Head of Business Development

Head of Business Development – Air & Ocean Freight
Location: New York, NY
Reports to: Managing Director

Overview
This senior leadership role is responsible for accelerating revenue growth and market share within the U.S. air and ocean freight sector. The Head of Business Development will shape and execute a commercial strategy targeting high-yield trade lanes, develop strategic customer relationships, and lead a high-performance sales team to exceed GP objectives. The ideal candidate combines deep freight forwarding expertise with a proven ability to close complex, high-value opportunities.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and implement a growth strategy to expand air and ocean freight volumes across targeted trade lanes, with emphasis on Transatlantic and Transpacific routes

• Identify and secure new strategic accounts, focusing on clients with significant import/export potential

• Lead, coach, and manage the sales team to deliver consistent monthly GP growth

• Oversee major RFI/RFP processes, managing complex rate and service negotiations with carriers and global partners

• Strengthen account retention through senior-level client engagement and solution-based selling

• Collaborate with operations, pricing, and product teams to deliver competitive, client-specific solutions

• Monitor market trends, competitor activity, and customer demand to refine go-to-market strategies

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years’ experience in business development or sales leadership within freight forwarding

• Proven track record in securing and managing strategic air and ocean freight accounts

• Strong commercial acumen with expertise in contract negotiation and margin optimization

• Established network of decision-makers in international freight and supply chain management

• Exceptional leadership, communication, and influencing skills

Compensation
Competitive base salary plus performance-based incentives, full benefits package, and executive-level career progression opportunities.