Sales Director - Shipping, Commodities & Law

Lloyd's List Intelligence delivers the trusted maritime data, analytics, and insight that keeps global trade moving. Powered by 3,000+ intelligence sources, proprietary AIS data, and a global network of analysts, we provide real-time visibility into the world's fleets, trade flows, and risks. By combining advanced analytics, AI, and human expertise, our intelligence helps organisations across shipping, finance, commodities, insurance, legal, and government sectors make confident decisions, reducing risk exposure, optimising operations, and identifying commercial opportunities. With over 300 years of maritime heritage, we continue to shape the future of trade intelligence, transforming vessel, ownership, compliance, and emissions data into clarity that drives smarter, safer, and more transparent trade. Role Profile As Sales Director • Shipping, Commodities & Law, you will lead the commercial strategy and sales performance for the Shipping, Commodities & Legal vertical across EMEA, with accountability for the accounts, revenue and team within your agreed area of responsibility, reporting to the Head of Region. You will own revenue performance in your client accounts across the shipping, commodity trading, energy and maritime legal markets, lead and develop a team of account managers, and act as the senior commercial lead for key shipping, commodities and legal clients. You’ll translate LLI’s fleet analytics, AIS tracking, ownership and compliance data and emissions insight into operational, commercial and evidential value for clients making decisions on vessels, cargoes, counterparties and disputes. Combining sales leadership, sector strategy and executive relationship management, you will build a high-performing team and a repeatable engine for retention and expansion. This is a hybrid role based in our modern, centrally located London office, with a wide variety of services and transport links situated nearby. Who you’ll work with You and your team will partner with senior decision-makers across the shipping, commodities and legal ecosystem, including: Shipowners, ship managers and operators, charterers and shipbrokers Commodity trading houses across energy, metals and agriculture, and oil & gas / energy majors Bunker suppliers, ports and terminals, and classification societies Maritime and shipping law firms, in-house legal teams and general counsel Arbitrators, dispute-resolution practices and expert-witness / casualty investigation teams Key Responsibilities 1. Sales Leadership & Team Development Lead, coach and develop a team of account managers covering the shipping, commodities and legal vertical. Set clear targets, KPIs and territory/account structures, and manage performance to a consistently high standard. Recruit, onboard and retain top commercial talent, building a culture of accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement. Instil disciplined sales methodology, deal qualification and coaching rhythms across the team. 2. Sector Strategy & Go-to-Market Own the go-to-market strategy for shipping, commodities and legal markets, including segmentation, target account selection and sector-specific value propositions. Position LLI’s intelligence against clear use cases, fleet and voyage analytics, chartering and trade-flow insight, commodity-trade compliance and sanctions, and legal use cases such as litigation, arbitration, casualty investigation, due diligence and expert evidence. Drive demand generation and pipeline creation in partnership with Marketing, and identify white-space and cross-sell opportunities across the portfolio. 3. Revenue Ownership & Commercial Performance Own the revenue number across retention and expansion, and achieve or exceed annual targets. Lead complex, enterprise and multi-region deals, including pricing, negotiation and contract strategy with procurement and executive stakeholders. Ensure strong renewal rates and net revenue retention through proactive account planning and value realisation. 4. Key Client & Executive Engagement Act as the senior commercial sponsor for strategic shipping, commodities and legal accounts, building trusted relationships with shipowner and trading-house CEOs and COOs, and with partners and heads of legal. Lead executive value reviews and quarterly business reviews (QBRs), and personally manage key escalations. Translate LLI intelligence into board-level business outcomes: operational efficiency, sharper commercial decisions, robust compliance, and defensible evidence in disputes. 5. Cross-Functional Collaboration Partner with Product and Data Science to feed shipping, commodities and legal sector needs, fleet and emissions analytics, sanctions and ownership transparency, and evidential data for legal use, into the product roadmap. Work closely with Customer Success, Marketing and regional sales leaders to ensure a seamless client experience and consistent global account coverage. 6. Forecasting, Reporting & Operational Rigour Maintain accurate forecasts and a healthy, well-qualified pipeline in CRM (e.g., Salesforce). Report on revenue performance, pipeline, account health and risk indicators to senior leadership. Use data to identify trends, coach the team and make evidence-based commercial decisions. 7. Market Presence & Industry Engagement Act as a visible figurehead for LLI across the shipping, commodities and legal markets, representing the business at leading industry events and forums; including delivering client and conference presentations, participating in panel discussions, and speaking on behalf of LLI at events such as Posidonia, Nor-Shipping, SMM, commodity-trading conferences and maritime law forums such as LMAA. Build LLI’s profile and network across the shipping, commodities and legal community. What We’re Looking For Experience Demonstrated experience leading commercial strategy and sales performance for shipping, commodities and legal market accounts, with clear accountability for revenue outcomes across the assigned area of responsibility. Demonstrable experience of leading commercial activity and developing senior customer relationships within shipping, commodities and/or the maritime legal sector, gained through direct sector employment, selling into the sector, or leading teams and strategic accounts serving the sector. Typically evidenced by at least three years of relevant sector exposure. 8+ years in B2B SaaS, data or intelligence sales, including substantial experience leading and developing sales teams. A strong track record of selling to the shipping and commodities sectors, for example, shipowners, ship managers, charterers and shipbrokers, commodity trading houses, energy majors, and maritime law firms and dispute-resolution practices. Demonstrable experience of leading commercial or organisational change, ideally including a transition towards sector-led or specialist selling, restructuring coverage, upskilling talent, and embedding a sector-led go-to-market. Experience guiding client organisations through their digitisation journey and meeting customers at every stage of maturity, from those already transforming to those who have not yet begun to consider it. Demonstrable ownership of a multi-million revenue number across retention and expansion. Experience building, scaling and leading high-performing enterprise sales teams. Sector Knowledge Strong understanding of shipping and commodities workflows, maritime operations, fleet management, AIS data, chartering, trade flows, and commodity-trade compliance and sanctions. Insight into how organisations beyond the shipowning community use data and intelligence, across chartering, trading, operations, risk, compliance, ESG and dispute use cases. Familiarity with relevant regulation and standards (IMO, EU ETS, CII, sanctions regimes). Appreciation of how maritime intelligence is used in legal and dispute settings, evidence, casualty investigation and arbitration (advantageous, not essential). Leadership & Skills Inspirational sales leadership, able to hire, coach, restructure and lead a team through change. Change leadership: a proven ability to transition an established team to a new, sector-specialist operating model without losing commercial momentum. Consultative and credible with senior shipping, commodities and legal buyers, able to create demand and build the case for digitisation with organisations that may not yet recognise the need, as well as accelerate those already on the journey. Executive-level relationship building, negotiation and commercial acumen. Strategic, analytical and data-driven, with strong forecasting and pipeline discipline. Excellent communication, presentation and storytelling skills, able to simplify complex data into business value. Comfortable operating in a global, cross-cultural, matrixed environment. Desirable Experience using Salesforce and a recognised sales methodology (e.g., MEDDIC / MEDDPICC). Track record selling business intelligence, market data, editorial or legal-information products and services. An established network across shipping, commodities and energy that reaches beyond the shipowning community. Proficiency in a European language. A degree in any discipline. Our Promise to You, Company Benefits 25 Days Holiday rising to 27 after 2 years’ service Day off for your birthday, because you deserve to celebrate Life Assurance of 4 x Salary Company pension scheme: employee contribution of 5% basic salary, matched by an employer contribution of 5% Up to 4 Days Paid Volunteering per year to support causes you care about Additional leave for life events such as getting married or moving house Healthy Lifestyle Subsidy up to £250 annually Enhanced Family Leave including maternity, paternity, and shared parental leave Work from anywhere policy (up to 4 weeks per year, subject to approval), giving you the flexibility to blend work and life on your terms Cycle to Work scheme Flexible benefits: Private Healthcare Plan, Dental Insurance, Medical Expenses Cash Plan, Health Screening, Critical Illness Cover, Employee Assistance Programme and the option to purchase 3 additional days of annual leave. We know that sometimes the ‘perfect candidate’ doesn’t exist, and that people can be put off applying for a job if they don’t fit all the requirements. If you’re excited about working for us and have most, but not all of the skills or experience we’re looking for, please go ahead and apply. You could be just what we need! We believe strongly in the value of diversity and creating supportive, inclusive environments where our colleagues can succeed. As such, we are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, ancestry, national origin, religion, or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, or other protected characteristics under federal, state or local law. Please let us know of any adjustments we need to make for you to show us your best self.