Director of Commercial Strategy

Role Overview The Director of Commercial Strategy - North America Exhibitions is a senior leader responsible for defining and executing pricing strategy across the North America exhibitions portfolio, including event agreements, products, services, and bundled offerings. Reporting directly to the SVP of Finance, this role serves as the financial steward of pricing decisions—ensuring revenue maximization, margin discipline, and forecast integrity—while acting as a strategic partner to Sales and Products & Services teams. The Director ensures pricing reflects exhibitor value, demand dynamics, capacity constraints, and long‑term portfolio strategy. This role brings analytical rigor, governance, and structure to pricing in a relationship‑driven, event‑based B2B environment, enabling Sales to win the right business and Products & Services teams to monetize offerings effectively. Key Responsibilities Pricing Strategy & Financial Stewardship Own and lead pricing strategy for North America Exhibitions, aligned with financial targets, portfolio strategy, and market demand. Partner with the SVP of Finance to ensure pricing decisions support revenue growth, margin expansion, and forecast accuracy. Establish long-term pricing strategy for exhibitor products & services that scale across a diverse event portfolio. Sales Partnership & Deal Pricing Serve as a client facing pricing partner to Sales leadership, supporting negotiated, high‑value, and multi‑event exhibitor agreements. Define and enforce pricing governance, including discount thresholds, approval workflows, and exception management. Support Sales with pricing frameworks, deal guidance, and analytics that improve negotiation outcomes and pricing confidence. Evaluate concessions, value‑adds, and custom packages to ensure deal economics meet financial objectives. Products & Services Pricing Partner closely with Products & Services teams to design and price: New and Existing Products On‑site services, upgrades, and exhibitor enhancements Ensure pricing reflects product value, demand elasticity, and contribution margin. Lead pricing for new product and service launches, including packaging, bundles, and tiered offerings. Monitor performance and refine pricing throughout the product lifecycle. Pricing Analytics, Forecasting & Governance Build and own pricing and revenue analytics, including: Discount levels and price realization Sell‑through velocity and exhibitor mix AI driven insights to optimize pricing strategies Partner with Finance to embed pricing assumptions into forecasts, budgets, and long‑range plans. Identify pricing leakage and execution gaps; lead corrective actions. Establish scalable pricing processes, controls, and reporting standards. Leadership & Capability Building Build, mentor, and lead a high‑performing North America pricing and revenue analytics team. Develop pricing playbooks, training, and tools for Sales and Products & Services teams. Drive adoption of pricing discipline within CRM and event sales platforms. Act as the internal pricing subject‑matter expert for executive leadership. Qualifications Experience 10-15+ years of experience in B2B pricing, revenue management, finance, or commercial strategy. Experience in exhibitions, events, media, or other capacity‑constrained B2B businesses strongly preferred. Proven success partnering with Sales and Product teams in negotiated, relationship‑driven environments. Experience operating within organizations generating $1B+ in annual revenue. Skills & Competencies Deep expertise in pricing strategy, discount governance, and yield optimization. Strong financial modeling, analytical, and business‑case skills. Tech fluency with a strong ability to use AI to streamline analysis of pricing opportunities. Ability to influence Sales and Product leaders while maintaining financial discipline. Executive‑level communication and stakeholder management. Detail‑oriented, commercially minded, and comfortable operating in ambiguity. Education Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Business, or a related field required. MBA or advanced degree strongly preferred. Work Environment Our team members are our family, so we help our team members care for their families. The rewards of joining GES are extensive. We offer a comprehensive benefits package to all full-time employees. Here are some of the highlights: Competitive salaries 401K with company match Healthcare/vision/dental insurance Wellness benefits Career development program Employee assistance program Vacation time Community involvement opportunities Team activities And much more……