Account Lead / Business Development Manager

Account Lead / Business Development Manager

Hawthorn Innovations — New York, NY (Hybrid / Remote Flexibility)

Hawthorn Innovations is a creative agency, production studio, manufacturing partner, and global supply chain operation rolled into one. We create high-end creative campaigns and premium photo/video production for some of the biggest brands in food, beverage, and hospitality — while also designing and manufacturing custom POS, branded drinkware, and one-of-a-kind hospitality products at national scale. 

From large beverage rollouts and experiential campaigns to luxury bar carts and custom-built brand moments, Hawthorn sits at the intersection of creative agency, production house, and custom manufacturing partner. Now we’re looking for someone in New York who can help drive the next phase of that growth.

Some of the brands we work with like Diageo, Suntory, Outback Steakhouse, Applebee’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, and more — taking ideas from strategy decks and concept sketches all the way through production, logistics, and national rollout.

This role is for someone with real relationships. Someone who understands how brands buy, how agencies pitch, and how to open doors. Ideally, you’ve worked inside a major spirits company, CPG brand, experiential agency, or leading creative agency and already have a network you can activate. As well as know who to manage clients and scale relationships.

We’re not looking for someone to simply “manage accounts.” We’re looking for someone who can help grow them.

What You’ll Actually Do

Drive New Business Growth

Your primary focus will be managing, generating and expanding relationships with brands, agencies, hospitality groups, and marketing teams — especially in beverage alcohol, hospitality, lifestyle, and CPG.

You’ll identify opportunities, build relationships, pitch capabilities, and bring Hawthorn into conversations where we can win creative, production, experiential, and product-based business.

Sell the Full Hawthorn Ecosystem

This role is unique because Hawthorn is unique.

You won’t just be selling one service line. You’ll be introducing clients to an integrated platform that includes:

* Creative strategy and campaign development

* Photo and video production

* Experiential and event builds

* Custom POS and branded hospitality products at scale

* Product sourcing and manufacturing

* Luxury custom fabrication and bar carts

* Warehouse, fulfillment, and global logistics solutions

One day you may be pitching a new ad campaign package with creative and production to a global brand, and then after lunch a luxury experiential build for a festival activation. The next day you may be discussing a 1 million-unit branded cocktail vessel rollout for a national chain.

Manage and Grow Client Relationships

You’ll act as a strategic lead for key accounts in New York and beyond — helping clients move from idea to execution while coordinating internally with our creative, supply chain, production, and build teams.

You should be comfortable leading conversations with:

* Brand managers

* Procurement teams

* Marketing directors

* Innovation teams

* Agency partners

* Hospitality operators

* C-suite stakeholders

Represent Hawthorn in Market

You’ll be our eyes and ears in New York.

That means attending industry events, networking dinners, agency meetings, hospitality openings, conferences, and client presentations. We want someone deeply connected to the culture and business of hospitality, beverage, and brand marketing.

Who You Are

You’re commercially driven, highly connected, and naturally entrepreneurial — but you also thrive as part of a collaborative team building something bigger. You know how to develop trust quickly, navigate both corporate and creative environments with confidence, and turn relationships into long-term partnerships. 

You’re excited by growth, energized by opportunity, and motivated by helping scale a company that blends creativity, production, and real-world execution in a way few others can.

You likely come from one of these worlds:

* Spirits or beverage alcohol (Diageo, Suntory, Pernod Ricard, Campari, Brown-Forman, etc.)

* CPG or hospitality brands

* Experiential marketing agencies

* Creative agencies

* Production agencies

* Brand partnerships or innovation roles

Most importantly, you already have relationships and credibility in the industry.

The Hard Skills

* 5–10 years in account management, brand partnerships, business development, or agency leadership

* Existing network within beverage alcohol, hospitality, CPG, or experiential marketing

* Experience pitching and closing six-figure client engagements

* Strong understanding of creative production, experiential campaigns, branded merchandise, or hospitality marketing

* Ability to manage multiple client conversations and projects simultaneously

* Excellent communication and presentation skills

* Comfortable operating in fast-moving entrepreneurial environments

The Stuff That’ll Make You Stand Out

* Former Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Suntory, Campari, Brown-Forman, or major CPG experience

* Experience at a top creative, experiential, or production agency

* Existing relationships with hospitality groups, restaurant chains, hotels, or beverage buyers

* Understanding of custom manufacturing, sourcing, POS, or supply chain operations

* Familiarity with hospitality trends, cocktail culture, and experiential marketing

* You already use AI tools in your workflow

* You thrive in high-autonomy environments without heavy corporate structure

Who You Really Are

- You Open Doors

- You know people. More importantly, people answer when you call.

- You’re Both Strategic and Scrappy

- You can sit in a boardroom pitching a campaign in the morning and help solve an operational issue before dinner. You understand that great client service is part strategy, part execution.

You Want to Build

This is not a maintenance role inside a giant corporation. You’ll help shape how Hawthorn grows in New York and nationally.

You Understand Scale

We’re not just creating beautiful concepts — we’re building programs that are national and international ad campaigns, and custom products that ship to hundreds or thousands of locations. You understand the difference between ideas that look good in a pitch deck and ideas that actually work operationally.

What We Offer

* The opportunity to help grow a highly differentiated company with national clients

* A creative and entrepreneurial environment with growth opportunity

* Access to a full in-house ecosystem of creative, production, fabrication, and logistics capabilities to sale

* The ability to sell both high-level strategy and real-world execution

* A company that moves fast, builds ambitious projects, and values people who take ownership

* Competitive compensation structure with upside tied to growth and performance

How to Apply

Send your resume along with a short note about:

* Your background

* Brands or categories you’ve worked with

* Relationships or industries you know well

* Why you think Hawthorn is an interesting fit

Bonus points if you can tell us about a campaign, partnership, or client opportunity you helped bring to life from concept through execution.

Hawthorn Innovations is an equal opportunity employer.