Director, Ecosystems - Strategic West

Palo Alto Networks•Sacramento, CA

2d•Remote

About The Position

This unique leadership role requires a rare blend of deep enterprise direct selling experience and sophisticated channel strategy and leadership. Reporting into the Americas Ecosystems organization, your primary mission is to build and drive the long term partner strategy for the Strategics West sales organization. This role requires strategic forethought in architecting Go-To-Market (GTM) programs for Global Systems Integrators (GSIs), National VARs, Cloud Service Providers (CSPs), Service Providers (SPs), and Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) tailored for rapid enterprise land-and-expand strategies. You will operate in a high-impact, matrixed environment, bringing strong collaboration across the ecosystems organization, Strategics West sales leadership, and partner managers to align business priorities, enable partners, and deliver measurable results in net-new revenue, market share, and enterprise customer acquisition.

Requirements

10+ years combining Enterprise Direct Sales / Account Management and Tech Channel Management, Partnerships, Business Development, or Partner Strategy experience.
Demonstrated success as a business leader driving influence and building relationships with decision-makers across all levels of internal sales teams and external partner organizations.
Strong analytical understanding of channel operating models, partner economics, incentives, and ecosystem dynamics (specifically how to motivate partners to hunt new logos).
Proven experience formulating a partnership vision, creating strategic business plans, and executing them to deliver net-new revenue growth.
Excellent executive communication and relationship-building skills, with documented experience engaging directly with C-level executives at top strategic partners and Fortune 500 prospects.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute the Strategics West partner strategy, aligning it with Palo Alto Networks’ overall channel priorities, theater strategy, and segment sales goals.
Define tailored value propositions and create detailed go-to-market plans that strengthen our marketplace presence while providing new revenue opportunities with partners.
Utilize your enterprise selling background to bridge the gap between direct sales and channel sales teams, helping partners identify, navigate, and close massive, complex greenfield accounts.
Collaborate closely with channel leaders, theater sales executives, and partner managers to ensure successful execution of joint enterprise acquisition initiatives.
Drive partner enablement and activation models, ensuring partners are fully equipped to hunt, position, and deliver Palo Alto Networks solutions into competitive enterprise accounts.
Lead business reviews and performance discussions with senior partner stakeholders and Palo Alto Networks executives to measure progress, identify enterprise pipeline gaps, and optimize execution.
Provide world-class relationship development and thought leadership across ecosystem partners to increase revenue and drive incremental business opportunities.
Champion the Strategics West segment within the partner ecosystem, ensuring seamless integration into global channel programs, hunting incentives, and specialized services.
Partner with marketing, enablement, and product leadership to design highly targeted acquisition campaigns, competitive displacement training, and specialized partner services.
Use analytical skills and data-driven insights to track channel performance within the segment, determine which programs work, guide co-investment decisions, and ensure accountability across stakeholders.