Country Manager Aftermarket (Poland & CEE)

Client Description:

Our client is a well-established international leader within the automotive aftermarket industry, operating across multiple global markets through a network of distribution partners and regional business units.

The company is currently strengthening its position across Poland and Central & Eastern Europe and is seeking a commercially driven Country Manager Aftermarket to lead business expansion in the region.

The role combines strategic leadership with hands-on commercial execution and offers a unique opportunity to significantly influence market growth and organizational development. The successful candidate will report directly to a senior leadership team located within the European regional structure and will play a critical role in accelerating revenue growth, expanding market share, and building long-term partnerships across the aftermarket ecosystem.

This is a business-building position with ambitious growth objectives and direct responsibility for developing the company's presence throughout Poland and selected CEE markets.

Candidate Profile:

The ideal candidate is a senior commercial leader with extensive experience within the automotive aftermarket or a comparable distribution-driven environment.

Key requirements include:

• Minimum 10 years of experience in sales, business development, or general management roles.
• Strong track record within the automotive aftermarket sector.
• Proven experience in establishing new business units, building commercial operations from the ground up, and successfully scaling organizations through different stages of growth.
• Experience working with:
  • automotive aftermarket distributors,
  • wholesale and retail channels,
  • independent aftermarket networks.
• Background within automotive components, spare parts, consumables, lubricants, or related product categories.
• Proven success in managing indirect sales channels and distributor networks.
• Experience operating within regional or international organizational structures.
• Strong understanding of the Polish market; exposure to broader CEE markets will be considered a significant advantage.
• Demonstrated ability to drive business growth through partnerships and channel management.

Leadership & Personal Attributes

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Strong commercial acumen and a results-oriented mindset.
• A combination of "hunter" and "builder" capabilities, with a passion for creating growth opportunities.
• Entrepreneurial approach and high level of ownership.
• Ability to operate effectively in an international matrix organization.
• Strong relationship-building and stakeholder management skills.
• Hands-on management style and willingness to remain close to customers and market dynamics.
• Strategic thinking combined with strong execution capabilities.
• Deep understanding of distributor economics, including sell-in, sell-out, inventory management, and channel performance.

Responsibilities:

The Country Manager will be responsible for:

• Developing and executing the aftermarket sales strategy across Poland and selected CEE countries.
• Driving accelerated business growth through effective channel development and commercial management.
• Expanding, optimizing, and managing the distribution network across automotive aftermarket channels.
• Building and strengthening strategic relationships with key distributors, wholesalers, and major independent aftermarket partners.
• Increasing sales performance through an indirect, distributor-led business model.
• Identifying new market opportunities and growth initiatives within Poland and the wider CEE region.
• Managing and developing a lean local team while fostering a high-performance culture.
• Monitoring market trends, competitive activity, and customer needs to support business planning.
• Representing the company in the market through regular customer engagement and industry networking.

This role offers the opportunity to lead the development of a key growth market, shape strategic business decisions across Poland and the CEE region, and drive long-term regional expansion within a dynamic international organization.