Director of Business Development

"My job is to help my company grow by generating new sales leads and product opportunities, especially in a fast-paced technology world. I bridge engineering, product management and sales as these functions can often fall into the trap of operating in isolation. I need to be out with our sales team, meeting with customers and prospects all the time to build relationships and uncover emerging needs. I bring market intelligence back from the field to guide product management and engineering as part of a longer-term strategy to grow our business. I’m always on top of industry trends and new players."

Salary Range:

$120,900 - $156,900

The Tip

Go travel internationally. Go do a semester abroad. Go volunteer overseas. You’ll realize it’s a really big world. Once you realize this first hand, complacency is not an option.

Priority Knowledge & Skills

Technical Knowledge & Skills

IS strategy, management & acquisition
Knowledge of applications
Systems analysis
System design & software development

Management Skills

Develop & execute a distribution strategy
Apply principles of CRM
Manage a sales process
Conduct sales presentations
Measure return on investment (ROI)
Manage a budget
Develop & execute a pricing strategy

Building Block Experiences

Education & Learning:

Bachelor of Computer Information Systems. Minor in entrepreneurship.
MBA, University of Reading (UK)
Avid listener of tech and sales podcasts. The Sales Evangelist is a current favourite.

"I knew early that I wanted to develop my skills to excel in international sales for a global technology company. This was my unique value proposition. Sales is fast and changing; stagnation is a career killer. My goal was to break into international sales, which led me to pursuing an MBA in the UK. The classroom learning combined with the cultural context of this experience created my unique value proposition. Few days go by when I don’t have a reason to refer to my time in the UK."

Employment Experiences:

Retail telecommunications sales during university
Took a variety of increasingly senior technology sales position
Following the MBA, moved into a senior business development job at a small technology start-up
My product line was acquired by a larger systems integrator and my position was relocated to San Jose

"My employment pathway was intentional. I built my technology sales credentials early at home, but with a vision of working in a global technology company. My international MBA (combined with my sales experience) was my differentiator."

Community Experiences:

International travel and assignments makes active engagement in my community difficult

"This is a part of me I had to sacrifice, but with my recent three-year appointment in the San Jose, I want to become engaged in the community."

Contextual Experiences:

Doing an international exchange program in high school sowed the seed for building an international career

"It sounds like a cliché, but the exchange program I did in high school was life-changing. After this, the question wasn’t “if,” it was “how” I’ll build a global life."

Relationships:

Focused on building international networks

"I have a genuine passion for other people’s stories. This interest is reciprocated. I consider my international relationships a constant opportunity to learn from others."