NAM - Automation and Communication Sales Leader

Mission Statement

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.

Strategy

• OU Collaboration based on the OU driving and owning the A&C P&L including the business strategy and where to sell and respective sell to segments.   Direct reporting line to Hub sales leader and strong dotted line to the OU leader.
• Deliver orders in accordance with the budget, drive pipeline growth, fulfilling the mix of System Sales and Product Sales within North America, and achieving the expected level of profitability.
• Drive business growth within the region by collaborating with the OU leadership and GPG in executing one-year goals and objectives, while planning for the next five years.
• Lead by example by engaging with the AC commercial team, taking ownership, and fostering collaboration with Front End Sales (FES) and the Channel/Partner ecosystem.
• Collaborate and execute the overall business strategy, develop and maintain key customer relationships/alliances, obtain target market shares for each segmented market, and grow core business volume through strategic sales campaigns.
• Technical positioning, competitor analysis, and sell Hitachi value. Develop strong relationships with OU leadership, AC technical sales, product managers and front-end sales centralized resources. Build a highly motivated, creative, and sustainable sales and marketing team.

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.

Challenges

• 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).