Vice President, Sales - Northern Europe

Job description

As Vice President of Sales, you will own the sales strategy, operating plan and commercial performance for the assigned geography, market or business unit. You will lead a large, complex sales organization through General Managers, country leaders, sales directors and functional leaders, with accountability for revenue, ARR, billing, pipeline, forecast accuracy, customer growth and market share. This role requires equal strength in strategic leadership and operational execution. You will run the day-to-day sales business with rigor while building the capabilities, routes to market, leadership bench and pipeline required to deliver growth over the next six to eighteen months. You will translate company strategy into differentiated market, segment and channel plans, allocate resources to the highest-return opportunities, and create a predictable operating cadence across the assigned scope. Every member of our A-Team has an instrumental role and impact on the success of Acronis' innovative and growing business. We are looking for a senior sales leader who thrives in a fast-paced, global environment and embodies our company values: responsive, alert, detail-oriented, makes decisions, and never gives up. WHAT YOU'LL DO Sales strategy and growth Own and execute the sales strategy, annual operating plan and rolling 12-18 month growth roadmap for the assigned scope, aligned with company priorities. Translate business objectives into clear market, segment and channel plans, including priorities, coverage, target allocation, headcount, investment and expected return. Balance current-quarter execution with medium-term growth by identifying whitespace, new customer segments, emerging use cases and scalable routes to market. Sales strategy and growth (continued) Maintain a deep understanding of the cybersecurity, data protection and MSP landscape across the assigned markets, including competitors, regulation, customer needs, partners, distributors and technology alliances. Identify underperforming markets and growth constraints early, establish corrective action plans, and make timely decisions on leadership, coverage and resource deployment. Revenue, pipeline and forecast leadership Own and exceed revenue, ARR, billing, retention and profitability objectives in line with the approved business plan. Establish a rigorous weekly, monthly and quarterly operating cadence covering forecast, pipeline creation, pipeline coverage, conversion, sales velocity, renewals, deal risk and execution against plan. Deliver accurate, evidence-based forecasts and ensure consistent CRM discipline, stage criteria, opportunity inspection and accountability across every market, business area and sales motion. Review performance at market, segment, channel and individual-team level; intervene decisively where results, pipeline quality or productivity fall below expectations. Act as executive sponsor for the most strategic opportunities and customers, helping teams shape value propositions, navigate complex buying groups, negotiate commercial terms and close high-impact deals. Protect future growth while delivering the quarter by maintaining sufficient pipeline coverage and ensuring systematic prospecting, partner activation, cross-sell, upsell and renewal execution. Leadership and organization Leadership scope Lead, align and hold accountable General Managers, country leaders, sales directors and assigned functional teams across the sales organization. Create a high-performance culture built on clear goals, transparent metrics, strong coaching, fast decision-making and disciplined follow-through. Build organizational capability through workforce planning, hiring, onboarding, leadership development, succession planning and proactive performance management. Develop strong second-line leaders who can independently run their markets or business areas while operating as one leadership team. Optimize organizational design, spans of control, territories, quotas and capacity to improve productivity and support sustainable scale. Lead through change and complexity, bringing together different markets, teams, cultures and sales motions around a common sales strategy and operating model. Go-to-market and ecosystem Drive consistent execution of the Acronis Sales Model across direct, partner-led, service-provider, distribution and strategic-alliance motions. Define the partner and distribution strategy, including partner segmentation, recruitment, enablement, activation and joint business planning. Build executive relationships with leading MSPs, MSSPs, distributors, cloud and technology partners to accelerate customer acquisition, consumption and market coverage. Ensure effective alignment between enterprise, commercial, service-provider, renewal and channel teams, with clear ownership and minimal internal friction. Use marketing investment deliberately, partnering with marketing leaders on demand generation, market development, account-based programs and measurable pipeline contribution. Customer, market and cross-functional leadership Build and maintain senior executive relationships with strategic customers, prospects and partners; serve as a senior point of escalation when required. Represent the voice of the assigned markets internally, providing actionable insight to Product, Marketing and executive leadership on customer requirements, competitive threats and growth opportunities. Partner closely with Solutions Engineering, Marketing, Customer Success, Revenue Operations, Finance, Product and Legal to improve win rates, adoption, retention and customer lifetime value. Represent Acronis as a senior market-facing leader at customer meetings, partner events, industry forums and executive engagements. Operate effectively within a global matrix, influencing stakeholders and securing the support required to deliver the sales plan. KEY DELIVERABLES A clear sales strategy, annual operating plan and rolling 12-18 month growth roadmap for the assigned scope. Integrated market, segment and channel plans with agreed revenue targets, pipeline creation goals, resource plans and investment priorities. A reliable forecast and inspection cadence with transparent risks, corrective actions and executive-level reporting. An organization and succession plan covering capacity, critical hires, leadership development and performance gaps. Marketing, partner, distribution and strategic-account plans with measurable pipeline and revenue outcomes. Sustained improvement in sales productivity, market share, customer retention and profitable ARR growth. WHAT YOU BRING Education Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Technology or a related field; MBA or equivalent advanced degree preferred. Relevant cybersecurity or cloud industry education is an advantage. Executive-level commercial and market fluency is more important than a technical certification. Experience 12+ years of progressive B2B technology sales and business development experience, including at least 8 years in senior sales leadership and significant second-line leadership responsibility. Proven success leading a large, complex, multi-market or multi-country sales organization through General Managers, country leaders, sales directors or equivalent second-line leaders. Deep experience in cybersecurity, cyber resilience, data protection, cloud, SaaS or another recurring-revenue technology business. Strong record of delivering sustained ARR and revenue growth, improving forecast accuracy, scaling pipeline generation and increasing sales productivity across a significant business scope. Demonstrated ownership of enterprise, commercial and partner-led sales motions, including MSPs, MSSPs, distributors, resellers and strategic alliances. Experience managing annual plans, budgets, headcount and resource allocation, with the commercial judgment to shift investment based on performance and market opportunity. Track record of building leadership teams, managing performance, developing successors and leading organizations through transformation or rapid growth. Experience (continued) Established executive credibility with senior customers, partners and industry stakeholders in relevant markets. Leadership competencies Strategic range: able to anticipate market shifts, set a clear direction and convert strategy into executable market-, segment- and channel-level plans. Leadership competencies (continued) Operational rigor: highly effective in forecasting, pipeline inspection, performance management and disciplined execution. Commercial acumen: strong command of recurring-revenue economics, pricing, margins, renewals, partner models and complex deal structures. Cybersecurity market fluency: credible with customers and partners and able to connect business risk, technical value and commercial outcomes. Leadership at scale: inspires and develops senior leaders, creates accountability and builds a unified culture across countries and functions. Data-driven judgment: uses CRM, analytics and market evidence to identify trends, challenge assumptions and make timely decisions. Executive influence: communicates clearly with boards and executives, navigates a global matrix and influences without relying on formal authority. Resilience and agility: stays composed under pressure, moves quickly when conditions change and maintains focus through ambiguity. Additional requirements Fluent English; additional language requirements may apply depending on the assigned geography or business scope. Willingness and ability to travel frequently across assigned markets and internationally. WHO WE ARE Acronis is revolutionizing cyber protection by unifying backup, disaster recovery, storage, next-generation anti-malware, and protection management into one solution. This all-in-one integration removes the complexity and risks associated with non-integrated solutions and offers easy, complete and reliable data protection for all workloads, applications, and systems across any environment—all at a low and predictable cost. Founded in Singapore in 2003 and incorporated in Switzerland in 2008, Acronis now has more than 2,000 employees and offices in 34 locations worldwide. Its solutions are trusted by more than 5.5 million home users and 500,000 companies, and top-tier professional sports teams. Acronis products are available through over 50,000 partners and service providers in over 150 countries and 26 languages. Our corporate culture is focused on making a positive impact on the lives of each employee and the communities in which we live. Mutual trust, respect, personal achievement, individual leadership, and a belief that we can contribute to the world everyday are the cornerstones of the Acronis Team. Acronis is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, marital status, national origin, physical or mental disability, medical condition, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. #LI-CL1