About the position:

Netskope is seeking an accomplished and strategic leader to fill the role of Sr. Dir, Business Development and Strategic Alliances - AI Ecosystem. This pivotal position is responsible for defining, developing, evolving, executing, and maintaining the global strategic partnerships / alliances strategy and engagement with key value chain participants across the AI ecosystem (e.g., hardware, data, foundation model, MLOps, applications, AI agents, services) to support and enhance Netskope’s reputation, market presence, and leadership position. This role requires a highly versatile and capable individual with a proven track record of success spanning creative strategy development to execution discipline and pragmatism, executive presence and credibility along with the ability to closely collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders including product and engineering teams, a strong business sense coupled with technology curiosity and fluency, negotiation strategy and tactics that result in achieving the right outcomes, and delivering results and impact aligned with strategic and business goals

Responsibilities include:

Business Development and Alliance Strategy and Execution

• Understand AI value chain and ecosystem players, anticipating scenarios for how the landscape may evolve, and formulate a winning business development and alliance strategy.
• Proactively identify, define, assess, champion, and drive strategic business development and alliance opportunities aligned with Netskope priorities and goals, including architecting creative, pioneering concepts that are innovative and could be transformational, and develop and refine ongoing opportunity prioritization. Provide the drive, passion, enthusiasm, and focus to advocate the right partnerships, and demonstrate GRIT (Guts, Resolve, Integrity, Tenacity) to get them done.
• Identify key stakeholders and engagement approaches based on an informed perspective of mutual interests and proposed value propositions, and develop, influence, nurture, and maintain key stakeholder relationships.
• Plan negotiation strategy including driving internal alignment on prioritized interests and other key considerations, and lead and manage negotiation process and execution of relevant agreements ensuring the right cross-functional collaboration, support, and approvals.
• Establish and manage alliance plans based on key value drivers and associated key milestones and success metrics, objectively reviewing performance and making strategic and/or pragmatic course co