Building on a strong legacy of almost 150 years, we are leading the way to reimagine and improve life every day. Today and for generations to come. Through our innovative and sustainable brands and technologies, across our teams around the world.
Henkel holds leading positions in both industrial and consumer businesses: Our portfolio includes well-known hair care products, laundry detergents, fabric softeners as well as adhesives, sealants, and functional coatings.
Head – Strategy & Transformation, IMEA
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About this position
About this Position
Ready to shape the future of Adhesive Technologies across IMEA? Join Henkel in a high-impact regional role where strategy meets action.Partner with senior leaders to unlock growth, drive transformation, accelerate commercial excellence, and turn data-driven insights into business results across India, the Middle East, and Africa (IMEA Region). This is a unique opportunity to influence key decisions, lead game-changing initiatives, and build a strong pathway toward future business leadership at Henkel. This is a high-visibility regional role based in Navi Mumbai, India, partnering closely with senior regional leadership to drive strategic growth initiatives, operating model transformations, go-to-market excellence, portfolio optimization, pricing strategies, and business expansion opportunities across diverse markets.
We are looking for a candidate with a strong consulting, corporate strategy, business transformation, or industry leadership background who combines structured problem-solving with strong commercial acumen. This role offers significant exposure to senior leadership and is designed as a talent pipeline into broader business and SBU leadership positions within Henkel.
While currently an individual contributor role, it offers substantial leadership responsibility through influencing senior stakeholders, driving regional strategic initiatives, and coordinating analyst resources across IMEA. As the strategy function evolves, there is potential to build and lead a dedicated strategy and analytics team.
What you´ll do
Drive Regional Strategy Development
- Partner with IMEA leadership to develop and refine short-, medium-, and long-term business strategies.
- Lead market assessments, competitive analyses, scenario planning, and strategic reviews to identify growth opportunities.
- Provide fact-based recommendations to support strategic decision-making across business units and geographies.
- Challenge conventional thinking and bring external best practices into strategic discussions.
Lead Strategic Growth & Transformation Projects
- Lead high-impact strategic initiatives across IMEA from hypothesis generation through implementation.
- Drive cross-functional strategic initiatives across growth, market expansion, business transformation, commercial excellence, organizational design, and operating model optimization to deliver sustainable business impact.
- Build business cases, investment evaluations, and implementation roadmaps for leadership approval.
Go-to-Market Excellence & Commercial Strategy
- Lead customer, channel, and market mapping exercises across IMEA
- Develop and refine go-to-market models to improve market coverage and resource allocation.
- Lead and deliver high-impact cross-functional initiatives spanning growth strategy, market expansion, business transformation, commercial excellence, organizational effectiveness, and operating model optimization across the IMEA region.
- Identify opportunities to accelerate profitable growth across strategic segments.
Strategic Program Management
- Manage strategic project portfolios and PMO governance for regional initiatives.
- Facilitate leadership workshops, strategy reviews, and executive alignment sessions.
- Coordinate diverse stakeholder groups across functions, countries, and business units.
- Ensure rigorous tracking of strategic initiatives and measurable business outcomes.
Business Analytics, Insights & Digital Enablement
- Utilize internal and external data sources to generate actionable business insights.
- Develop executive-ready presentations and recommendations for regional and global leadership.
- Build frameworks and analytical models to support strategic decision-making.
- Drive data-driven business discussions through advanced analysis and financial modelling.
- Leverage emerging AI-enabled tools and digital technologies to improve analytical effectiveness, decision quality, and business performance.
Organizational & Operating Model Effectiveness
- Support operating model reviews and organizational design initiatives.
- Contribute to transformation programs focused on efficiency, scalability, and growth.
- Participate in strategic resource allocation and capability-building initiatives.
- Collaborate on selected M&A evaluations, integration planning, and strategic assessments when required.
What makes you a good fit
Experience
- Minimum 12 years of experience in management consulting, corporate strategy, business transformation, commercial excellence, or strategic planning roles within multinational organizations.
- Strategic planning functions within multinational organizations
- Experience within industrial, manufacturing, chemicals, engineering, B2B, or related sectors is highly desirable.
- Demonstrated experience leading strategic projects with senior stakeholder exposure.
- Proven track record in developing business strategies and driving implementation.
- Experience translating strategic recommendations into measurable business outcomes.
Education
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Economics, Business Administration, Finance, Strategy, or a related discipline.
- MBA from a leading institution preferred.
Technical & Functional Skills
- Strong strategic thinking and structured problem-solving capability.
- Deep understanding of commercial and industrial B2B business models.
- Strong knowledge of go-to-market strategy, pricing strategy, portfolio management, market assessment, growth strategy, and operating model design within complex B2B environments.
- Strong financial modelling and business case development skills.
- Advanced PowerPoint and Excel capabilities.
- Experience with Power BI, Tableau, Alteryx, or similar analytics tools preferred.
- Strong GenAI literacy with familiarity and practical application of emerging AI tools and digital technologies to enhance business insights, productivity, and decision-making.
Leadership Capabilities
- Exceptional communication and executive presentation skills.
- Ability to influence without authority in a matrix organization.
- Strong stakeholder management across cultures and geographies.
- Proven ability to lead through influence and coordinate cross-functional teams and shared analyst resources.
- Entrepreneurial mindset with high ownership and execution orientation.
- Ability to translate complexity into concise, action-oriented recommendations.
Some perks of joining Henkel
- Diverse national and international growth opportunities
- Global wellbeing standards with health and preventive care programs
- Gender-neutral parental leave for a minimum of 8 weeks
- Employee Share Plan with voluntary investment and Henkel matching shares
- Best-in-class Group Medical Insurance policy covering employee, spouse and up to 2 children
- Competitive accident and term life policies for up to 3 times annual gross salary
- Progressive OPD policy of INR 30,000 for employee, spouse and up to 2 children
At Henkel, we come from a broad range of backgrounds, perspectives, and life experiences. We believe the uniqueness of all our employees is the power in us. Become part of the team and bring your uniqueness to us! We look for a diverse team of individuals who possess different backgrounds, experiences, personalities and mindsets.
JOB ID: 26100178
Job Locations: India, Maharashtra, Navi Mumbai
Contact information for application-related questions: talent.acquisition@henkel.com
Please do not use this email address for sending your application or CV. To apply, please click on the "Apply for this role" button below. Applications sent via e-mail will not be accepted.
Application Deadline: As long as the vacancy is listed on our Career Site, we are happy to receive your application
Job-Center: If you have an application already, you can create or log in to your account here to check the status of your application. In case of new account creation, please use your email address that you applied with.
About Henkel
FAQ
I am interested in several jobs. Can I apply for multiple positions at the same time?
Yes – simply fill out your profile in our online application system. Once your online profile is complete, you can apply for multiple positions.
The job offer is written in English – should I write my application in English as well?
Yes, please. As Henkel is an international company you will be working with colleagues from all over the world and English is our official company language. Generally, the ‘rule’ is: please write the application in the same language as the job ad.
Do I get feedback during the application process about the state of my application?
Each position that we have open with Henkel is unique, and finding the right candidate is important for both the hired candidate as well as for Henkel. We want to make sure that both the candidate and the company are a good fit for each other. We will provide feedback to the candidates throughout the entire process.
Can employees move between business areas and/or to a different country?
Yes, in fact it is an expectation within Henkel that our talent is flexible and mobile. This helps to support the company on a broad, global level.
Our “Triple Two” philosophy promotes this expectation, by allowing you to work in at least two different roles, in two different business areas and two different countries. The reason behind this philosophy is that we believe working in different roles, business units and functions is good for your personal development and improves your understanding of Henkel as a global company.
Here you will get further information on our training programs.
Whom do I contact if I have questions concerning my application?
Our recruiting team will help you with all requests regarding your application. Contact the team here.