The Sales Leader for Automation and Communication in North America is responsible for establishing the strategic direction for market approach, sales order achievement, and respective campaigns, as well as building market share for Hitachi Energy. This role requires leadership and motivation for the Sales and Marketing team in the Automation & Communication business across the US and Canada. The position demands diverse expertise in substation automation and digitization, protection and control, and wireless communication, while leveraging the entire Grid Automation portfolio and the value proposition of cybersecurity.
Key Responsibilities
- The Sales Leader will be responsible for the selling process and efficiencies across the OU and respective FES sales team and partner ecosystem. This includes driving profitable opportunities and pipeline growth in North America to meet orders/revenue objectives while balancing System and Product Sales to meet financial targets.
- Relentless focus on success KPIs that include quota setting/achievement tracking, order intake, qualified pipeline, new logo pursuits, customer facing interactions, pipeline acceleration and progression, and accuracy to forecast based on month, quarter, and total year.
- Maintain a strategic mindset while working with the OU and GPG to execute one-year goals and plan for the next five years. This includes collaborating with the OU leadership and Market Director in the creation of account plans, territory/regional mapping, country strategy based on total market availability versus addressable market.
- Collaborate with Hitachi Front End Sales and other business units using the One Hitachi approach, including developing strategic partnerships with channels and the partner ecosystem.
- Collaborate with marketing, technical pre-sales, and the GPG to develop structured enablement plans and execute strategic sales/marketing campaigns.
- Lead by example in completing account plans, pipeline reviews, close plans for strategic opportunities, forecasting, and win/loss reviews.
- Nominate key capture team opportunities and participate in pursuing large opportunities, developing and communicating strategies for market penetration.
- Lead Local Sales Units with technical and commercial expertise in positioning the value proposition and targeting new customers in the Automation and Communication segment.
- Consolidate leads, opportunities, initiatives, orders intake, and other sales KPIs related to the AC business in the region.
- Provide customer feedback to OU leadership and the Global Product Group, strategically communicating needs and new requirements for consideration in the region.
- Manage all strategic sales and marketing initiatives while collaborating with the Market Director and OU leadership on budget planning, resource planning, and global coordination.
- Participate in Global BU M&S teams and OU leadership to ensure compliance with all global directives.
- Develop and maintain key customer relationships/alliances and serve as the commercial executive face to the customer.
- Collaborate with OU leadership to provide the proper order volume, mix, and gross margin to support financial goals.
- Develop strong relationships with AC product marketing managers and regional GA Marketing resources.
- Participate in the selective bidding process, generating new accounts, and executing upsell/cross-sell strategies with existing customers. Collaborate on pricing and risk assessment during the proposal phase.
- Execute annual budgets and track monthly metrics on key areas such as orders, margin, hit rate, proposal expense, and win/loss analysis.
- Drive a cultural shift from product selling to solutions/challenger selling while exploring new possibilities in a low market share business.
- Develop market campaigns with defined market potential.
- Improve organizational capabilities in sales, marketing, and sales execution processes.
- Generate significant pipeline to achieve short/long-term growth initiatives over five years.
- Retain key customers while diversifying the customer base to reduce dependency on any single customer.
- Improve engagement between business and FES relative to AC offerings.
Requirements
- Sense of urgency for driving success through pipeline generation, identifying new customers, executing sales strategy, and delivering results.
- Demonstrated expertise in managing people, including leading a remote sales team with at least 15 years of leadership experience in automation, services, IT/OT, and relevant fields.
- At least 15 years of sales and management experience within the Grid Automation and Wireless sectors, with a comprehensive understanding of the market and managing a team of at least ten commercial resources for a minimum of 10 years.
- Proficiency in translating technical requirements into engaging solutions; exceptional verbal and written communication skills; willingness to travel as necessary.
- A bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Engineering, Business/Economics, or Information Systems (MBA preferred).
Location Remote - North Carolina, United States of America
Job type Full time
Experience Senior Management
Job function Sales, Marketing & Product Management
Contract Regular
Publication date 2025-02-06
Reference number R0076294
About Hitachi Energy
Hitachi Energy is a global technology leader that is advancing a sustainable energy future for all. We serve customers in the utility, industry and infrastructure sectors with innovative solutions and services across the value chain. Together with customers and partners, we pioneer technologies and enable the digital transformation required to accelerate the energy transition towards a carbon-neutral future. We are advancing the world’s energy system to become more sustainable, flexible and secure whilst balancing social, environmental and economic value. Hitachi Energy has a proven track record and unparalleled installed base in more than 140 countries. Headquartered in Switzerland, we employ around 45,000 people in 90 countries and generate business volumes of approximately $13 billion USD.
www.hitachienergy.com