Director Business Development - Storage Platforms - EMEA

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Company Description

At Western Digital, our vision is to power global innovation and push the boundaries of technology to make what you thought was once impossible, possible.

At our core, Western Digital is a company of problem solvers. People achieve extraordinary things given the right technology. For decades, we've been doing just that-our technology helped people put a man on the moon and capture the first-ever picture of a black hole.

We offer an expansive portfolio of technologies, HDDs, and platforms for business, creative professionals, and consumers alike under our Western Digital®, WD®, WD_BLACK™, and SanDisk® Professional brands.

We are a key partner to some of the largest and highest-growth organizations in the world. From enabling systems to make cities safer and more connected, to powering the data centers behind many of the world's biggest companies and hyperscale cloud providers, to meeting the massive and ever-growing data storage needs of the AI era, Western Digital is fueling a brighter, smarter future.

Job Description

About the Role

This is a Director level individual contributor role. In this position, you will work closely with our Business Unit and a team of regional sales professionals to:

• Identify and nurture new business opportunities and customers, driving revenue growth and differentiating our business unit in the Cloud Provider, High Performance Computing, FinTech, Regional OEM, and Systems Integrator segments.
• Implement effective enterprise sales strategies and methodologies to expand our customer base, strengthen and expand existing customer relationships, and empower our sales team to deliver our financial forecast through training, scalable methodologies, and leading from the front.
• Develop and maintain a deep understanding of market trends, competitive landscapes, and customer needs to inform strategic decisions and drive product adoption.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Sales, Field Application Engineering, Product Engineering, Product Management, Marketing, and Customer Support teams to ensure alignment and successful execution of new customer acquisition and design wins.
• Establish strong relationships with key decision-makers and influencers within target accounts to drive adoption of our storage networking infrastructure and platforms.
• Represent the company at industry events and conferences, presenting our innovative solutions, securing meetings with target accounts, and expanding our visibility in key market segments.
• Drive the adoption of next-generation storage solutions by educating customers on the benefits and technical advantages of our platforms, and roadmap innovations, for emerging use cases such as AI Machine Learning, Fabric Attached SSD and HDD, Data Mobility, and Cold Storage.
• Contribute to the development of marketing and sales enablement materials, ensuring alignment with customer requirements and competitive positioning.
• Leverage data-driven insights to refine sales strategies, prioritize high-potential target accounts, and prospect for new opportunities.
• Track and report on pipeline and design win growth metrics, providing regular updates on progress and recommendations to the leadership team.
• 35% Travel required primarily within the EMEAI region and some travel to the United States to support major industry conferences and business reviews in our Colorado Springs and San Jose locations.

Join us to be part of a team that is redefining data storage and enabling our customers to unlock the full potential of their data.

Qualifications

• Extensive Industry Experience: A minimum of 10 years of proven success in business development and sales driving growth in data storage, storage networking, or related fields, working with Cloud Providers, Top 100 High Performance Computing institutions, FinTech, regional storage ODMs, OEMs, Systems Integrators.
• Technical Expertise: Strong technical skills to develop tailored proposals and deliver innovative solutions that meet client requirements.
• Organizational Excellence: Exceptional organizational skills with the ability to set priorities, manage multiple tasks, and consistently meet pipeline and new design win growth goals.
• Communication Proficiency: Outstanding verbal, written, and presentation skills, with the ability to convey complex technical concepts in a clear, concise, and engaging manner. Strong presentation and public speaking skills are a must.
• Adaptability and Collaboration: A collaborative mindset and an organized approach to excel in dynamic, high-pressure environments with shifting priorities.
• Storage Networking Knowledge: Familiarity with storage networking topologies is a plus.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Demonstrated ability to work effectively across teams, including Sales, Field Engineering, Product Engineering, Business Operations, Product Marketing, Product Management, Channel Marketing, and Customer Support, to align goals and drive success.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, or a similar area preferred; an MBA would be a plus

Preferred Experience

• Industry Expertise: Previous experience with ODMs and OEMs specializing in data storage, storage networking, or related fields.
• Technical Knowledge: Familiarity with storage networking topologies is highly preferred.
• Customer Engagement: Demonstrated experience engaging directly with key customer segments, including:
  • Cloud Providers
  • Top 100 High-Performance Computing (HPC) institutions
  • FinTech organizations
  • Regional Storage ODMs/OEMs
  • Systems Integrators

Additional Information

Western Digital is committed to providing equal opportunities to all applicants and employees and will not discriminate against any applicant or employee based on their race, color, ancestry, religion (including religious dress and grooming standards), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), gender (including a person's gender identity, gender expression, and gender-related appearance and behavior, whether or not stereotypically associated with the person's assigned sex at birth), age, national origin, sexual orientation, medical condition, marital status (including domestic partnership status), physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, protected medical and family care leave, Civil Air Patrol status, military and veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. We also prohibit harassment of any individual on any of the characteristics listed above. Our non-discrimination policy applies to all aspects of employment. We comply with the laws and regulations set forth in the "Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal" poster. Our pay transparency policy is available here.

Western Digital thrives on the power and potential of diversity. As a global company, we believe the most effective way to embrace the diversity of our customers and communities is to mirror it from within. We believe the fusion of various perspectives results in the best outcomes for our employees, our company, our customers, and the world around us. We are committed to an inclusive environment where every individual can thrive through a sense of belonging, respect and contribution.

Western Digital is committed to offering opportunities to applicants with disabilities and ensuring all candidates can successfully navigate our careers website and our hiring process. Please contact us at jobs.accommodations@wdc.com to advise us of your accommodation request. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.

Based on our experience, we anticipate that the application deadline will be 5/18/2025 (3 months from posting), although we reserve the right to close the application process sooner if we hire an applicant for this position before the application deadline. If we are not able to hire someone from this role before the application deadline, we will update

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