Sr. Director, Strategy & Planning (Hyperscale & AI)

Application window expected to close on 08/21/2026; posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or sufficient applications are received.

About the Team

Join the Americas Sales Strategy, Planning, and Operations (SP&O) team – a dynamic organization where innovation and technology converge. We are the engine that empowers our sales teams to deliver exceptional customer outcomes, combining strategic foresight with operational excellence to drive growth across the Americas.

Responsibilities

• Visionary People Leadership: Lead and develop a high-performing Strategy & Planning team; own the vision and roadmap while fostering career growth and mentorship.
• Build Growth Plans: Develop and operationalize annual and long-range strategic sales plans using structured frameworks and data-driven insights.
• Strategic Initiative Leadership: Identify and lead GTM transformation initiatives that align with long-term organizational priorities across global markets.
• Data-Driven Analysis: Utilize advanced AI, Business Intelligence, and statistical tools to provide actionable GTM recommendations and competitive insights to executives.
• Executive Communication: Synthesize complex data into compelling stories for senior leadership (COO, SVPs) to align sales, product, and finance teams.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Partner with marketing, product development, and operations to ensure seamless execution of strategic priorities.
• Strategic Assessment: Optimize resource allocation (invest/divest) across regions and products to maximize output and refine sales organization design.

Requirements

• 12+ years' experience in a combination of sales strategy, operations, or management consulting.
• BA/BS Degree.
• You work for a mid-to-large sized tech company or a strategy consulting firm, where you've been instrumental in defining and implementing GTM strategies.
• Proven track record of leading large, distributed teams to success, ensuring alignment across multiple departments such as Sales, Operations, Corporate Strategy, and Finance.
• Deep expertise in the Technology industry and key performance metrics.
• Experience with direct sales or channel sales, including resell, MSP, MSSP, Webscale, or Service Provider channels.
• Ability to draw insightful business conclusions from sophisticated data sets.
• Strong executive-level presence enabling you to present compelling recommendations and influence partners effectively.
• Contribute to an inclusive and diverse environment by bringing your authentic self to work.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience partnering with executive sales leaders to achieve growth targets.
• Preferred experience directly in the Hyperscale and AI business.
• Extensive experience working directly with Executive leadership and steering Executive alignment across multiple functional areas.
• Ability to motivate and lead cross-functional teams by example, even when challenges are extremely complex and solutions are unclear.
• Consistent track record in cross-functional collaboration, establishing relationships, and driving successful outcomes in a matrixed environment.
• Project Execution: Experience running programs that span approximately 6-12 months through to completion.
• Strong communications & influencing skills, experience speaking publicly & working with partners at all levels, producing executive-level content, and conducting executive conversations.
• Strong in framing & structuring business problems, prioritizing the effort, conducting complex quantitative and qualitative analysis, building an executive-level story complete with recommendations.
• Data specialist, able to see the heart of the results or opportunities to drive action.
• Knowledge of CRM and Project Management tools.
• Curious and flexible, enjoying variety and willing to tackle different roles/responsibilities as business needs evolve.
• A standout colleague: You love a challenge, support your teammates, and are inspired working with others to achieve success.
• Fail-forward demeanor, leading as a natural innovator in the face of change and adversity.
• MBA or equivalent experience is preferred.

About 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.

Pay

The starting salary range for this position is $286,200.00 to $364,400.00 for new hires 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 specific locations is listed below:

• New York City Metro Area: $286,200.00 - $416,900.00
• Non-Metro New York State & Washington State: $253,000.00 - $386,900.00

For quota-based sales roles on Cisco’s sales plan, the ranges provided 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.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution.
• Paid parental leave.
• Short and long-term disability coverage.
• Basic life insurance.
• Grants of Cisco restricted stock units, which vest following continued employment with Cisco for defined periods of time.
• 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.
• 4 paid days off for personal wellness.
• Non-exempt employees receive 16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year, accrued at a 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, with up to 80 hours of unused sick time carried forward from one calendar year to 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 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, split between quota and non-quota components.