Sales Manager - North America, GFT

You have a choice of where you want to work! We invite you along on our journey to Purify and Protect, with Every Fiber, for a Sustainable World. We aim to attract, retain, and energize passionate people, like you, by investing in your professional development and providing opportunities for personal growth.

Do your values align with ours? Accountability, Growth mindset, One team, Care and a fair and inclusive work environment for everyone, everywhere!
We strive to meet the highest standards of corporate citizenship by protecting the health and safety of our team, safeguarding the environment, and creating a long-lasting, positive impact on the communities where we do business.

Location: United States / Remote, with regular customer and business travel
Business Unit: Glass Fiber Tissue (GFT)

About the role

We are looking for a commercially driven Sales Manager – Glass Fiber Tissue (GFT), North America to grow our business and strengthen customer relationships across the region.

Working closely with customers and colleagues across Product Development & Technical Customer Service, Operations and Quality, you will turn customer needs into commercially successful solutions.

The role has a broad North American focus, giving you the opportunity to pursue customers, applications and markets where GFT can create the gretest value and sustainable growth.

What you will do

Grow the business

• Deliver sales, volume, margin and growth objectives across North America


• Actively identify, prospect and develop new customers and business opportunities


• Grow existing accounts through new products, applications and customer programmes


• Build and maintain a strong pipeline and convert opportunities into sustainable business

Own customer relationships

• Build strong, long-term relationships with key commercial and technical stakeholders


• Understand customers' businesses, applications, priorities and evolving needs


• Lead pricing, quotations, commercial agreements and negotiations


• Act as the primary commercial link between customers and Ahlstrom

Lead the sales process

• Own opportunities from prospecting and initial discussions through trials, qualification, negotiation and commercial orders


• Maintain disciplined follow-up, clear next steps and momentum throughout the sales cycle


• Maintain accurate pipeline and forecast information and contribute to commercial planning


• Monitor sales and profitability and take action when performance deviates from plan

Turn opportunities into commercial business

• Partner with Product Development & Technical Customer Service to translate customer needs into viable solutions


• Coordinate the commercial side of customer trials, samples, qualifications and new-product introductions


• Work with Operations and Quality to balance customer expectations with manufacturing capabilities


• Collaborate with Product Management on new applications and growth opportunities


• Bring the right internal teams together to move opportunities from development to successful commercialisation

What we are looking for

• Bachelor's degree in business, engineering, science or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience


• Experience from similar B2B sales, account management or business development, within a technical or manufacturing environment


• Demonstrated ability to win new business and develop long-term customer relationships


• Strong understanding of sales pipeline management, forecasting, pricing and commercial negotiations


• Ability to navigate technical sales processes involving product development, trials, qualifications and multiple stakeholders


• Strong commercial judgement with the ability to balance customer needs, profitability and operational capabilities


• Excellent communication, presentation and negotiation skills


• A self-driven, persistent approach and willingness to take ownership from first contact through commercial execution


• Ability and willingness to travel regularly across North America

What will make you successful

You enjoy selling and developing business, not simply maintaining an existing portfolio.

You're comfortable opening doors with new customers, asking the right questions and staying close to opportunities until they become business. At the same time, you understand that successful industrial sales are built on trust, technical credibility and consistent follow-through.

You can move comfortably between a strategic customer discussion and the practical work required to get a trial, quotation or order across the finish line.

Above all, you take ownership. You know your customers, know your pipeline, follow through on commitments and bring the right people together to deliver results.

Ahlstrom is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  Equal opportunity is a sound and just concept to which we are firmly bound. Ahlstrom will not engage in discrimination against, or harassment of, any person employed or seeking employment with our company based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, non-disqualifying disability, status as a protected veteran or other characteristics protected by law.
 
About Us.
Ahlstrom is a global leader in combining fibers into sustainable specialty materials. Our purpose is to Purify and Protect, with Every Fiber, for a Sustainable World. We aim to be the Preferred Sustainable Specialty Materials Company for all our stakeholders. Our Filtration and Life Sciences, Food and Consumer Packaging, and Protective Materials segments, along with the Performance Materials Cluster, address global trends with safe and sustainable solutions. Our net sales in 2025 amounted to EUR 2.9 billion and we employ some 7,000 people.

Read more at www.ahlstrom.com.