Director of Strategy and Transformation

Owner of the I+S Transformation Agenda

Business: Ingredients + Specialties (I+S) * Reports to: SVP - Innovation, Growth & Strategy * Location: The Woodlands, TX / Hybrid * Experience: 10+ years

About the Role:

The Director, Strategy & Transformation owns the transformation agenda for theIngredients+ Specialties business - the portfolio of forward-looking initiatives that fundamentally change the trajectory of I+S. This is the "decide what changes next" seat: itidentifieswhere the business must move, builds the business cases behind the moves, and mobilizes the cross-functional teams that deliver them. It does not run the current commercial engine, sell, set price, or own the data platform. Its distinctive contribution is converting strategy into transformation - Bend the Curve, Accelerate, portfolio, private label, GTM evolution, and rebrand/spin theses - with rigor, ROI discipline, and value-creation-plan traceability.

The role is the deliberate counterpart to Revenue Operations and Data & AI.RevOpsowns the operating system that runs the current business. Data & AI owns the intelligence layer that informs it. Strategy & Transformation owns the change agenda that redefines it. Reporting to the SVP - Innovation, Growth & Strategy, the role partners with Business Leaders, Product Management, Marketing,RevOps, Data & AI, Pricing, Finance, and the enterprise PMO.

What This Role Owns:

1. Transformation Portfolio & Bend the Curve / Accelerate Programs

• Own the I+S transformation portfolio- Bend the Curve, Accelerate, and the next wave of enterprise change programs - as one governed portfolio tied to the value-creation plan.

• Own the initiative pipeline- identification, scoping, prioritization, sequencing, and sunset - so investment follows value, not noise.

• Anchor every initiative to the four I+S growthobjectives- reduce churn, improve win rates,optimizemargin, improvecustomer experience.

2. Growth Strategy & Commercial Transformation Agenda

• Set the mid- to long-term growth agendaacross the I+S portfolio - GTM evolution, market expansion, channel mix, customer segmentation, cross-sell/upsell, and supplier partnership expansion.

• Own the portfolio and private-label strategy work- from thesis to businesscase tolaunch plan - in partnership with Product Management and the BU SVPs.

• Own the rebrand/spin and specialty-positioning thesis- the forward-looking work that redefines what I+S is and how it is valued.

3. Business Case Discipline & ROI Governance

• Own the business-case standardfor commercial and enterprise investments - the shared template, hurdle rates, sensitivity discipline, and stage-gate governance.

• Build and pressure-test business casesfor growth and transformation initiatives - value accelerators, investment requirements, management plans, and where outcomes hit the I+S P&L.

• Own ROI tracking and value realization- hypothesis tobudget toactuals - so every dollar committed is traced through to EBITDA.

4. PMO Orchestration & Program Governance

• Dotted-line ownership of the PMO resources supporting the division- the delivery muscle behind the transformation portfolio.

• Run the TransformationSteerCo- cadence, agendas, decisions, escalations, and stage-gate reviews.

• Facilitaterequirementsgathering, vendor selection, and proposal structuringwith external partners (consultants, technology vendors, analytics providers).

• Oversee build and activation phases, often coordinating multiple consulting firms, contractors, and internal teams simultaneously.

5. Strategic Choices, Frameworks & Board-Ready Analysis

• Develop enterprise-grade strategic frameworks- customer and product profitability,whitespaceand wallet share, cost-to-serve, and portfolio choices - that inform resource allocation and prioritization.

• Prepare Board, and CEO-level materials- decision memos, thought pieces, and value-creation narratives - that frame the strategic choices in front of the business.

• Own the "next-wave" thinking- where I+S must be in 3, 5, and 7 years, and the transformation movesrequiredto get there.

6. Change Management & Adoption Design

• Own change management designfor transformation initiatives - communications, training design, stakeholder alignment, and adoption instrumentation - working alongside business/functional owners in their execution.

• Partner withRevOpson the handoff from transformation to run - where a change becomes a standing part of how the businessoperates.

• Drive ownership, accountability, and a sense of urgencyacross all initiatives and stakeholders.

From Diagnosis to Delivery: The Transformation Engine

The six areas above are thecapabilities; thisrole'sdistinctive job is to convert diagnosis intodelivery- the engine that turns strategy into transformation and transformation into P&L impact.

• Portfolio owner, not order-taker.Owns the transformation portfolio and the ROI governance behind it - decides where I+S invests to change, and where it does not.

• Redefines, does not run.Not a line or operational manager and not responsible for running the business - responsible for redefining where the business should go and driving the transformation to get there.

• Commissioner, not operator.Strategy commissions the change;RevOpsoperationalizes it; Data & AI supplies the evidence and models. A clean handoff, no overlap.

• Evidence-led.Every initiative carries a business case, a value hypothesis, and a tracked outcome into the VCP.

• PE-fluent.Speaks the language of exit value, EBITDA quality, and multiple expansion; every choice ties to the value-creation plan.

• Boundary with the enterprise PMO.Owns the I+S transformation portfolio and its PMO orchestration; theenterprisePMO owns cross-divisional program standards and shared delivery infrastructure.

Building Transformation Capability

Transformation only sticks when the organization can absorb and sustain it. This role closes that gap through clarity, discipline, and support for functional leaders - not by owning execution.

• Coach the sponsor.Supply BU SVPs and functional leaders with the frameworks, business cases, and playbooks that make them effective owners of change.

• Discipline over ceremony.Stage gates, decision memos, and ROI tracking that drive decisions - not project theater.

• Adoption is the measure, not launch.Success is value realized in the P&L andchangeembedded in how the business runs - never "initiatives launched."

• Change management as a standing capability.Communications, training design, and post-launch tuning built for a continuous transformation agenda, not one-off rollouts.

Success Measures - First 12-18 Months

• Portfolio in place- one governed I+S transformation portfolio with clear priorities, sequencing, and stage-gate governance.

• Bend the Curve delivered- measurable EBITDA and net-churn impactagainst baseline, traceable to specific initiatives.

• Business cases that hold- hypotheses converted to budget and P&L outcomes with disciplined variance tracking.

• PEconfidence- board-ready decision memos, VCP updates, and value narratives that raise credibility with the sponsor.

• Adoption and stickiness- transformation outputs embedded in how the business runs, not one-off launches.

• Boundaries holding- noroleconfusion withRevOps, Data & AI, Pricing, or Sales.

Qualifications & Experience:

• Bachelor's degreerequired; advanced degree (MBA, Economics, Operations Research, Statistics, Data Science, or related)stronglypreferred.

• 3-5years in management consulting, corporate strategy, commercial excellence, or enterprise transformation, including 3+ years leading teams.

• Demonstratedtrack recordleading growth and transformation workstreams - pricing, GTM, segmentation, portfolio, private label, or revenue optimization.

• Experience leading multiple large-scale ($1M+) initiatives, preferably spanning both growth and cost/operational programs.

• Experience managing external advisors - management consultants, technology vendors, and analytics partners.

• Private-equityportfolio-companyor PE-backed environment experience strongly preferred.

• Specialtychemicalsdistribution, ingredients, food & nutrition, personal care, or B2B distribution industry experience a plus but notrequired.

Skills & Competencies:

• Strategic acumen- sets a defensible transformation agenda tied to enterprise value and multiple expansion.

• Commercial acumen- translates market and customer data into growth strategies with clear P&L impact.

• Financial acumen- translates strategy into FP&A, budget, and valuationmodelsthe CFO andPE-sponsortrust.

• Business-case discipline- hypothesis-driven, evidence-led, stage-gated, andtracked tooutcome.

• Program leadership- structured orchestration of complex, cross-functional initiatives with multiple sponsors and dependencies.

• Change management- sets targets, gains buy-in,establishesmilestones, and holds sponsors accountable for results.

• Stakeholder influence- drives outcomes through frameworks, evidence, and consensus rather than formal authority.

• Communication- exceptional written and verbal skills; board-ready presentation, memo, and decision-document quality.

• Technology fluency- comfort with enterprise systems, analytics platforms, and AI/ML-enabled workflows.

• Adaptability- flexes across workstreams andoperatesautonomously in a fast-paced, PE-backed environment.

• Boundary-spanning influence- partners with Sales,RevOps, Pricing, Data & AI, Product, and Marketing without owning them.