TrendAI™, the global AI security leader and enterprise business unit of Trend Micro, empowers organizations with full AI visibility and consolidated security that inspires confidence, drives innovation, and eliminates risk.
At TrendAI™, we’re always seeking exceptional talent; people who want to collaborate with the best and push boundaries together. Here, your work goes beyond building a career. You will help protect what matters and play a vital role in shaping a safer, more trustworthy AI-powered future.
AI Fearlessly.
Location: The ideal candidate will be located US Remote, TX.
Position Summary
The Vertical Leader is a senior sales leader responsible for driving TrendAI’s revenue and market share within a defined industry vertical. As a player-coach, this individual combines deep knowledge of the assigned vertical’s business landscape, regulatory environment, and technology priorities with proven enterprise sales leadership skills. They manage, coach, and develop a team of Enterprise Account Managers while directly sponsoring and influencing the largest, most strategic accounts within their vertical.
This role sits at the intersection of technology and business strategy—translating TrendAI’s cybersecurity platform into quantifiable business outcomes for customers in industries such as Financial Services, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Government & Public Sector, or Industrial & Energy. The Vertical Leader is expected to serve as a visible thought leader and trusted advisor both internally and in the market.
Key Responsibilities
Team Leadership & Development
- Lead, coach, and develop a team of Enterprise Account Managers focused on named accounts within the vertical.
- Set clear performance expectations, conduct regular pipeline and deal reviews, and hold the team accountable to quota attainment and activity KPIs.
- Recruit, onboard, and retain top sales talent; build a diverse, high-performing team culture aligned with TrendAI’s values.
- Provide structured coaching on enterprise sales methodology (e.g., MEDDPICC/MEDDIC), executive engagement, competitive positioning, and negotiation.
- Identify individual development needs and partner with Sales Enablement to close skills gaps and accelerate ramp time for new hires.
Vertical Strategy & Go-to-Market
- Define and execute the go-to-market strategy for the assigned vertical, including territory planning, account segmentation, and coverage model design.
- Develop deep expertise in vertical-specific business drivers, threat landscapes, compliance requirements (e.g., HIPAA, PCI-DSS, NERC CIP, FedRAMP), and technology buying cycles.
- Create vertical-specific value propositions, reference architectures, and sales plays in partnership with Product Marketing, Solutions Engineering, and Alliances.
- Identify whitespace and expansion opportunities within existing accounts and net-new prospects; prioritize investment of team resources accordingly.
- Represent the vertical’s needs internally—providing market feedback to Product, Engineering, and Marketing to influence roadmap and messaging.
Executive Sponsorship & Strategic Selling
- Directly engage C-suite and board-level stakeholders at named strategic accounts as an executive sponsor and trusted security advisor.
- Lead or co-lead complex, multi-stakeholder enterprise deals from qualification through negotiation and close, applying a consultative, outcome-based selling approach.
- Orchestrate internal resources—Solutions Engineering, Professional Services, Customer Success, and Legal—to deliver compelling proposals and ensure deal velocity.
- Drive land-and-expand motions by partnering with Customer Success to grow platform adoption and contract value post-close.
Revenue & Business Management
- Own the vertical’s revenue number and forecast with accuracy; maintain rigorous pipeline discipline using Salesforce CRM.
- Deliver consistent quarter-over-quarter growth against ARR, new logo, and pipeline coverage targets.
- Develop and present business plans, vertical QBRs, and investment cases to senior leadership.
- Partner with Channel, Alliances, and MSSP teams to build vertical-specific partner programs that extend TrendAI’s reach and accelerate deal cycles.
Cross-Functional Collaboration & Thought Leadership
- Act as the internal voice of the vertical—sharing market intelligence, win/loss patterns, and competitive dynamics with Product, Marketing, and Executive teams.
- Represent TrendAI at industry conferences, events, and executive roundtables to build brand presence and pipeline within the vertical.
- Collaborate with Solutions Engineering and Services to shape repeatable delivery models and vertical-specific professional services offerings.
Qualifications
- 10+ years of enterprise technology sales experience, with at least 3–5 years in a sales management or leadership role managing quota-carrying teams.
- Demonstrated track record of exceeding revenue targets (≥2M+ ARR quota) and leading teams to consistent quota attainment in a competitive enterprise market.
- Proven ability to sell complex, multi-product technology solutions to C-suite executives (CIO, CISO, CFO) at Fortune 1000 accounts.
- Domain expertise in cybersecurity (endpoint, cloud security, network security, XDR/SIEM, or adjacent markets) or in the target vertical’s technology ecosystem.
- Experience recruiting, developing, and retaining high-performing enterprise account managers.
- Strong command of enterprise sales methodologies (MEDDPICC, Challenger, SPIN, or equivalent) and pipeline management discipline.
- Executive-level communication, storytelling, and presentation skills; able to inspire confidence with both technical and business audiences.
- Proficiency with Salesforce CRM and modern sales productivity tools.
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent professional experience).
Preferred
- Deep industry expertise in Technology, Media & Communications; direct experience selling to or within this sector is strongly preferred.
- Familiarity with vertical-specific regulatory frameworks: HIPAA, PCI-DSS, NERC CIP, FedRAMP, CMMC, SOX, GDPR.
- Experience selling cloud security, XDR, or platform-based security solutions in a land-and-expand model.
- MBA or advanced degree.
- Active participation in vertical industry associations or communities (e.g., HIMSS, FS-ISAC, ISAC councils).
- Willingness to travel approximately 40–60% of the time for customer engagement, team accompaniment, executive sponsorship activities, and industry events within the assigned vertical.
What We Offer You
You're important to us. What matters to you, matters to us too. Trend Micro provides benefit options for you and your family. Here some of the top-rated benefits that employees enjoy today:
- Comprehensive health benefits and paid time off package
- Pre-partum, maternity, parental, medical leave and adoption assistance
- Mental Health Wellness Program & Annual Wellness Incentive
- 401(k) with company match
- Pet Insurance
- Collaborative and innovative culture
We are committed to fostering a professional, respectful, and inclusive work environment that promotes collaboration and high performance. We value diverse backgrounds and perspectives and welcome candidates who bring unique strengths and experiences. If you’re excited about this role and believe you can contribute and grow with us, we encourage you to apply.
Be Passionate. Be Innovative. Be a Trender.
This position does not offer sponsorship for work permit applications or renewals, either now or in the future. Candidates must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for employment-based visa sponsorship, both currently and moving forward. The company will not sponsor applicants for U.S. work visa status for this role (including, but not limited to, H-1B, L-1, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, F-1, J-1, OPT, CPT, or any other employment-based visa). The Candidate must be US Citizen.
At Trend Micro, we embrace change, empower people, and encourage innovation in a connected world. Our diversity and multicultural workforce are key contributing factors to our success across the globe. Trend Micro provides equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. Trend Micro does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy and childbirth or related medical conditions, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care leave status, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, or gender identity.