Director, HPE Networking Alliances - Japan

Director, HPE Networking Alliances - Japan

This role has been designated as ‘Remote/Teleworker’, which means you will primarily work from home.

Job Description:

Role summary The HPE Networking Alliance Sales Director — NEC Alliance (Japan) is responsible for building, growing and owning the HPE Networking relationship with NEC across Japan. Using the existing portfolio of HPE footprint with NEC as a springboard, the role will define and execute a joint go‑to‑market strategy to create new Wi‑Fi, AI/Data‑Center and Security networking business. The Director will act as the senior HPE liaison to NEC executives and sales leaders, and as the internal integrator across HPE and HPE Networking teams to drive joint solution development, demand generation, deals and customer success.

Key responsibilities Strategy & planning

• Develop a clear NEC Alliance strategy and annual business plan for HPE Networking in Japan, including revenue targets, solution focus areas (Wi‑Fi, AI/DC, Security), GTM plays, resource requirements and success metrics.
• Create and maintain joint account plans and a prioritized opportunity pipeline with NEC.

Executive relationship management

• Own and grow executive and senior stakeholder relationships at NEC (Sales, Engineering, Product, Channel, Executive leadership).
• Establish and maintain an executive engagement cadence and joint governance for decision making and prioritization.

Joint solution development & technical alignment

• Drive co‑engineering and solution packaging of HPE Networking products with NEC for Wi‑Fi, AI/DC infrastructure and Security use cases.
• Work with product management, systems engineering and NEC counterparts to create marketable joint value propositions, validated designs and reference architectures.

Demand generation & go‑to‑market execution

• Plan and execute joint marketing campaigns, workshops, events, POCs and proof‑of‑concepts with NEC to generate qualified pipeline.
• Create enablement materials, playbooks, and sales tools for both HPE and NEC sellers and SEs.

Sales execution & deal support

• Map NEC‑influenced opportunities with HPE field sales; actively co‑sell, support negotiations and provide senior escalation to win complex deals.
• Drive deal velocity and manage cross‑functional support to close strategic transactions.

Cross‑functional coordination & program management

• Align internal stakeholders (HPE Networking, field sales, SEs, product, services, marketing, finance, legal) to remove blockers and accelerate joint deals.
• Lead regular cross‑functional planning and execution meetings; maintain project plans and milestones.

Accountability, reporting & governance

• Maintain accurate pipeline and forecast contributions attributable to NEC; report progress to HPE leadership and NE C partners.
• Lead Joint Business Reviews (JBRs) with NEC and convene internal steering committee meetings.
• Establish KPIs, track performance, and iterate strategy based on results.

Customer success & references

• Ensure high quality post‑sale support and customer satisfaction for joint deployments.
• Drive creation of customer references, case studies and referenceable POCs.

Risk identification & mitigation

• Proactively identify commercial, technical and operational risks related to alliance activities and implement mitigation plans.

Success metrics / KPIs

• Incremental HPE Networking revenue and bookings attributable to NEC (quarterly and annual).
• Growth and quality of joint pipeline in Wi‑Fi, AI/DC and Security segments.
• Number of joint deals closed and average deal size uplift.
• Reduction in time‑to‑close for NEC‑influenced opportunities.
• Number of POCs, reference deployments and published joint customer case studies.
• Executive engagement frequency and NEC satisfaction/exec scorecard.
• Achievement of joint business plan milestones and ROI targets.

Required experience & qualifications

• 10+ years of sales, alliance or partner management experience in technology, preferably with experience managing strategic SI/channel partner relationships in Japan.
• Proven track record of driving multi‑stakeholder, complex deals and delivering measurable revenue growth through partner alliances.
• Strong knowledge of enterprise networking solution stacks, including Wi‑Fi, data center networking, network security; familiarity with AI infrastructure and associated networking requirements is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated ability to define GTM plays, enable co‑sell motions and lead joint solution development with partners.
• Excellent executive presence with experience engaging C‑level and senior business leaders.
• Demonstrated program and project management skills; ability to coordinate multiple cross‑functional streams.
• Native or near‑native Japanese language skills and fluent English (spoken and written).
• Based in Japan with the ability and willingness to travel domestically and to NEC customer sites as required.

Preferred

• Prior experience working with NEC or similar large Japanese systems integrators.
• Background in HPE products or comparable vendor/networking ecosystems.
• Experience running joint marketing campaigns, POCs and technical validation programs.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Computer Science or related field; MBA or advanced degree is a plus.

Reporting & stakeholders

• Direct report: HPE Networking Alliances/Sales leadership (designated manager).
• Executive sponsor: Named HPE executive sponsor for NEC Alliance.
• Key external stakeholders: NEC executive leadership, sales, engineering and product teams.
• Key internal stakeholders: HPE Networking leadership, field sales, systems engineers, product management, services, marketing, finance, legal.

• Create account plans for top 5 NEC‑influenced opportunities and begin active engagement to accelerate deals.
• Establish reporting cadence, KPIs and schedule the first Joint Business Review.

• Flexibility for customer engagements and executive meetings outside standard business hours as needed.

Accountability, Accountability, Active Learning, Active Listening, Assertiveness, Bias, Building Rapport, Buyer Personas, Coaching, Complex Sales, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Cross-Functional Teamwork, Customer Experience Strategy, Customer Interactions, Design Thinking, Empathy, Financial Acumen, Follow-Through, Growth Mindset, Identifying Sales Opportunities, Industry Knowledge, Intellectual Curiosity (Inactive), Long Term Planning, Managing Ambiguity {+ 6 more}

Health & Wellbeing

We strive to provide our team members and their loved ones with a comprehensive suite of benefits that supports their physical, financial and emotional wellbeing.

Personal & Professional Development

We also invest in your career because the better you are, the better we all are. We have specific programs catered to helping you reach any career goals you have — whether you want to become a knowledge expert in your field or apply your skills to another division.

Unconditional Inclusion

We are unconditionally inclusive in the way we work and celebrate individual uniqueness. We know varied backgrounds are valued and succeed here. We have the flexibility to manage our work and personal needs. We make bold moves, together, and are a force for good.

Job:

Sales

Job Level:

Director

    

    

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