Commercial Director / CCO FOOD

About planetary

planetary is powering the bioeconomy. We are a venture capital backed bioeconomy company operating out of Switzerland, building industrial scale biomanufacturing capacity and fermentation IP globally using our proprietary BioBlocks (TM) platform.

Our main focus is the production and commercialization of Mycoprotein, a sustainable, nutricious, tasty and versatile protein source. Going forward, planetary will expand its footprint from food into the development of sustainable, fermentation-based biomaterials and cosmetics.

Company: planetary

Job title: Commercial Director / CCO FOOD

Location: Geneva / Lausanne area (Gland), Switzerland

Start date: April / May 2025 (asap)

Compensation: Competitive, including participation in an attractive employee stock option plan

planetary is recruiting for a full-time Commercial Director (B2B) to lead the development of our mycelium and precision fermentation-based meat and dairy alternative protein business.

This role requires experience in commodity sales processes with an initial focus on Switzerland (50%), EU (30%), US (10%) and Asia (10%). Reporting to the CEO, the candidate will collaborate closely with product, production, and R&D teams. Following substantial market success and international expansion, the role might evolve towards the position of Chief Commercial Officer.

Job Responsibilities:

The Commercial Director of business operations leads a commercial team expected to generate sales of CHF 50m – 100m at full capacity and will be responsible for:

Market Strategy & Business Development

• Develop and execute go-to-market, pricing and growth strategies for regions, customer segments (CPG brands, retail, foodservice, distributors), and product ranges
• Conduct market research, monitor trends and competitor activities, and provide strategic insights through regular reports
• Drive product quality by gathering customer feedback and collaboration with production, R&D and QC teams to refine product quality and offerings

Sales & Customer Management

• Own the commercial P&L of our production site, set and reach KPIs and targets for sales, profit, volume, and strategic growth
• Manage the entire sales process, from prospecting to closing and after-sales support, including establishment and evolution of logistics processes.
• Drive continuous improvement in commercial execution, customer satisfaction, and business expansion and business process automation.

Marketing & Brand Positioning

• Develop and implement brand positioning strategies, ensuring a strong and consistent brand message
• Evaluate brand positioning in the ingredient, white label, branded space
• Represent the company at national and international conferences, trade fairs, and industry events

Qualifications and Experience:

• Hands-on personality, not scared of ‘building from scratch’
• A ‘people’s person’ who builds trusted and lasting relationships
• ‘Hunter and gatherer’s personality with a laser focus on strategic deal closing
• An ‘ownership’ mindset with regards to P&L, product, customers
• Interest and experience in the meat and dairy alternative protein industry
• Minimum 5-10 years of direct sales/business development experience in the food domain (meat/ non-meat/ dairy), preferably with experience in B2B ingredients sales.
• Ability to communicate in English, German and/ or French a strong plus
• Efficient and productive multitasking, yet keeping focus on the key strategic priorities
• Ability to travel across Switzerland and beyond

Recruitment Process

Up to 4 rounds of interviews (virtually and in-person) with CEO and product team.

Planetary is an equal opportunity employer actively recruiting for diversity. Through hiring, we aim to close the gender gap, create opinion plurality, fight age discrimination, foster cultural diversity and promote freedom of self-expression.