Strategic Account Manager

Who Are We?

FDH Aero is a trusted global supply chain solutions partner for aerospace and defense companies, helping to shape the industry by simplifying the supply chain. With over 60 years serving as a leading independent industry partner, FDH specializes in hardware, electrical, consumables and expendables, licensed products, and value-added services for global OEM and aftermarket customers. FDH is headquartered in Commerce, California, and has operations across the Americas, EMEA and APAC. FDH Aero – named a Best Places to Work in Aviation in 2024 – has locations in 14 countries across the globe, with more than 1,500 best-in-industry employees and over 650,000 square feet of inventory space.

FDH is headquartered in Commerce, California, and has operations across the Americas, EMEA and APAC. FDH Aero – named a Best Places to Work in Aviation in 2024 – has locations in 14 countries across the globe, with more than 1,500 best-in-industry employees and over 650,000 square feet of inventory space.

Why Work Here?

At FDH Aero, we understand that the strength of our brand comes from our people.

We invest in driven, diverse and experienced professionals who are naturally curious, courageous and motivated towards action. We value tempering confidence with humility, and a mission that always starts with service-first.

Our values guide everything we do:

We Are Service First - We act with agility and intelligence to solve our partner’s most pressing needs. We safeguard our trusted relationships by communicating with clarity and unmatched follow through.

We Are Respectful - We behave with dignity, fairness, and acceptance. We thrive by prioritizing empathy, humility, and connection to our collective community.

We are Amplifiers - We invest in driven, diverse and experienced professionals, businesses and partners. We fuel the entrepreneurial spirit by providing autonomy, authority and a clear mission.

We Are Open-Minded - We communicate with intention, curiosity, and diversity of thought. By actively contributing with courage and candor, we challenge the status quo and innovate together.

We Are Accountable - We own responsibility for our outcomes. We set expectations, embrace critique, and empower every employee to take immediate actions on challenges they encounter.

We Value Our People - That’s why we offer competitive benefits, including medical, dental, vision, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), 401k matching, and wellness programs. We invest in training, mentorship, and career development to empower our employees to reach their full potential. Our commitment to culture and excellence has earned us recognition as one of Aviation Business News' Best Places to Work in Aviation.

As a team member at FDH Aero you are trusted to deliver, to innovate, and to drive next-generation solutions for tomorrow’s supply chain demands. Ready to make an impact? We proudly pursue top talent with a diverse and global set of experiences and backgrounds.

We Are Looking For

The Strategic Account Manager is responsible for the development, execution, and performance of FDH Electronics’ account strategy for a designated key customer. This position will drive profitable revenue growth, expand FDH’s position across customer programs and platforms, protect existing business, and strengthen FDH’s role as a strategic supply-chain partner. The Strategic Account Manager will establish senior-level relationships throughout the customer organization, develop a multiyear account growth strategy, and lead the pursuit of new business across FDH’s product and service portfolio. This position will direct the cross-functional execution of account priorities by aligning Sales, Product Management, Supply Chain, Operations, Quality, and executive leadership around the customer’s current requirements and long-term objectives.

What You'll Do (Responsibilities)

Strategic Account Ownership

• Define and execute the account strategy for a designated key customer, aligning customer priorities with FDH’s commercial objectives, product capabilities, and long-term growth strategy.
• Serve as the principal commercial leader and primary point of accountability for the overall customer relationship.
• Establish FDH as a strategic partner by delivering solutions that support the customer’s technical, operational, program, and supply-chain objectives.
• Develop a comprehensive understanding of the customer business strategy, organizational structure, programs, platforms, sourcing priorities, technical requirements, and growth plans.
• Establish multiyear objectives for revenue growth, gross margin, market penetration, customer retention, and strategic account development.
• Provide executive leadership with regular assessments of account performance, strategic opportunities, competitive threats, and required investments.

Account Growth and Business Development

• Develop and execute a formal account growth plan identifying addressable market, target programs, product expansion opportunities, competitive position, commercial priorities, and specific growth initiatives.
• Drive new business development across customer programs, platforms, sites, and functional organizations.
• Expand market share through cross-selling, new product introductions, engineering design-in activity, supplier consolidation, and value-added supply-chain solutions.
• Identify business currently awarded to competitors and develop targeted strategies to capture or displace incumbent positions.
• Lead the qualification, prioritization, and advancement of strategic opportunities from initial identification through award and implementation.
• Develop opportunity-capture plans that define customer requirements, decision criteria, competitive dynamics, value proposition, commercial strategy, internal resources, milestones, and ownership.
• Build and maintain a robust pipeline sufficient to achieve the account’s short- and long-term growth objectives.
• Partner with Product Management and Procurement to align FDH’s supplier relationships, product portfolio, and inventory strategy with emerging customer demand.

Executive and Customer Relationship Development

• Establish and expand relationships with key decision-makers and influencers across procurement, engineering, supply chain, program management, operations, quality, and executive leadership.
• Develop a comprehensive stakeholder strategy that identifies decision authority, technical influence, organizational priorities, and relationship coverage.
• Facilitate executive alignment between FDH and the designated customer to advance strategic initiatives, resolve business issues, and strengthen the long-term partnership.
• Lead customer engagement at all organizational levels, including strategic planning sessions, commercial negotiations, program reviews, and executive business reviews.
• Maintain visibility into organizational changes, investment priorities, sourcing strategies, program schedules, budget cycles, and other developments affecting the account.
• Represent FDH at customer locations, industry events, supplier meetings, and other strategic business engagements.

Cross-Functional Account Execution

• Lead the cross-functional FDH account team and establish clear accountability for commercial, operational, technical, quality, and service commitments.
• Translate customer strategy and requirements into coordinated actions across Sales, Product Management, Supply Chain, Operations, Quality, Finance, and executive leadership.
• Direct internal account reviews to evaluate performance, advance growth initiatives, resolve execution gaps, and align resources with account priorities.
• Secure the organizational resources and executive support required to pursue strategic opportunities and fulfill customer commitments.
• Escalate material commercial, operational, quality, or relationship risks and lead the development of timely resolution plans.
• Ensure customer commitments, internal action items, and strategic initiatives are supported by clear ownership, milestones, and performance expectations.

Commercial Strategy and Financial Performance

• Own the account’s revenue, gross margin, profitability, pipeline, backlog, and forecast performance.
• Develop and execute pricing, negotiation, and contract-renewal strategies that support profitable growth and protect FDH’s commercial position.
• Evaluate business opportunities based on strategic value, revenue potential, margin contribution, operational requirements, contractual exposure, and execution risk.
• Identify and address margin erosion, pricing pressure, unfavorable commercial terms, and underperforming business.
• Develop accurate revenue and demand forecasts using customer intelligence, program schedules, backlog, pipeline activity, and market conditions.
• Establish commercial strategies for major sourcing events, requests for quotation, contract negotiations, and competitive pursuits.
• Maintain complete and accurate account, pipeline, forecast, and opportunity information within the company’s CRM and reporting systems.

Business Retention and Competitive Strategy

• Protect the account’s existing business through proactive relationship management, performance oversight, and competitive positioning.
• Identify emerging risks related to competitor activity, customer sourcing initiatives, supplier changes, pricing, quality, delivery, contract renewals, and product displacement.
• Develop and execute account-defense strategies before existing business becomes subject to competitive sourcing or performance-related risk.
• Monitor competitive activity and develop differentiated strategies based on FDH’s product breadth, supplier relationships, technical capabilities, responsiveness, and supply-chain solutions.
• Maintain an account risk assessment with defined mitigation actions, accountable owners, and completion timelines.

Strategic Business Reviews and Performance Governance

• Lead formal Quarterly Business Reviews and other strategic customer reviews focused on performance, growth, risk, and long-term partnership objectives.
• Present account performance across revenue, growth, delivery, quality, service, open actions, pipeline development, and strategic initiatives.
• Use business reviews to advance joint priorities, secure alignment on future programs, and identify opportunities for expanded partnership.
• Establish and monitor corrective actions for performance gaps, customer concerns, and unresolved commitments.
• Track account performance against established strategic, commercial, and operational objectives and adjust the account plan as required.

Customer and Market Intelligence

• Develop actionable intelligence regarding customer programs, platforms, technical requirements, sourcing plans, decision processes, and competitive environment.
• Identify the individuals and functions that influence product specifications, supplier selection, commercial awards, and program decisions.
• Anticipate future customer requirements and translate those insights into product, supplier, inventory, and commercial strategies for FDH.
• Communicate relevant customer and market intelligence to internal stakeholders to support investment decisions, resource planning, and opportunity development.
• Ensure material customer intelligence is documented and incorporated into account planning, forecasting, and business-development activities.

What You Bring (Qualifications & Skills):

• Bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, supply chain, or a related discipline required; advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in strategic account management, business development, or complex solution sales.
• Aerospace, defense, space, electronics distribution, electronic components, or highly engineered products experience strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success developing and executing growth strategies for large, complex, and technically demanding customers.
• Proven record of expanding revenue, gross margin, share of wallet, and executive-level customer relationships.
• Experience leading complex opportunity pursuits, commercial negotiations, and multiyear account strategies.
• Strong financial and commercial acumen, including experience with pricing, profitability, forecasting, backlog, pipeline management, and contract terms.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and drive execution within a matrixed organization.
• Working knowledge of electronic components, interconnect products, aerospace hardware, or related product categories preferred.
• Ability and willingness to travel frequently in support of customer and business requirements.

Special Requirements:

• U.S. Citizen, U.S. Permanent Resident (Green Card holder) orasylee/refugee status as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) required.
• ITAR requirement
• 120.15. Some positions will require current U.S. Citizenship due to contract requirements.

This position requires access to information that is subject to compliance with the International Traffic Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) and/or the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). In order to comply with the requirements of the ITAR and/or the EAR, applicants will be asked to provide specific documentation to verify U.S. person status under the ITAR and the EAR. A “U.S. person” according to their definition is a U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), or protected individual such as a refugee, or asylee. See 22 CFR

FDH Aero is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Originally posted on Himalayas