Business Head – Specialty Chemicals

Job Purpose

• The incumbent would be responsible to create, build and scale a new adjacency vertical by leveraging the company’s existing capabilities and product portfolio for new, high-margin industry applications in Paints, Oil & Gas and Crop Science.

Company Background

• A leading Indian listed MNC in the specialty chemicals industry.

Key Responsibilities

• Build the Adjacencies growth strategy: Define the 5-year vision, market priorities, application roadmap, revenue pools, margin aspirations and investment thesis for the new vertical.
• Identify and prioritize target segments: Assess opportunities in Paints, Oil & Gas and Crop Science by application, customer segment, geography, market size, value pools, competitive intensity and ease of entry.
• Map white spaces and emerging trends: Scan the broader chemical and industrial landscape to identify areas where surfactant technology, bio-based chemistries or sustainable solutions can be critical enablers in high-value applications.
• Build market and competitive intelligence: Monitor competitor moves, technology shifts, regulatory changes, customer needs and potential market disruptions across target and emerging adjacency spaces.
• Create market-entry and go-to-market models: Develop segment-wise plans covering value proposition, pricing, channel strategy, key account approach, partnerships and commercialization milestones.
• Develop robust business cases: Prepare opportunity assessments covering TAM/SAM, customer economics, margin pools, capex requirements, ROI projections, technical feasibility and commercialization risks for each priority adjacency.
• Define the right-to-win and route-to-market choices: Evaluate whether each opportunity should be pursued through internal R&D, outsourcing, strategic partnership, licensing, joint venture or M&A, based on capability fit, speed to market, investment need and risk-return profile.
• Build the business structure: Recommend and implement the operating model, organization structure, roles, governance mechanisms and decision rights required to launch and scale the vertical.
• Create the talent blueprint: Design Organization Structure supporting the strategy aligning critical roles and capability requirements enabling the hiring priorities and leadership bench needed to build a high-performing business over the next five years.
• Own business planning and performance: Deliver annual operating plans, revenue and margin targets, pipeline reviews, business forecasts and periodic updates to senior leadership.
• Drive cross-functional alignment: Align internal stakeholders across Business Creation, Application Development, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Finance and Accounts around the vertical’s growth priorities.
• Build organizational capability: Establish market intelligence, application knowledge, customer insight processes and commercial excellence practices specific to the new vertical.
• Mitigate regulatory and technical barriers: Anticipate and address product stewardship, REACH, EPA or other relevant regulatory requirements, along with application-specific technical barriers that may affect market entry or scale-up.
• Ensure governance and compliance: Oversee adherence to product stewardship, regulatory, quality, safety and commercial compliance requirements in the new application areas.

Qualification

• Bachelor’s / Master’s degree in Engineering, Chemistry or a related discipline is preferred.
• An MBA or equivalent business qualification would be advantageous.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• 15–20 years of relevant experience with significant exposure to B2B businesses, specialty chemicals, specialty ingredients, materials, platform chemistries or other application-led industrial solutions preferably with experience in surfactant chemistry.
• Demonstrated success in building or scaling a business, category, region or new market from a relatively early stage.
• Strong understanding of at least one or more of the target industries—Paints, Oil & Gas, Crop Science—or adjacent industrial application domains.
• Track record of developing growth strategy and converting it into commercial execution.
• Experience in exports, customer development, key account management, channel building and strategic partnerships.
• Experience in structuring joint development agreements, licensing arrangements, commercial partnerships, or other ecosystem-led growth models.
• Ability to work across technical, commercial and operational teams to translate products into winning applications.
• Strong financial and business acumen with comfort in handling business cases, investments, pricing, margins and growth plans.
• Strong ability to build fact-based business cases, including market sizing, investment evaluation, margin analysis, risk assessment and ROI projections.
• Ability to build teams, shape organization structures and develop talent for emerging business opportunities.
• Maturity and executive presence to engage with senior leadership, customers, external partners and internal stakeholders.