Business Development Manager Industrial Electronics, Electrification, & Advanced Materials

The Electronics Business Development Manager owns GEON's Electronics strategic roadmap and drives profitable growth across electrical and power components, thermal management, robotics, sensors and controls, consumer electronics, transformers, etc. — identifying, validating, and commercializing new products, applications, and strategic partnerships.

Electronics is a newly defined business unit within GEON's Power & Electronics organization. While GEON has established positions in adjacent electrical and wire and cable applications, the component-level Electronics business is largely undeveloped. This role is chartered to build it: defining the market strategy and roadmap, selecting where GEON competes, developing the material platforms required to compete there, and converting that into a commercial pipeline.

This is a build role rather than a management role, and it carries the ambiguity and latitude that implies. GEON is committing fully to this business. The role reports directly to the Director of Business Development and carries technical, R&D, and operational support, with executive sponsorship behind the strategy the successful candidate defines.

Primary Responsibilities Market & Opportunity Development

• Identify emerging markets, applications, customer needs, technologies, and competitive opportunities.
• Develop and communicate market intelligence, Voice of Customer (VOC), and growth recommendations.
• Identify opportunities to expand GEON’s TAM through new markets, applications, products, business models, partnerships, and M&A.
• Build relationships with OEM’s, their tiers, suppliers, startups, research institutions, and other strategic partners.
• Develop and maintain strategic market playbooks for assigned segments including TAM, customer prioritization, competitive positioning, technology trends, and growth initiatives.
• Build technical relationships with OEM design, materials, and reliability engineering functions, not solely purchasing. Innovation & Portfolio Management
• Own and refine the market and innovation roadmap.
• Lead cross-functional teams across R&D, Product Management, Marketing, Sales, Operations, and Supply Chain.
• Prioritize opportunities based on market attractiveness, technical feasibility, differentiation, investment, and financial potential.
• Maintain a balanced portfolio of near-, mid-, and long-term growth opportunities.
• Advance qualified projects through GEON’s stage-gate process.
• Identify where GEON's platform gaps disqualify it from high-value applications and bring forward make/partner/acquire recommendations. Go-to-Market & Commercialization
• Develop business cases, value propositions, pricing strategies, and go-to-market plans for priority opportunities.
• Convert innovation projects (new to Geon or new to world) into recurring sales.
• Partner with Marketing to position GEON solutions and identify additional applications and customers.
• Ensure Operations and Supply Chain readiness for successful commercialization.
• Coordinate qualification programs across OEM, Tier-1, and molder stakeholders, recognizing that the specification decision and the purchase decision often sit in different companies.
• Track customer adoption and use feedback to improve market and product strategies. Minimum Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, business, or related field preferred; equivalent experience considered.
• 10+ years of experience in business development, technical sales, product management, innovation, strategic marketing, or related disciplines.
• Demonstrated success developing new markets, applications, products, or revenue streams.
• Direct compounding or materials experience beyond PVC, spanning engineering resins (PA, PBT, PC, PPS, PPE) and functional filler and additive systems including but not limited to thermally conductive, conductive/EMI shielding, and halogen-free flame-retardant technologies.
• Demonstrated experience securing and maintaining agency approvals and qualifications for electrical and electronics applications, including UL 94 flammability, UL 508A, UL 746 polymeric materials and RTI/Yellow Card, IEC 60112 / ASTM D3638 Comparative Tracking Index and PLC classification, and glow wire (GWIT/GWFI) requirements
• Experience selling and specifying across the full electronics value chain — direct OEM engagement plus Tier-1, EMS, and custom molder relationships.