Jobs · Sales · Illinois

Director, AE – Strategic Growth & Expansion

Talentfoot Executive Search · Buffalo Grove, IL · 2 wk ago
HybridSales$100/hrFull-time

Position Overview

This is a senior commercial role for an enterprise growth leader who thrives on expanding strategic accounts — not maintaining them. As Director, Account Executive for Strategic Growth & Expansion, you will own a portfolio of large enterprise clients running disbursement, incentive, prepaid, virtual card, and payout programs on the platform, with full accountability for identifying whitespace, growing wallet share, and building the kind of executive relationships that translate into multi-year commercial partnerships.

Position Responsibilities

  • Commercial Growth & Account Expansion
    • Own the commercial growth, retention, and expansion strategy for a portfolio of large enterprise clients operating disbursement, incentive, prepaid, virtual card, and payout programs on the platform.
    • Identify whitespace opportunities across business units, payment flows, and use cases where the company is not yet present, developing and maintaining strategic account plans to capture them.
    • Build and manage a prioritized pipeline of expansion opportunities within assigned accounts, driving cross-sell and upsell through consultative, solutions-based selling.
    • Lead complex commercial negotiations, renewals, pricing discussions, and multi-year contract expansions — owning in-year revenue performance and contributing to annual budgeting and forecasting.
  • Executive Relationship Management
    • Build multi-threaded relationships across enterprise accounts, engaging Procurement, Finance, Operations, Product, Business Unit leaders, and executive stakeholders to expand the depth and breadth of each partnership.
    • Lead executive business reviews focused on growth strategy, relationship health, performance trends, and retention risk — operating as a trusted advisor while maintaining a strong commercial orientation.
    • Proactively identify competitive threats and expansion opportunities within assigned accounts, maintaining client confidence and strategic momentum through operational challenges or organizational change.
  • Strategic Leadership & Internal Coordination
    • Serve as the commercial leader and executive escalation point across assigned accounts, coordinating cross-functionally with Client Success, Product, Operations, Finance, Compliance, Implementations, Marketing, and Support teams.
    • Drive internal alignment around growth initiatives, client priorities, and risk mitigation strategies — advocating for client needs while balancing operational realities and organizational priorities.
    • Provide strategic feedback into product development and commercialization initiatives based on enterprise client insight and evolving market dynamics.
  • Operational Resilience
    • Maintain account KPIs, issuance trends, and growth metrics — proactively addressing risks tied to client attrition, underperformance, or competitive pressure.
    • Navigate ambiguity and operational complexity with professionalism and sound judgment, maintaining urgency and accountability in high-pressure client situations.
    • Stay current on payments industry trends, competitive dynamics, and evolving enterprise client business needs to ensure ongoing strategic relevance across the portfolio.

Required Position Qualifications

  • Demonstrated track record of growing revenue within large enterprise accounts — consistent expansion of wallet share and contract value across a complex portfolio is essential.
  • 5–7+ years of experience in enterprise sales, strategic account management, commercial relationship management, or business development, with direct exposure to Fortune 500 or highly matrixed organizations.
  • Proven ability to navigate complex enterprise buying processes, lead multi-stakeholder commercial negotiations, and close multi-year contract renewals and expansions.
  • Strong account mapping, whitespace identification, and strategic account planning capabilities.
  • Executive presence with strong communication, relationship-building, and influencing skills across diverse enterprise buyer personas.
  • Proficiency with CRM platforms (Microsoft Dynamics preferred) and strong analytical capabilities across Excel, PowerPoint, and data-driven reporting.

Preferred

  • Payments, fintech, financial services, or technology-enabled services experience — candidates who understand how enterprise disbursement, prepaid, or virtual card programs work will ramp faster and sell more credibly.
  • Experience with disbursement, virtual card, prepaid, or adjacent payout solutions and the enterprise use cases they support.

Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

Collaborative, ownership-oriented mindset with the ability to operate strategically in a fast-evolving environment and lead through ambiguity without losing commercial momentum.

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