Job Purpose and Impact

Cargill Risk Management is seeking a Senior Director, Head of Food Europe, to lead the regional go-to-market strategy for commodity risk management solutions across the food channel. This leader will be accountable for building and scaling CRM’s Food Europe business by partnering with Cargill food customers, including food manufacturers, foodservice companies, retailers, processors and other downstream or strategically aligned food customers. The role will leverage CRM’s regional capabilities, market intelligence, balance sheet, derivative expertise and cross-Cargill relationships to help customers manage complex commodity exposures, protect and achieve margins, and remain competitive in a market environment defined by elevated volatility.

This position requires a commercially minded leader who can translate customer pain points into practical risk management strategies, develop new business opportunities, and lead a team across sales, sales execution and commercial enablement. The successful candidate will bring strong commercial acumen, derivative and structured risk management understanding, and proven business development capability. They will be expected to serve as the regional commercial leader for Food Europe, deepen CRM’s relevance with priority customers, and create disciplined growth by matching customer needs with Cargill’s differentiated risk management solutions.

Key Accountabilities

• Lead the Food Europe business for Cargill Risk Management, including regional strategy, customer prioritization, pipeline development, commercial execution and performance management across the food channel.
• Develop and lead the go-to-market approach for food manufacturers, foodservice customers, retailers, processors and other strategically aligned food customers across Europe, ensuring CRM resources are focused on the highest-value opportunities.
• Partner with customers to understand commodity exposure, margin pressure, volatility risk and procurement complexity, then connect those needs to CRM solutions including OTC derivatives, advisory, market intelligence, credit-enabled structures and other risk management capabilities.
• Build new business opportunities by expanding CRM’s presence with Cargill food customers and developing relationships with priority accounts where commodity volatility is difficult to manage and risk management can create measurable commercial value.
• Lead, coach and develop direct reports across sales, sales execution and commercial enablement, ensuring clear account ownership, disciplined pipeline management, strong customer coverage and consistent execution in a regulated environment.
• Collaborate closely with Cargill Food Enterprise teams, trading, credit, legal, compliance, operations, technology and other internal partners to deliver the best of Cargill to customers while maintaining strong governance and control discipline.
• Use customer segmentation, market insight and portfolio discipline to determine where CRM should invest commercial resources, build repeatable solutions and pursue growth across dairy, protein, grains, oilseeds, softs, energy, packaging and other relevant food-related exposures.
• Represent CRM externally and internally as the regional commercial leader for Food Europe, bringing credibility with senior customer stakeholders and helping position CRM as a strategic risk management partner rather than a transactional product provider.
• Provide strategic leadership, development and talent management for direct reports and the broader Food Europe organization, including resource planning, hiring, performance management, training and succession planning.
• Drive disciplined execution against revenue, margin, account-depth, pipeline and customer-engagement goals while maintaining compliance with applicable regulatory, legal, credit and risk management requirements.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, economics, agriculture, food industry management or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 10 years of relevant commercial, risk management, derivatives, trading, food industry, financial markets or business development experience, including demonstrated success building customer relationships and growing a commercial book of business.
• Strong understanding of commodity markets, derivative instruments, structured risk management solutions and how volatility affects customer margins, procurement decisions and competitive positioning.
• Proven ability to lead commercial teams, develop talent, manage through influence across a matrixed organization and operate with discipline in a regulated financial or commodity risk management environment.
• Commercial profile should include strong business development orientation, executive customer presence, analytical rigor, comfort with ambiguity, and the ability to convert market volatility into practical customer solutions.

Preferred profile

The ideal candidate is a senior commercial leader with experience in commodity risk management, financial markets, food ingredients, food manufacturing, foodservice, retail, trading or structured solutions. They should bring the credibility to engage senior customer stakeholders, the technical foundation to understand derivative and risk management strategies, and the business development mindset to build a new regional growth platform. Experience working across European markets, regulated financial products, OTC derivatives, ISDA documentation, credit, compliance or cross-border commercial execution is strongly preferred.

This leader should be comfortable operating at the intersection of customer strategy, commodity market volatility, financial risk management and enterprise partnership. They must be able to simplify complex exposures for customers, build trust through advisory-led engagement, and lead a team that can originate, execute and enable risk management solutions that help customers achieve margins, protect margins and remain competitive.