Managing Director Security Sales - West

AHEAD; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

AHEAD is seeking a dynamic Security Sales Leader to drive the growth of its West US security business. You will build and scale a regional team, shape the go-to-market for cybersecurity offerings, and partner with OEMs, resellers, and internal stakeholders to expand bookings and services.

You will own regional strategy, manage forecasts, and engage with C-level executives to position AHEAD as a trusted advisor for secure digital transformation across enterprise clients.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of IT sales experience, including 3–5 years in cybersecurity solutions.
• 5+ years of sales leadership, with quota-carrying sellers; leading distributed teams.
• Strong relationships with C-level executives, CISOs, and security leaders.

Responsibilities

• Own and execute cybersecurity sales strategy for the West region across all verticals and accounts.
• Lead and grow a high-performing Security Sales Specialists team.
• Collaborate with engineering, services, partner alliances, and security teams to enhance go-to-market strategies.
• Manage regional pipeline, forecast accuracy, and CRM governance.
• Engage directly with strategic West-region clients to position AHEAD as a trusted advisor.

Skills

IT sales

cybersecurity solutions

sales leadership

channel partnerships

C-level relationships

data analytics

Tools

Salesforce

Power BI

Job description

AHEAD builds platforms for digital business. By weaving together advances in cloud infrastructure, automation and analytics, and software delivery, we help enterprises deliver on the promise of digital transformation.

At AHEAD, we prioritize creating a culture of belonging, where all perspectives and voices are represented, valued, respected, and heard. We create spaces to empower everyone to speak up, make change, and drive the culture at AHEAD.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and do not discriminate based on an individual's race, national origin, color, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, marital status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law, whether actual or perceived.

We embrace all candidates that will contribute to the diversification and enrichment of ideas and perspectives at AHEAD.

AHEAD is a leading IT solutions provider and systems integrator specializing in delivering end-to-end cybersecurity, cloud, and infrastructure solutions to global and enterprise clients. With a robust portfolio of security advisory, integration, and managed services, we help clients protect their digital assets and infrastructure while enabling secure digital transformation.

Position Overview

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Security Sales Leader to drive the growth and execution of our Security business in the West US region. This role requires a high-performing, customer‑centric executive with a proven track record of building and scaling high-performing teams and working within the reseller / integrator ecosystem (including OEMs that sell via the channel model).

You will be responsible for the AHEAD Security business for the West US region, which includes managing and developing a team of Security Sales Specialists across the West to execute the AHEAD Security go‑to‑market and grow the Security business. You will build strong relationships with key customers, OEM partners, regional core sales leadership, and internal stakeholders.

This is a senior leadership role with direct ownership of regional security performance, including growth of bookings with a heavy focus on services growth.

Sales Leadership & Strategy

• Own and execute the cybersecurity sales strategy for the West region, driving revenue and margin growth across all verticals and accounts.

• Partner closely with regional core sales leadership (EVPs and MDs) to stay aligned on regional goals, account coverage, and execution.

• Measure and manage security performance in both install base and net‑new accounts, ensuring pipeline health and forecast accuracy.

Team Management & Development

• Lead, develop, and grow a high‑performing team of Security Sales Specialists focused on AHEAD's security portfolio.

• Ramp new reps to full productivity through 1:1s, deal coaching, QBRs, account strategy reviews, and skills development.

• Set clear expectations and operating rhythms around territory planning, pipeline generation, forecast discipline, and account execution.

Services & Solution Development

• Collaborate with core sales, engineering, partner alliances, and services teams to enhance security go‑to‑market strategies, including:

• Priority sales plays (e.g., AI security, SASE, CTEM, SOC modernization)

• Pre‑sales focus areas and solution architectures

• Professional services, managed security services (MSSP), and advisory offerings

• Align security services and solutions to client outcomes, ensuring repeatable plays that scale across the region.

Vendor & Partner Alignment

• Work in partnership with the Director of Strategic Security Partners (and security alliances team) to cultivate and manage relationships with top cybersecurity OEM sales leadership).

• Support and co‑own regional events, joint account planning, and executive briefings to drive joint pipeline and influence.

Customer Engagement

• Engage directly with strategic West‑region clients to build peer‑to‑peer security leadership relationships and position AHEAD as a trusted advisor.

• Partner with your Security Sales Specialists to shape account strategies, guide opportunity pursuit, and ensure solutions are tightly mapped to business outcomes.

• Support regional client events, executive dinners, and EBCs focused on integrated and AI‑driven security outcomes.

Ownership of the West Security Business

• Own the security business for the West region in partnership with the VP of Security Sales.

• Review rep forecasts and commits for accuracy, leveraging CRM and BI tools (e.g., Salesforce, Power BI) to drive a disciplined forecasting culture.

• Roll up accurate team commits across Product, Professional Services, and Managed Services and communicate risks and upside clearly.

• Track and analyze key performance KPIs, including:

• Vendor‑specific growth trends

• Services attach rates and services mix

• Margin performance (Y/Y and Q/Q)

• New logo and expansion performance

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in IT sales, with at least 3‑5 years focused on cybersecurity solutions.

• Deep understanding of the Channel business, including experience at or with value‑added resellers (VARs) and systems integrators (SIs).

• 5+ years of sales leadership experience, including management of quota‑carrying sellers; demonstrated success in building and scaling teams and leading geographically distributed organizations.

• Strong understanding of cybersecurity solutions such as Security Operations (EDR/XDR, SIEM), Network Security (SASE, SSE), Cloud Security, Identity Security, and Data Security, and familiarity with leading vendors (Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, Cisco, Wiz, CrowdStrike, Zscaler, and others).

• Proven ability to build trusted relationships with C‑level executives, CISOs, and security leaders, acting as a strategic advisor.

• Experience leading in a matrixed environment, collaborating across sales, services, marketing, and alliances.

• Strong analytical, communication, and presentation skills; comfortable operating in QBRs, ELT reviews, and client executive briefings.

Why Join us

• Competitive base salary + uncapped commission with meaningful upside for overachievement.

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision benefits.

• 401(k) with company match.

• Opportunity to lead and shape a rapidly growing Security practice in a high‑visibility regional leadership role.

• Direct access to leading security vendors and partners and a strong internal bench of security architects, engineers, and advisors.

• Collaborative, entrepreneurial culture that rewards initiative, ownership, and innovation.

The compensation range indicated in this posting reflects the On-Target Earnings ("OTE") for this role, which includes a base salary and any applicable target bonus amount. This OTE range may vary based on the candidate's relevant experience, qualifications, and geographic location.

Why AHEAD:

Through our daily work and internal groups like Moving Women AHEAD and RISE AHEAD, we value and benefit from diversity of people, ideas, experience, and everything in between.

We fuel growth by stacking our office with top‑notch technologies in a multi‑million‑dollar lab, by encouraging cross department training and development, sponsoring certifications and credentials for continued learning.

USA Employment Benefits include:

• - Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance

• - 401(k)

• - Paid company holidays

• - Paid time off

• - Paid parental and caregiver leave

• - Plus more! See benefits https://www.aheadbenefits.com/ for additional details.

Use of AI:

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, assessing responses, or to capture recordings and create transcriptions or summaries during interviews. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans.

If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please refer to the Candidate Privacy Notice or contact us at [e-mail].

You may opt‑out of the review or analysis of your application and resume by AI tools by using the General Application. Please include the role you wish to apply for in the Additional Information field. You may also choose to opt‑out of recording and transcription at any time, including after joining an interview. Candidates will not be penalized for choosing to opt‑out.