Key Account Manager -Los Angeles Based

The Key Account Manager - Guitar Center Inc. strategically drives key account fundamentals, accelerating annual sales, margin, and distribution goals. These objectives align with the company's strategic priorities and annual plan. This role will be Los Angeles based.This role crafts and executes the strategic business plan (SBP) for the entire Gibson Portfolio. This work is conducted in partnership with Guitar Center, Musician's Friend, and Music & Arts retail businesses. The SBP seeks to drive revenue growth by streamlining distribution, curating assortment mix, forecasting, managing inventory, and refining operations. The SBP also strives to ensure distribution integrity, deliver excellent consumer experiences, optimize the operating budget, and align team members to maximize ROI.This role delivers flawless brand activation and execution in-store and online. Collaboration with marketing, product, and operations teams is critical. This ensures partners meet brand standards, follow advertising policies, and deliver profitable annual growth.Essential FunctionsSales/Business Development:Create an annual strategic business plan and a seasonal key account game planExecute JBPs (Joint Business Plans) to deliver the annual SBPProvide sales forecasts and merchandise assortment plans.Deliver order book fully and on time against set order windows and targets.Execute seasonal sales programs and build propositions for opportunity buysDesign and execute comprehensive go-to-market strategies that align with business priorities across the Americas.Establish excellence in dealer call routine frequency and business meeting cadence.Set revenue, order book, distribution, and product mix targets by account, track, and report progress.Monitor, evaluate, and report sales, dealer orders, distribution, sell-through, and inventory performance against targets.Conduct account performance review meetings as needed (monthly/quarterly)Assess the market landscape and provide insights into consumer, customer, competitor, and community trends.Build and sustain strong executive relationships with senior stakeholders across GC organizations.Collaborate cross-functionally with product, operations, marketing, and other teams to ensure seamless execution and partner activation.Foster a high-integrity, customer-focused, metrics-driven culture that supports rapid decision-making and scalable business growth.Commercial Toolbox Deployment:Provide impressive Pre-line and business presentations to accountsEstablish recommended assortment and buy plansLeverage product allocations for Give/Get discussions to ensure impactful stories and new product launchesDemonstrate great storytelling execution across all consumer touchpointsMaster the go-to-market (GTM) specific commercial calendar cadence and meet deadlines.Brief in "Dealer Exclusives" and "Made to Measure" (where needed) and follow-up on execution and deliverySell-through Activation Leadership:Collaborate with Marketing to articulate the Dealer I-MAP to deliver exceptional consumer experiences across all touchpoints.Ensure all marketing-related content and assets are available on time and in the correct format.Elevate the digital shopping experience in partnership with Retail marketing using digital brand and curated assets to excite the consumer.Ensure product content is set up in Customers' IT systems; coordinate efforts with Gibson Product Development and Marketing teams as needed.Monitor Customers' websites for copy/spec/pricing errors and product omissions.Online Audits (Landing Pages, Category Page, Product Detail Page, Email, Social Channels) based on the eVECTRA scorecardIn-store Excellence (Visual Merchandising, Branded Elements, Tuning, Repair, Disinfection of Product, Restocking, Dealer Events, Product Trials, Retail Days)Recommender Marketing (Training, Clinics)Experiential training events for selected qualified shop pros (Gibson University)Retail Price MonitoringDistribution and Competitor benchmarkingRequired Skills/AbilitiesDecisive strategic leader with strong ownership, execution discipline, and proven ability to develop and implement commercial strategies.Proven people leadership centered on building trust through integrity, empathy, and clear communication, combined with empowering their teams via coaching, accountability, and fostering psychological safety to drive performance and creativity, all while maintaining strategic vision, resilience, and adaptability to change.Strong commercial, go-to-market and financial acumen, including P&L oversight, budgeting, and value-driven decision-making.Results-oriented and customer-centric; performs effectively in fast-paced omnichannel environments with high autonomy.Adaptable, resilient, and able to prioritize and pivot quickly while maintaining a positive mindset.Business development oriented; skilled in identifying growth opportunities and using analytics/KPIs to guide decisions.Effective in matrix environments; builds trust and strong cross-functional relationships across global teams.Excellent written and verbal communicator; delivers concise content, impactful presentations, and clear messaging.Required Education and Experience10+ years of Senior Commercial/Sales/Key Account management experience to include team oversight, revenue & margin accountability, and channel management.Extensive experience with an omnichannel national consumer goods retailer, developing and executing omnichannel strategies within multiple store types and formats.Fluent understanding of channel management, forecasting, and retail mathHands-on experienceExperience in premium Musical Instrument brands (preferred).Bachelor's or master's degree in business, Marketing, or related field, or equivalent experience.Essential KnowledgeExcellent written and oral communication skills.Strong interpersonal skills with proven ability to develop and maintain effective relationships at all levels of the organization, both with Customers and internally at Gibson.Solid understanding of all major retail key business drivers and key performance indicatorsStrong analytical skills and experience using internal and external data sourcesStrong negotiation skillsStrong planning, prioritization, and project management competenciesSelf-sufficient, without the need for permanent supervision.Experience in premium consumer goods and services, musical instruments a plusExperienced/Proficient in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook & Salesforce.Personal QualitiesSees themselves as "consumer-centric," with a passion for all things omnichannel shoppingEnthusiastic about working and winning in a team environment.Results-oriented and driven, with a track record for meeting/exceeding expectations.Flexibility to adapt quickly to changing circumstances, "can-do" attitude.Able to proactively question and challenge to prioritize and identify solutions promptly.Clear, strategic thinker and communicator.Enjoys working in a diverse, challenging, and fast-paced environment.Passion for music.Travel RequirementsThis position requires up to 50% travel and will be Los Angeles based.Travel to retailer locations, Gibson locations, company commercial meetings, tradeshows, or eventsPhysical DemandsOccasional lifting required, usually less than 50 pounds