Territory Manager – Chicago Area
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Industry: Mechanical Seals / Industrial Technology / Engineered Solutions
Travel: Approximately 50%
Employment Type: Full-Time
About the Opportunity
Mackinnon Bruce International is partnering with a global manufacturer and market leader in mechanical seals, sealing systems, and engineered sealing technologies to appoint an experienced and commercially driven Territory Manager for the Chicago area.
This is a high-impact commercial leadership opportunity with responsibility for growing revenue, market share, customer relationships, and profitability across a strategically important industrial territory.
The successful candidate will work with end users, OEMs, distributors, engineering teams, maintenance organizations, and other industrial stakeholders to identify customer challenges and deliver technically advanced mechanical sealing solutions that improve equipment reliability, reduce maintenance requirements, increase mean time between failures (MTBF), and improve overall operational performance.
In addition to owning the commercial development of the Chicago territory, the successful candidate will have leadership responsibility for two Territory Managers, providing commercial direction, coaching, support, and accountability across the wider territory.
This position is ideally suited to a commercially driven technical sales professional with experience in mechanical seals, rotating equipment, reliability, MRO, industrial equipment, or engineered technical solutions who is looking to take on broader territory and people leadership responsibility.
Approximately 50% travel is expected, primarily throughout the assigned territory and to customer, distributor, OEM, industry, and company locations as required.
About the Business
Our client is a global manufacturer of mechanical seals and advanced sealing technologies, supporting demanding industrial applications across markets including energy, power generation, chemical, petrochemical, process industries, and other critical industrial sectors.
The organization combines global engineering and manufacturing capabilities with deep application expertise to provide customers with high-performance mechanical seals, sealing systems, and engineered solutions designed to improve reliability, safety, efficiency, and sustainability.
With a strong global presence and established relationships across major industrial markets, the business partners with customers to solve complex equipment and reliability challenges rather than simply supplying individual components.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and execute a comprehensive Chicago territory business plan focused on revenue growth, market share, profitability, strategic account development, and long-term customer value.
- Lead and support two Territory Managers, providing coaching, commercial direction, opportunity support, performance management, and accountability.
- Drive growth of the company's mechanical seals, sealing systems, and engineered sealing solutions throughout the territory.
- Identify, develop, and convert high-potential opportunities across key industrial markets, with a focus on strategic accounts and high-value applications.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with end users, OEMs, distributors, engineering organizations, maintenance teams, and other industrial stakeholders.
- Develop strategic relationships with customers that position the organization as a long-term technical partner in mechanical sealing and equipment reliability.
- Strengthen distributor performance through joint business planning, sales support, technical training, opportunity development, and ongoing account management.
- Identify customer opportunities where mechanical sealing solutions can improve equipment reliability, reduce maintenance costs, minimize unplanned downtime, increase MTBF, and improve operational efficiency.
- Lead sales activities from initial opportunity identification through technical solution development, proposal, negotiation, and successful implementation.
- Develop new applications and markets for mechanical seals and related engineered sealing technologies.
- Partner with national and global sales initiatives across End User, OEM, and Distribution channels.
- Work collaboratively with engineering, product management, customer service, operations, and technical teams to develop solutions for complex customer applications.
- Provide accurate quotations, forecasts, sales reports, pipeline updates, and market intelligence to support commercial decision-making.
- Monitor monthly performance including orders, revenue, margins, pipeline development, customer activity, and overall territory performance.
- Represent the organization at customer meetings, technical training sessions, trade shows, conferences, and industry events.
- Conduct regular customer and distributor visits throughout the territory, with approximately 50% travel expected.
- Maintain a high level of technical and commercial knowledge across mechanical seals, sealing systems, rotating equipment, industrial applications, competitors, and market trends.
- Identify competitive threats, market opportunities, emerging applications, and customer requirements within the Chicago industrial market.
- Ensure all commercial activities align with applicable quality, safety, compliance, and ethical standards.
Qualifications & Experience
- Bachelor's degree required; Engineering or another technical discipline preferred.
- Proven track record in technical sales, industrial sales, engineered products, or solution-based selling.
- Experience selling mechanical seals, rotating equipment, industrial components, reliability solutions, MRO products, or related engineered technologies strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to understand customer equipment, process challenges, maintenance requirements, and reliability objectives.
- Strong consultative selling capabilities, with the ability to translate technical solutions into clear commercial and operational value.
- Demonstrated success developing territories, growing strategic accounts, launching new solutions, and generating measurable commercial results.
- Strong business development, negotiation, presentation, and account-management skills.
- Experience leading, coaching, or managing sales professionals, with the ability to motivate and develop two Territory Managers.
- Strong understanding of industrial sales channels, particularly end user, OEM, and distributor-led sales models.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build credibility with technical, commercial, and executive-level stakeholders.
- Strong analytical and business-planning skills, with the ability to use market and sales data to drive territory strategy.
- Highly organized, self-motivated, and comfortable working independently across a large geographic territory.
- Willingness and ability to travel approximately 50%.
Preferred Industry Experience
Experience in one or more of the following areas would be advantageous:
- Mechanical seals and sealing systems
- Rotating equipment
- Pumps, compressors, turbines, or related equipment
- Reliability engineering
- Maintenance and MRO
- Process industries
- Power generation
- Nuclear
- Chemical
- Petrochemical
- Oil & gas
- Industrial manufacturing
- OEM equipment
- Distributor-led industrial sales
Established relationships within the Chicago-area industrial market would also be highly advantageous.
What Success Looks Like
Success in this role will involve establishing the organization as a trusted technical and commercial partner for mechanical sealing solutions across the Chicago territory.
You will be responsible for growing profitable revenue and market share, expanding strategic accounts, developing new applications for mechanical seals, strengthening distributor relationships, and identifying opportunities where advanced sealing technologies can deliver measurable improvements in equipment reliability and performance.
You will also play an important leadership role in developing and supporting two Territory Managers, helping to establish a coordinated, high-performing commercial team across the territory.
Ultimately, success will be demonstrated through sustainable territory growth, strong customer relationships, a healthy strategic pipeline, increased adoption of the company's mechanical seals and engineered sealing solutions, and measurable value delivered to customers.