Director Sales, BFSI

Role Scope :  

The Director Sales, BFSI is a strategic leadership role responsible for driving Cisco's growth, market share, and customer transformation agenda across India's Banking & Financial Services sector. This leader will define and implement the go-to-market strategy for some of Cisco's most significant and complex customer relationships, helping financial institutions accelerate their digital transformation, cybersecurity, AI adoption, and modernization initiatives. 

Operating in a highly matrixed environment, the role requires strong collaborative leadership to influence and align cross-functional teams across Sales, Solutions Engineering, Customer Experience, Product, Channel, Marketing, Finance, and Strategy. The successful candidate will bring the ability to lead large, complex businesses, build high-performing teams, and translate market opportunities into sustainable business outcomes. 

Beyond commercial leadership, this individual will serve as a trusted advisor to senior customer executives, champion Cisco's AI and security vision, and play a critical role in shaping Cisco's long-term growth and industry leadership within the BFSI segment. 

What You'll Do 

You will lead and collaborate across various cross-functional  teams, including field sales teams  Account Managers/Client Executives), architecture sales specialists, partner sales teams, Customer Success teams, operations, marketing, finance, and legal to develop the Banking & Financial Services business and grow it sustainably and profitably. 

• Maintain an in-depth understanding of customer and partner requirements, market opportunities, and competitive conditions in the financial sector. 

• Possess a solid understanding of software and services sales in a B2B environment. 

• Develop robust business plans cantered on subscription and services lifecycle sales motions to grow Average Order Value (AOV) in every account. 

• Identify specific routes to market and develop the appropriate business constructs for the financial services industry. 

• Identify and develop new business opportunities around banking platform solutions, co-sell initiatives, and consumption-based managed services. 

• Manage 360-degree stakeholder relationships to ensure rounded business growth. 

• Engage with key customers and channels to understand their needs and evolve the business to address them. 

• Orchestrate specialized resources-portfolio Business Development Managers, partner teams, marketing, etc.-to implement the complete Go-to-Market (GTM) plan. 

• Align with Cisco's global transformation strategy. 

• Benchmark Cisco's business against the competition and understand key drivers to successfully compete and win market share. 

• Conduct regular business reviews to ensure GTM execution. 

• Analyse performance and provide GTM enhancement recommendations. 

• Provide direction and clarity to the team, developing them as professionals and leaders for the future of Cisco. 

• Ensure an inclusive and diverse culture that helps team members thrive and grow. 

Who You Are 

Do you have a strong drive and work ethic, a history of developing talent, and a record of strong performance leading diverse teams in a challenging and changing environment? Are you adept at driving your teams toward successful account planning and bookings forecasts? We seek strong sales mentorship skills, flexibility, and a passion for developing others, combined with excellent listening skills and a dynamic work style. 

Minimum Requirements 

• Ideally 17+ years of sales management experience in building and managing diverse team environments in a leadership capacity, preferably in sales. 

• Demonstrated experience driving transformation within client accounts, preferably in the areas of security, AI, or digital banking. 

• Ability to transition from strategic thinking to managing and solving tactical issues. 

• Demonstrated leadership and the ability to work cross-functionally to drive outcomes-requiring the ability to influence without direct ownership of processes or organizations. 

• Ability to lead in a highly matrixed model and build executive-level relationships with customer stakeholders while driving internal executive alignment. 

Other Requirements 

• Familiarity with Cisco's products, architectures, and services offerings is an added plus. 

• Background and understanding of product, service, and channel sales at Cisco or comparable experience from another company. 

• Track record of successful performance as a "change agent." 

• Extensive business development or program management experience. 

• Ability to drive business planning, ensure forecasting accuracy, and work effectively with cross-functional teams. 

• Experience building actionable mid-term and short-term business plans based on a deep understanding of the market and execution levers. 

• Bachelor's degree from a reputable university/college.