the broader brand strategy into a clear local go-to-market approach, increasing early project involvement with key stakeholders and strengthening the company’s position in specification-led project business. In addition, you will further develop growth areas, while continuing to build and empower a mature local team.

The Ideal Candidate

Experiences

• 10+ years of commercial experience in B2B project sales, business development or country / regional management within lighting, building technology, building products, construction-related industries or a comparable specification-led environment.
• 5+ years of senior people leadership experience, ideally with responsibility for a P&L, country, region, commercial organization or business unit.
• Strong understanding of project-driven, multi-stakeholder sales processes, including early engagement with architects, consultants, installers, end users, project developers and other key project stakeholders.
• Experience with premium technical solutions, value-based selling and commercial performance management.
• Previous exposure to P&L responsibility, budgeting, forecasting and business reviews.
• Experience working within an international organization and collaborating with regional or headquarters functions.
• Exposure to Smart Lighting, smart building solutions, connected technologies or sustainability-driven propositions is considered an advantage.

Skills

• Commercially strong and growth-oriented. Able to identify market opportunities and translate them into clear priorities and focused execution.
• Market-facing and customer-oriented. Builds long-term relationships with key stakeholders and enjoys being close to customers and the business.
• Strategic and pragmatic. Sets direction while remaining hands-on and practical in execution.
• Strong people leader. Coaches, develops and empowers teams while creating ownership and accountability.
• Structured and performance-oriented. Uses pipeline management, forecasting, KPIs and financial insight to steer commercial performance.
• Collaborative and communicative. Builds trust across local, regional and international stakeholders and contributes to an open, inclusive and performance-oriented culture.

Language Requirements

• Fluency in Dutch and English.
• Knowledge of French is considered an advantage.

Interested?

Please submit your CV in English (preferred in PDF format), and application letter if desired. A brief phone interview, online assessment(s), face-to-face (or video) interviews with Kienbaum and our client as well as reference and diploma checks may also be part of the procedure.