Regional Distributor Manager - Nashville, TN

About Liquid Death

Liquid Death is a healthy beverage company with ice-cold sustainable cans designed to murder your thirst.

Founded in January of 2019 and based in Los Angeles, California, Liquid Death is one of the nation’s fastest growing beverage brands taking a completely unnecessary approach to canned water and iced teas. Unnecessary things tend to be far more interesting, fun, hilarious, captivating, memorable, exciting, and cult-worthy. Taking the world’s healthiest beverage and making it just as unnecessarily entertaining as the unhealthy brands has put Liquid Death on the map for LinkedIn's Top Startups 2022, Contagious's Brand of the Year 2022, Ad Age Top Marketer of the Year 2022, and Medium’s cult-worthy brands among other accolades.

As Liquid Death continues to bring unnecessarily awesome beverage options to more people, Liquid Death is equally as excited to promote and help fund alternative art, music, and entertainment alongside the brand.

Ensure your Liquid Death job offer is legitimate and don't fall victim to fraud! Liquid Death never seeks payment from job applicants and will never request a meeting via Skype. Liquid Death recruiters will only reach out to candidates from an mail@ats.rippling.com email address. For added security, where possible, apply through our company website at www.liquiddeath.com/pages/careers.

About The Job

Preferred candidates will reside in Nashville, TN or nearby, with convenient access to a major airport for ease of travel. This position is responsible for Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee.

The Regional Distributor Manager is responsible for leading distributor and territory-level strategies to drive mutual growth, optimize performance, and ensure successful execution of both national and regional sales initiatives. In this role, you will own distributor P&Ls, manage key account relationships, and collaborate with internal teams to influence broader GTM strategy and deliver impactful sales results.

Responsibilities

Territory & Distributor Strategy:

• Set strategy at the territory and distributor level to drive mutual growth and achieve sales targets.
• Own the distributor engagement model, including business planning, review cycles (e.g., MBR, QBR, ABP), and national chain selling strategies within the territory.
  
  

Business Planning & Financials

• Manage distributor P&Ls, including bill-backs and other financial components, to ensure profitability and sustainable growth.
• Design and implement distributor incentive programs to drive performance and alignment with Liquid Death’s growth goals.
  
  

Key Account Management

• Oversee national and regional key account execution, including POS allocation, new item setups, and dealer loader programs.
• Collaborate with key account teams to drive in-store execution, including merchandising and activations.
  
  

Local Chain Selling & Inventory Management

• Develop and execute local chain selling strategies to drive sales growth and increase market share.
• Ensure sufficient inventory levels to meet market demand and avoid stock-outs.
• Coordinate with Sales Analytics and Finance teams to manage item setups, forecasting, and inventory planning.
  
  

Team & Distributor Development

• Lead and develop SEM talent within your team, conducting regular performance evaluations for direct reports.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for distributors within the territory, managing local regional chain relationships.
• Act as a change agent, inspiring both direct reports and distributors to adopt new behaviors and mindsets for long-term success.
  
  

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Brand Operations and Field Marketing teams to develop locally relevant activations.
• Collaborate with Finance, Sales Analytics, and other internal teams to support distributor performance and P&L management.
• Lead weekly team meetings with FSRs to ensure alignment on expectations and results.
  
  

Strategic Influence & Leadership

• Influence the broader GTM strategy driven by the regional GM, ensuring alignment of SEM/FSR resources for priority markets.
• Provide input on distributor segmentation within the assigned territory, ensuring resources are allocated efficiently.
  
  

Knowledge, Skills, & Experience

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field preferred.
• 5+ years of experience in distributor management, sales, or key account management within the beverage or consumer goods industry.
• Proven track record of developing and executing sales strategies at both the territory and distributor levels.
• Experience managing P&Ls, financial forecasting, and designing incentive programs for distributors.
• Demonstrated success in building and maintaining relationships with key accounts and distributor partners.
• Experience leading teams and developing talent, with a focus on driving performance and accountability.
• Strong background in cross-functional collaboration, working with teams such as finance, marketing, and operations to achieve goals.
• Familiarity with sales analytics, inventory management, and supply chain coordination.
• Ability to adapt to a fast-paced, dynamic environment, with a strong entrepreneurial mindset.
  
  

Essential Knowledge, Skills And Abilities

• Collaborative team player: Works well across functions, building strong relationships with internal teams and dist. partners
• Change agent: Inspires direct reports and distributors to change behaviors/mindsets
• Strategic thinker: Capable of identifying local opportunities and defining executional strategy to realize sales goals
• Data-Driven: Can separate signal from noise and identify hotspots
• Distributor Management: In-depth understanding of distributor networks, engagement models, and best practices for building and maintaining relationships with distribution partners.
• P&L Management: Strong grasp of financial principles related to distributor P&Ls, bill-backs, forecasting, and margin management.
• Key Account Execution: Knowledge of key account management, including national and regional chains, POS allocation, new item setups, dealer loader programs, and inventory forecasting.
• Sales & Marketing Integration: Understanding of how sales and marketing functions align to drive product sell-through and brand awareness.
• Beverage Industry Trends: Familiarity with trends, competitive dynamics, and challenges in the beverage or consumer goods industry.
• Strategic Planning & Execution: Ability to set long-term strategies for territory and distributor growth, as well as execute detailed business plans that deliver results.
• Financial Acumen: Competence in analyzing financial data, including budgets, forecasts, and distributor incentive structures, to make informed decisions.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Skill in using data to identify market opportunities, assess performance, and make adjustments to strategy.
• Negotiation & Influence: Strong negotiation skills to influence distributor behavior, secure favorable terms, and drive change in both internal and external teams.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Ability to work effectively with internal teams (e.g., marketing, operations, finance) and external partners (e.g., distributors, key accounts) to achieve shared goals.
• Leadership & Talent Development: Proven ability to inspire, lead, and develop a team, fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Communication & Presentation: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to present ideas and strategies clearly to both internal and external stakeholders.
• Problem Solving: Ability to identify challenges and create solutions to overcome obstacles, both operational and strategic.
• Adaptability & Agility: Comfort in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment, with the ability to pivot strategies and tactics as needed.
• Relationship Building: Strong interpersonal skills for developing and maintaining positive relationships with distributors, key accounts, and internal teams.
• Analytical Thinking: Ability to assess complex data, separate signal from noise, and draw meaningful conclusions to improve performance.
• Change Management: Capacity to inspire and guide teams and distributors through transitions or shifts in business strategy, helping them adopt new mindsets and behaviors.
• Customer Focus: A deep understanding of customer needs and the ability to tailor solutions to meet them effectively.
  
  

Physical Demands

• Travel Requirements: This role requires up to 40% travel, including visits to distributor locations, key accounts, and regional meetings. The ability to travel regionally and occasionally nationally is essential.
• Mobility: The role may require standing or walking for extended periods, especially during distributor meetings, trade shows, and in-store visits to monitor execution and compliance.
• Lifting/Carrying: Occasionally, the role may involve lifting and carrying materials such as marketing displays, POS materials, or product samples (up to 25 pounds).
• Driving: Frequent driving may be required to travel between distributor and key account locations. A valid driver’s license and the ability to operate a vehicle for business purposes are necessary.
• Office Work: When not traveling, the role may involve long periods of sitting and working at a computer to complete administrative tasks such as business planning, reviewing performance data, and reporting.
• The role includes a mix of office-based work, remote work, and field visits. The ability to comfortably adapt to different environments (e.g., office, distributor warehouses, retail locations) is important.
  
  

The typical salary range for this position is : $90k - $130k

The actual salary offer will take into account multiple factors including skills, experience, education and location. Please note that the salary details listed in role postings reflect the base salary only, not total compensation, which includes equity and benefits.