Leader, Client Executive

Cisco Systems, Inc; New York (NY); On-site; USD 367,000 - 472,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare benefits

401(k) matching

Paid time off

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. in New York seeks a Client Executive to lead a strategic, multi-year engagement with a major financial-services client. You own the executive relationship, set the account plan across networking, security, data center and AI infrastructure, and drive cross-functional governance.

You will direct a matrixed team of sales, solutions engineering, services, and partners, negotiate multi-year deals, and ensure Cisco delivers at scale with minimal risk.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in enterprise technology sales, account leadership or client executive roles.
• 5+ years leading large, complex global accounts.
• Proven track record building executive-level relationships (CIO/CTO/CISO) at large enterprises.
• Experience leading matrixed, cross-functional teams without direct authority.
• Fluency in enterprise networking, security, data center and cloud; AI infra familiarity.
• Commercial acumen to structure multi-year, multi-million-dollar agreements.

Responsibilities

• Own the executive relationship with the client’s technology and business leaders.
• Set and run the multi-year account plan across networking, security, data center and AI infra.
• Lead a matrixed team of sales, solutions engineering, services and partners.
• Drive cost reduction and total-cost-of-ownership improvements.
• Navigate emergent tech debates, separating hype from deliverable value.
• Deliver at scale with Day 2 support and executive escalation point.
• Navigate contracts and pricing with Legal, Finance and Deal Desk.
• Represent Cisco leadership and align with product teams and partners.

Skills

Executive relationships

Cross-functional leadership

Enterprise networking

Security

AI infrastructure

Strategic account planning

Commercial acumen

Executive communication

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 11/27/2026

The Client Executive owns Cisco's overall relationship with a leading global financial services firm and leads the cross-functional team that serves it. This is a senior, account-level leadership role: you set the strategy, build executive trust, and make sure Cisco shows up as one team across sales, engineering, services and partners.

Reports to: Operations Director, Premier Area, Global Enterprise Segment (GES)
Location: New York, NY (Major Financial Services firm- onsite presence required)
Level: Client Executive (people-leading, account-level P&L accountability)

What you'll do

• Own the executive relationship. Build and sustain relationships with the client's technology, infrastructure, security and business leaders, and act as their trusted advisor on technology strategy.
• Set and run the account plan. Define a multi-year strategy and pipeline across networking, security, observability, collaboration, data center and AI infrastructure, and drive it through governance and forecast cadence.
• Lead the account team. Direct a matrixed team of sales, solutions engineering, services, customer experience and partner resources, and coach them to operate as one team.
• Drive cost and complexity out. Lead vendor-consolidation and total-cost-of-ownership conversations that lower spend while improving the experience of the people who use the technology.
• Separate signal from hype on emerging technology. Help leadership decide what is ready to deliver value now (for example AI infrastructure, zero-trust security and network automation) and what is not.
• Deliver at scale. Stand up the delivery and Day 2 support models that keep a complex, regulated, always-on environment running, and be the executive escalation point when it does not.
• Navigate commercial and contract complexity. Partner with Legal, Finance and Deal Desk on enterprise agreements, pricing and renewals across a global footprint.
• Represent Cisco leadership. Bring in Cisco executives, product teams and partners at the right moments, and coordinate the other technology providers in the client's ecosystem.

What you bring

• 10+ years in enterprise technology sales, account leadership or client executive roles, including 5+ leading large, complex global accounts.
• A record of building executive-level relationships (CIO, CTO, CISO, infrastructure and business-unit leaders) at large enterprises.
• Experience leading matrixed, cross-functional teams without relying on direct authority.
• Fluency in enterprise networking, security, data center and cloud, with enough depth in emerging areas such as AI infrastructure to challenge and guide a client.
• Commercial acumen: you can structure and negotiate multi-year, multi-million-dollar agreements and manage forecast accuracy.
• Strong communication and executive presence, including comfort presenting to senior client and Cisco leadership.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.

Preferred experience

• Prior work with global financial-services clients, including regulatory, resilience, data-sovereignty and third-party-risk requirements.
• Experience with cost-rationalization or vendor-consolidation programs.
• Familiarity with Cisco's portfolio and operating model (Global Enterprise Segment, Premier accounts, partner and services ecosystem).
• Experience working alongside systems integrators and other technology providers in a shared client program.

How success is measured

• Executive relationships: sustained, documented engagement with the client's senior technology and business leaders.
• Large-deal and pipeline outcomes against the account plan, with accurate forecasting.
• Account-team health: clear roles, strong engagement and low regrettable attrition.
• Client experience: executive sponsor feedback and a measurable reduction in escalations.
• Quality of the multi-year account strategy, including cost-rationalization and emerging-technology roadmaps agreed with the client.

Why Cisco?

At Cisco, we’re revolutionizing how data and infrastructure connect and protect organizations in the AI era – and beyond. We’ve been innovating fearlessly for 40 years to create solutions that power how humans and technology work together across the physical and digital worlds. These solutions provide customers with unparalleled security, visibility, and insights across the entire digital footprint.

Fueled by the depth and breadth of our technology, we experiment and create meaningful solutions. Add to that our worldwide network of doers and experts, and you’ll see that the opportunities to grow and build are limitless. We work as a team, collaborating with empathy to make really big things happen on a global scale. Because our solutions are everywhere, our impact is everywhere.

We are Cisco, and our power starts with you.

Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada:

The starting salary range posted for this position is $366,600.00 to $472,300.00 and reflects the projected salary range for new hires in this position in U.S. and/or Canada locations, not including incentive compensation*, equity, or benefits.

Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location, market conditions, job-related skillset, experience, qualifications, education, certifications, and/or training. The full salary range for certain locations is listed below. For locations not listed below, the recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.

U.S. employees are offered benefits, subject to Cisco’s plan eligibility rules, which include medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability coverage, and basic life insurance. Please see the Cisco careers site to discover more benefits and perks. Employees may be eligible to receive grants of Cisco restricted stock units, which vest following continued employment with Cisco for defined periods of time.

U.S. employees are eligible for paid time away as described below, subject to Cisco’s policies:

• 10 paid holidays per full calendar year, plus 1 floating holiday for non-exempt employees

• 1 paid day off for employee’s birthday, paid year-end holiday shutdown, and 4 paid days off for personal wellness determined by Cisco

• Non-exempt employees** receive 16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year, accrued at rate of 4.92 hours per pay period for full-time employees

• Exempt employees participate in Cisco’s flexible vacation time off program, which has no defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use (subject to availability and some business limitations)

• 80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter, and up to 80 hours ofunused sick timecarried forwardfrom one calendar yearto the next

• Additional paid time away may be requested to deal with critical or emergency issues for family members

• Optional 10 paid days per full calendar year to volunteer

For non-sales roles, employees are also eligible to earn annual bonuses subject to Cisco’s policies.

Employees on sales plans earn performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non-quota components, subject to the applicable Cisco plan. For quota-based incentive pay, Cisco typically pays as follows:

• .75% of incentive target for each 1% of revenue attainment up to 50% of quota;

• 1.5% of incentive target for each 1% of attainment between 50% and 75%;

• 1% of incentive target for each 1% of attainment between 75% and 100%; and

• Once performance exceeds 100% attainment, incentive rates are at or above 1% for each 1% of attainment with no cap on incentive compensation.

For non‑quota-based sales performance elements such as strategic sales objectives, Cisco may pay 0% up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.

The applicable full salary ranges for this position, by specific state, are listed below:

New York City Metro Area:

$366,600.00 - $543,100.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$329,800.00 - $512,400.00

* For quota-based sales roles on Cisco’s sales plan, the ranges provided in this posting include base pay and sales target incentive compensation combined.

** Employees in Illinois, whether exempt or non-exempt, will participate in a unique time off program to meet local requirements.