Commercial hiring across the global Print and Packaging sector is changing rapidly.
Businesses are increasingly moving beyond traditional sales profiles and prioritising commercial leaders who understand:
- Manufacturing environments.
- Operational pressures.
- Supply chain complexity.
- Sustainability requirements.
- Margin management.
As customer expectations evolve, commercial teams are under growing pressure to:
- Deliver profitable growth.
- Build strategic customer partnerships.
- Support innovation and sustainability initiatives.
- Navigate increasingly technical and operationally driven buying decisions.
According to Smithers:
- The global packaging market is forecast to exceed $1.2 trillion by 2028.
- Flexible packaging continues to be one of the fastest-growing global packaging segments.
- Sustainability, e-commerce growth, and supply chain resilience are reshaping customer buying behaviour globally. (smithers.com)
At the same time, McKinsey research shows that B2B buyers increasingly prioritise:
- Industry expertise.
- Technical credibility.
- Consultative capability.
- Strategic partnership value.
This is particularly true across industrial manufacturing and packaging environments where operational performance and commercial performance are closely linked. (mckinsey.com)
The result is a growing demand for commercially strong individuals who can combine:
- Sector credibility.
- Customer understanding.
- Operational awareness.
- Strategic growth capability.
What Industry Leaders Are Prioritising
1. Commercial Leaders with Operational Understanding
The most effective commercial professionals increasingly understand how manufacturing environments operate.
- Knowledge of production capability and operational limitations.
- Understanding of lead times, efficiency pressures, and margin drivers.
- Ability to align customer expectations with manufacturing reality.
What this means:
Commercial credibility is increasingly linked to operational understanding, not simply relationship management.
2. Consultative and Solution-Led Sales Capability
Customer conversations are becoming more strategic and technically complex.
- Increased demand for sustainable packaging solutions.
- Greater scrutiny around materials, compliance, and supply chain performance.
- More sophisticated procurement and customer decision-making processes.
What this means:
Businesses are prioritising commercial talent capable of solving customer problems, not simply selling products.
3. Global Account Management Capability
Packaging supply chains are becoming increasingly international.
- More customers operating across multiple regions and manufacturing sites.
- Increased complexity within global procurement structures.
- Greater focus on long-term strategic supplier relationships.
What this means:
Commercial leaders with international customer management capability are becoming increasingly valuable.
4. Balancing Growth with Margin Protection
Commercial growth is being measured more carefully than ever.
- Increased customer pressure on pricing and lead times.
- Continued raw material and operational cost volatility.
- Greater focus on quality of revenue and profitability.
What this means:
Commercial leaders are increasingly expected to contribute strategically to margin management and operational performance.
5. Leadership Stability and Relationship Retention
Long-term customer relationships remain highly valuable across Print and Packaging.
- Customer confidence often linked to individual relationships and sector expertise.
- Leadership instability can impact account continuity and commercial confidence.
- Commercial succession planning becoming increasingly important globally.
What this means:
Businesses are placing greater emphasis on retaining commercially critical talent.
What We’re Seeing in the Market
- Increased global demand for:
- Commercial Directors.
- Strategic Account Managers.
- Technical Sales leaders.
- Business Development professionals with manufacturing expertise.
- Strongest commercial hiring activity currently concentrated across:
- Flexible packaging.
- Sustainable packaging.
- Labels and specialist converting.
- Industrial and protective packaging sectors.
- Commercial professionals with both technical and operational understanding continue to command premium compensation internationally.
- Increased crossover movement between:
- Packaging.
- Industrial manufacturing.
- Chemicals and materials sectors.
- Advanced manufacturing industries.
- International businesses increasingly competing for commercially strategic leadership talent.
- More businesses assessing commercial hires on:
- Strategic growth capability.
- Margin awareness.
- Customer retention performance.
- Leadership and stakeholder influence.
Practical Takeaways for Hiring Managers
- Assess commercial candidates on operational understanding alongside sales capability.
- Test how candidates balance customer growth with profitability and operational realities.
- Prioritise long-term relationship and account development capability.
- Evaluate whether your commercial structure reflects increasingly global customer demands.
- Ensure hiring processes assess strategic thinking and commercial adaptability, not simply sector contacts.
CHI Insight
The most valuable commercial leaders in Print and Packaging are no longer defined purely by revenue generation. They are defined by their ability to align customer strategy, operational capability, sustainability expectations, and long-term profitable growth.
How This Applies to Your Team
If your business is reviewing commercial capability, it may be worth considering:
- Whether your commercial team reflects the increasing complexity of customer expectations globally.
- How operationally aligned your commercial function is with manufacturing capability.
- Where succession or capability gaps may exist within strategically important customer relationships.
If useful, CHI can provide:
- Global market insight across commercial leadership hiring trends.
- Benchmarking around commercial structures and compensation internationally.
- Competitor and market mapping within specialist packaging sectors.
- Guidance on attracting commercially strategic leadership talent globally.
Want to know more? Get in touch