Sales & Business Development Director – Asia Pacific | Thermal Power
Location: Asia Pacific (Based out of Philippines)
Industry: Thermal Power / Energy / Industrial Services
Travel: Up to 50% international travel
About the Role
We are seeking an experienced Sales & Business Development Director to lead growth across the Asia Pacific thermal power market.
This is a senior commercial leadership role responsible for developing and executing the regional sales strategy, expanding key customer relationships, building the project pipeline, and delivering sustainable growth across thermal power generation, boiler systems, plant upgrades, aftermarket services, outages, and related industrial energy solutions.
The successful candidate will combine strong commercial leadership with a deep understanding of the power generation industry and established relationships across utilities, independent power producers, engineering, procurement and construction companies, and industrial customers throughout Asia Pacific.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and execute the Asia Pacific sales and business development strategy for the thermal power market, with a focus on revenue growth, profitability, market share and long-term customer relationships.
- Lead and manage regional sales and business development activities across multiple Asia Pacific markets, establishing clear targets, sales plans and performance expectations.
- Build and maintain senior-level relationships with utilities, independent power producers, engineering and construction companies, plant owners, operators and industrial customers.
- Identify and develop new opportunities across thermal power generation, including boiler systems, plant upgrades, refurbishment, modernisation, outage services, maintenance, environmental solutions and aftermarket support.
- Manage and develop a strong regional opportunity pipeline, ensuring effective qualification, account planning, forecasting and conversion of opportunities into profitable orders.
- Develop commercial strategies for major tenders and projects, including value propositions, pricing strategy, bid positioning, contract negotiations and commercial risk assessment.
- Monitor market developments, power generation investment, customer expansion plans, competitor activity and regulatory changes to identify new business opportunities across Asia Pacific.
- Develop strategic partnerships and sales channels, including distributors, agents and third-party sales representatives where appropriate.
- Work closely with engineering, operations, project management, field service, procurement, finance and legal teams to ensure customer commitments are commercially viable and operationally deliverable.
- Provide regular sales forecasts and market updates covering pipeline development, order intake, major opportunities, customer activity, competitive intelligence and regional growth initiatives.
- Develop and mentor sales and business development professionals, strengthening regional commercial capabilities and promoting a consultative, value-based approach to selling.
- Identify opportunities within the installed power generation base for upgrades, modernisation, maintenance, outage support and long-term service relationships.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Energy, or a related discipline.
- 10+ years of progressive sales and business development experience within thermal power generation, energy, industrial equipment or related engineering services.
- 5+ years in a senior commercial or sales leadership position with regional or multi-country responsibility.
- Strong understanding of thermal power plants, boilers, steam generation, plant equipment, maintenance, upgrades and aftermarket services.
- Established network across utilities, IPPs, EPC contractors, power plant owners/operators and industrial customers in Asia Pacific.
- Experience managing direct sales teams, distributors, agents or third-party representatives.
- Proven track record of developing large project pipelines and converting complex opportunities into profitable orders.
- Strong commercial experience covering tendering, pricing, contract negotiation and margin management.
- Willingness to travel extensively across Asia Pacific.
Ideal Background
We are particularly interested in candidates currently working with thermal power OEMs, boiler manufacturers, power generation equipment suppliers, EPC contractors or industrial engineering companies.
Relevant backgrounds may include:
- Thermal power generation
- Steam boilers and boiler systems
- Combined-cycle and conventional power plants
- Boiler refurbishment and upgrades
- Power plant outages and maintenance
- Environmental and emissions control systems
- Industrial steam and energy systems
- Power plant aftermarket services
- EPC / EPCM
- Energy services and equipment
The ideal candidate is a commercially driven power industry leader who can operate strategically at regional level while remaining hands-on with customers and major opportunities.
You should be comfortable engaging C-suite executives, plant directors, procurement leaders, EPC decision-makers and engineering stakeholders, while also working closely with technical and operational teams to develop commercially viable solutions.
Strong regional knowledge, an established APAC network and a demonstrable track record of winning business in the thermal power and industrial energy sector will be highly valued.
