Executive Headhunters
When it comes to finding top talent in today’s competitive market, Commercial Director Headhunters are increasingly sought after to pinpoint individuals who can lead businesses to success.
Our client is a European distributor and remarketer of refurbished smartphones and tablets, supplying retailers, operators, e-commerce marketplaces, and B2B resellers. Margin pressure, supply volatility, and increased competition had slowed growth. The owners decided to appoint a Senior Commercial Director to standardise the commercial model and accelerate profitable expansion.
The owners were not involved in day to day trading. They required a leader with sector knowledge, pricing discipline, channel development capability, and credible supply relationships. A sale had been considered as an option.
We were engaged to run a structured executive search and selection process.
The Challenge
Commercial leadership in refurbished devices requires control of supply, pricing, and channels within a compliant operating model.
The Senior Commercial Director needed to:
• Diversify and secure supply (operators, OEM/trade-in, enterprise, brokers).
• Standardise grading, pricing, and margin guardrails across product lines.
• Expand revenue through retail, carrier, reseller, and marketplace channels (e.g., Back Market, Amazon Renewed).
• Improve inventory turns, aged stock reduction, and demand forecasting.
• Reduce returns and DOA rates through QA and warranty process improvements.
• Strengthen contract terms, credit control alignment, and risk management.
• Build a compact, high performing commercial team with clear cadence and reporting.
• Operate within relevant compliance standards (data sanitisation, product conformity, WEEE-related obligations).
The brief required proven experience in ecommerce or mobile distribution, with measurable results in gross margin improvement and channel growth.
Our Approach
We searched across ecommerce businesses, mobile distributors, operator trade-in programmes, reverse logistics firms, and consumer electronics marketplaces. We prioritised candidates with supply-side contracts, marketplace scaling experience, dynamic pricing capability, and pan-European account development. The search identified a candidate from a larger European ecommerce provider with a track record of securing operator supply, improving gross margin, and reducing RMA through process controls.
Step 2: Structured assessment and selection
We designed a structured assessment. Scenarios included:
• A 90 day plan to stabilise pricing and improve inventory turns.
• A supplier negotiation case for an operator trade-in agreement.
• A marketplace launch and optimisation plan with fee and return assumptions.
• A pricing playbook under rapid device price movements.
• An aged stock reduction plan with margin preservation.
We ran behavioural interviews, psychometrics, and reference-led 360s. We delivered an evidence pack covering sector credibility, commercial judgement, risk management, and cultural fit.
Step 3: Onboarding and transition support
We provided an executive coach for six months. The coach acted as an intermediary between the new Senior Commercial Director and the owners. Goals were set and reviewed. Communication protocols were agreed. We co created a 180 day plan covering:
• Supply diversification targets and contracting cadence.
• Grading and QA standards, RMA reduction actions, and warranty policy.
• Pricing governance, approval thresholds, and marketplace fee economics.
• S&OP cadence, forecasting, and inventory guardrails.
• Credit policy alignment with sales terms.
• KPI dashboards and weekly trading reviews.
Milestones were defined and monitored.
The Result
The appointment delivered measurable commercial improvements in year one:
• Higher gross margin and contribution through pricing governance and mix.
• Increased inventory turns and reduced aged stock.
• New supply agreements with operators and enterprise trade-in partners.
• Growth in marketplace and retail channels with controlled return rates.
• Improved forecast accuracy and trading cadence.
• The owners elected to continue independent growth rather than pursue a sale.
If you are an owner managed or investor backed refurbished devices business planning a senior commercial hire or transition, we can help you secure leadership that delivers sustainable growth.
Call: 0207 160 6996
Email: info@executiveheadhunters.co.uk
Visit: executiveheadhunters.co.uk
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