Director Strategic Business Development - Division Static Sealing (f/m/d)

Working at Freudenberg: We will wow your world!

Responsibilities:

• Strategy & Portfolio: Lead market, competitor and trend analyses; translate insights into strategic initiatives, portfolio priorities and management-ready recommendations
• Strategic Projects: Support key growth initiatives in our core markets (North America, Europe, China & India) with clear objectives, milestones, and impact. Create transparency for top management and actively resolve barriers to execution
• Asia Growth: Support business in Asia, with particular emphasis on China & India. Drive localization roadmaps, connect regional customer needs with global capabilities, and strengthen collaboration with regional organizations
• New Business Building: Develop opportunities in high-growth fields such as semiconductor, data center cooling, hydrogen and other industrial applications. Define value propositions, validate customer needs and guide opportunities from concept through first business and scale-up
• M&A: Support systematic target screening and if needed due diligence, with a focus on value creation opportunities as well as facilitate strategic partnerships
• Executive Communication: Prepare concise decision papers, Board and Division review content, business cases and progress updates; support stakeholder alignment

Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in business, engineering or a related field
• Experience: Several years of relevant experience in top-tier management consulting and/or a background in corporate development, strategy, sales, product management, ideally in an international automotive or industrial/B2B environment
• Commercial & Financial Acumen: Ability to assess markets, technologies, competitive positioning, business models and financial attractiveness, and to translate analysis into practical action
• Global Mobility: Willingness to travel internationally. Fluent English required; German and potentially Mandarin Chinese are strong assets
• Skills Needed for Success in this Role
• Entrepreneurial Drive: You move comfortably between strategy and execution, take ownership and persist until opportunities become tangible results
• Structured Problem Solving: You create clarity from ambiguity, prioritize effectively and build fact-based recommendations that senior leaders can act on Asia & China Affinity: You bring genuine curiosity for Asian markets and business cultures.
• Technical Curiosity: You quickly understand customer applications, materials and manufacturing concepts and connect technical capabilities with market needs
• Influence & Collaboration: You build trust across functions & regions, communicate well with technical & commercial stakeholders, leading without relying on formal authority

What you can expect from us

Impact & Ownership: The opportunity to report directly to the Division SVP and work closely with business unit management to shape the strategic direction of our global activities, taking entrepreneurial ownership and turning your ideas into meaningful results

• Global Exposure: A highly international working environment with collaboration across Europe, North America and Asia
• Development & Career Growth: Access to systematic professional development, mentoring and diverse career paths across FST and the wider Freudenberg Group
• Competitive Total Rewards: Attractive, competitive compensation & benefits – incl. applicable health, retirement, wellness and employee-discount programs
• Well-Being & Flexibility: A supportive work environment with flexible ways of working and resources that promote physical, mental and financial well-being

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Freudenberg FST GmbH