Regional Director, Business Development, APAC

General Description 

The Regional Director, Business Development, APAC is a senior individual contributor responsible for identifying, developing and securing new business opportunities across the Asia Pacific region.

Based in Singapore, the role will lead regional and cross-border commercial opportunities, develop relationships with multinational and regional customers, and deliver agreed revenue and gross-profit targets across air freight, ocean freight and related logistics services.

The position will work closely with country management, sales, pricing, product, operations and account-management teams to develop commercially competitive and operationally viable solutions. Although the role does not have direct reports, it is expected to provide commercial leadership and coordinate cross-functional pursuit teams across the region.

Essential Job Functions

Regional Business Development Strategy

• Develop and execute business development plans aligned with the company’s APAC growth priorities.
• Identify target markets, industry sectors and prospective regional or multinational customers.
• Maintain awareness of market developments, competitor activity and regulatory changes that may affect commercial opportunities.
• Provide market intelligence and recommendations to regional and country leadership.

Market Expansion and Client Acquisition

• Identify, qualify and develop new business opportunities across assigned APAC markets, customer segments or industry verticals.
• Build and maintain relationships with senior decision-makers within multinational corporations, regional companies and other prospective customers.
• Lead the end-to-end sales process, including prospecting, needs assessment, solution development, proposal preparation, commercial negotiation and closing.
• Develop tailored freight-forwarding and logistics solutions that meet customer requirements while delivering sustainable revenue and gross profit.
• Maintain an active and credible pipeline sufficient to achieve agreed annual new-business targets. 

Regional Opportunity Leadership

• Coordinate regional and cross-border opportunities involving multiple Crane offices, products and functional teams.
• Lead virtual pursuit teams comprising sales, pricing, operations, product and implementation stakeholders.
• Establish clear ownership, timelines and deliverables for regional tenders, requests for proposals and other complex commercial opportunities.
• Ensure appropriate handover of newly secured business to implementation, operations and account-management teams.
• Support alignment on customer ownership and opportunity management to minimise overlap between regional and country commercial teams.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with country management, product, pricing, operations, account management and customer-service teams to develop commercially viable solutions.
• Influence internal stakeholders without direct reporting authority to ensure timely and effective execution of commercial opportunities.
• Share market intelligence, customer feedback and commercial best practices across the APAC region.
• Support customer-retention and growth initiatives where regional business development involvement is required.

Commercial Negotiation and Partnerships

• Lead commercial negotiations for significant regional and cross-border business opportunities within the appropriate approval authority.
• Work with internal product teams to develop competitive and sustainable service solutions.
• Identify potential commercial partnerships that may strengthen Crane’s service capabilities or market access.
• Ensure that commercial commitments are appropriately reviewed and approved before being presented to customers.

Revenue Management and Reporting

• Be accountable for agreed annual new-business revenue and gross-profit targets.
• Maintain accurate opportunity, pipeline and forecast information within the company’s CRM and commercial reporting systems.
• Monitor conversion rates, revenue performance, gross profit and other relevant commercial indicators.
• Provide regular updates to regional leadership regarding pipeline development, business wins, risks and forecast performance.
• Analyse market and customer information to support pricing decisions and commercial strategy.

Compliance and Operational Excellence

• Maintain current knowledge of international trade regulations, customs requirements and relevant compliance obligations.
• Ensure that proposed solutions and commercial commitments comply with company policies, approval requirements and applicable regulations.
• Work with operations and product teams to confirm that proposed services are operationally viable and can be delivered consistently.
• Promote appropriate service standards and customer-experience expectations throughout the business-development and implementation process.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to communicate effectively in person, virtually and through written correspondence with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to perform computer-based work for extended periods using standard office equipment and systems.
• Sufficient visual ability to review detailed documents, commercial reports, presentations and digital information.
• Willingness and ability to travel domestically and internationally for customer meetings, regional collaboration, industry events and other business requirements.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role.

Other Skills / Abilities 

• Strong knowledge of freight forwarding, including air freight, ocean freight and related supply-chain services.
• Demonstrated ability to originate, develop and close complex business opportunities.
• Strong commercial judgement, including understanding of revenue, gross profit, pricing and solution viability.
• Ability to manage regional and cross-border sales opportunities involving multiple stakeholders and countries.
• Strong influencing and stakeholder-management skills, with the ability to lead cross-functional teams without direct authority.
• Excellent communication, presentation, negotiation and relationship-management skills.
• Strong analytical ability and proficiency in CRM systems, Microsoft Office and relevant logistics or commercial platforms.
• Ability to work independently and effectively within a fast-paced, competitive and geographically dispersed environment.
• Fluency in English is preferred due to the regional responsibilities of the role. 

Education And Experience 

• Bachelor’s degree in business, logistics, supply-chain management, international trade or a related discipline is preferred.
• At least 10 to 12 years of relevant commercial or business-development experience within freight forwarding, logistics, transportation or supply-chain services.
• At least five years of experience managing complex, regional or multinational business opportunities.
• Demonstrated record of achieving revenue and gross-profit targets and securing significant new customers.
• Experience developing business across multiple APAC markets is strongly preferred.
• Proven experience negotiating commercial agreements and presenting solutions to senior customer stakeholders.
• Previous experience in a senior individual-contributor, regional business-development or external Director-level role would be advantageous.

Certifications And Licenses 

• Relevant professional qualifications in logistics, supply-chain management, sales or international trade would be advantageous.