People Matter

Regional Vice President, India

Okta

Okta

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Posted on Oct 3, 2024

Get to know Okta

Okta is The World’s Identity Company. We free everyone to safely use any technology—anywhere, on any device or app. Our Workforce and Customer Identity Clouds enable secure yet flexible access, authentication, and automation that transforms how people move through the digital world, putting Identity at the heart of business security and growth.

At Okta, we celebrate a variety of perspectives and experiences. We are not looking for someone who checks every single box - we’re looking for lifelong learners and people who can make us better with their unique experiences.

Join our team! We’re building a world where Identity belongs to you.

Due to our growth expectations, we are seeking an exceptional, growth-minded sales leader to join our team as Head of India. Reporting to the Senior Vice President, APAC, the Head of India will define Okta’s market strategy and be responsible for all operational aspects of the business in a matrix environment.

They will work collaboratively to lead (both directly and indirectly) a full go-to-market team covering all functions to support the revenue growth of the Indian market. This person will help transform and integrate all GTM functions, evolving an already world-class field operation, while achieving significant revenue growth annually. In addition to requisite passion, skills, and experience, the successful candidate will have a measurable track record in building and managing high-performing sales organizations.

The Head of India must have the ability to develop and implement an effective go-to-market plan aligned with Okta’s overall strategy, act as the Okta spokesperson in the region, and be the executive sponsor for key customer and partner relationships. The successful candidate is an inspiring leader of people who can recruit and retain exceptional sales talent, support the team in delivering on the agreed metrics, and while leading from the front, work alongside the team to exceed the targets for the region.

This leader will need to work closely with other functional leaders who will be establishing teams in India. To establish a local culture aligned with Okta’s values and also aligns with the local culture of India and surrounding nations. This is a unique career opportunity for an entrepreneurial and driven sales leader to spearhead the expansion of a global market leader leveraging the existing local customer references, partner base, and alliance relationships.

What We Are Looking For:

  • Strong track record in hiring, leading, and developing high-performing teams
  • Experienced at adapting and growing in fast-growing and changing environments
  • Successful in effectively influencing key stakeholders at our customers, partners, and within Okta
  • Demonstrated capability at orchestrating and aligning decision-makers around a common objective
  • Demonstrated experience in long-term business planning (3-year horizon) for hyper-growth in both direct and indirect markets
  • Able to drive strong, oriented business cadence for both opportunity creation and revenue closure
  • Adept use of tools such Salesforce, Clari, and Tableau
  • Deep understanding of Security / SaaS / Cloud Go-To-Market and the required roles for effective customer engagement
  • Demonstrated experience in segmenting and prioritising the market to focus the teams in the most impactful areas through Okta’s growth in the market

As the Head of India you will:

  • Able to attract, recruit, hire, and mentor the sales leadership team
  • Manage a team of Strategic, Enterprise, and Commercial sales teams and partner closely with other functional teams (SEs, PS, Channel/Alliances team, Legal, Desk Desk etc.).
  • Open, inclusive, and fostering a positive successful team-oriented environment, building a results-driven culture of accountability and transparency.
  • Actively support the cultural cadence for the team e.g. All Hands, team building, Okta4Good community engagement, local ERG engagement etc.
  • Lead by example, set expectations, follow through effectively, and provide coaching and mentorship as needed, and ensure that managers do the same for their team.
  • Accountable for consistently delivering and overachieving against targets – ensuring Okta’s goals, and objectives are achieved consistently and sustainably.
  • Analyse data and dynamics to maximize existing successes and create new sales growth opportunities
  • Accountable for accurate forecast monthly, quarterly, and annual targets for the assigned region; establish and manage data and supporting metrics (pipeline coverage, ASP, etc.)
  • Effectively develop, design, build, and execute all aspects of the Regional business plan to predictably and consistently generate short-term results while holding a long-term perspective of overall results.
  • Put into place sales force structure, process strategies, and strategic resource plans that will capture key opportunities in target markets, enterprise accounts/prospects, partners or industry verticals throughout the Region.
  • Unearth customer insights, define the value proposition, and determine appropriate sales and marketing strategies to maximise growth objectives.
  • Own the pipeline generation strategy and with internal stakeholders to execute against the strategy.
  • Maintain market intelligence and develop strategies to maintain Okta’s leadership position.
  • Growth mindset with the ability to outline the long-term vision and strategy.
  • Provide leadership and oversight to ensure the team leverages and deploys resources efficiently and for the highest impact. Collaborating with sales engineering, channels/alliances, customer success, renewals professional services, product, legal, marketing, and engineering teams to create a seamless customer experience.
  • Ensure the best utilisation of supporting resources jointly with the Sales management team Develop and maintain relevant senior-level contacts within the Okta partner eco-system (ISVs, resellers, and GSIs).

You will be a great fit for us if you have:

  • Over 10 years of experience building and running enterprise sales teams in the software industry
  • Over 3 years of experience as a second-line (or third-line) sales leader
  • Must have previously led a $10M+ (min) ARR sales organisation with 40%+ growth
  • Relevant software industry experience in any of the following: IT systems, cloud enterprise or infrastructure management, application development and management, security, business applications and/or analytics. Subscription, SaaS, or Cloud software experience.
  • History of consistently meeting/exceeding targets
  • Excellent leadership and influencing skills; ability to build strong business partnerships both outside, and within the organisation.
  • Skilled at business planning and diligent at measuring and communicating progress towards the plan, identifying roadblocks, and coming up with appropriate solutions.
  • Highly professional persona and polished demeanour. Strong verbal and written communication skills; effective at delivering executive-level presentations.
  • Mastery of Consultative/solution selling methodologies such as MEDDPICC, 3 Why’s Challenger, Solution Selling, and Sandler
  • Technically strong and accustomed to selling to CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, CTOs and Line of Business
  • Operationally strong and experienced in bringing structure to their organisation
  • An innovator with the courage to nourish “outside the box” thinking to the surface and pursue new ideas
  • Demonstrated ability to develop and present internal investment business cases for stakeholders such as Okta’s CEO, CFO etc.
  • General manager experience across non sales functions (desirable but not required)

Okta’s Top 5 Core Leadership Competencies are part of the deeply ingrained principles that guide all of our company’s actions. They also align strongly to our cultural cornerstones, our Okta values: love our customers, empower our people, never stop innovating, act with integrity, and maintain transparency. It’s our expectation that our managers and leaders embody these core competencies

  • Builds Effective Teams: Building strong-identity teams that apply their diverse skills and perspectives to achieve common goals.
  • Demonstrates Self-Awareness (EQ): Using a combination of feedback and reflection to gain productive insight into personal strengths and weaknesses.
  • Develops Talent: Developing people to meet both their career goals and the organization’s goals.
  • Drives Results: Consistently achieving results, even under tough circumstances.
  • Strategic Mindset: Seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them into breakthrough strategies.

#LI-TH1
#LI-Hybrid

What you can look forward to as an Full-Time Okta employee!

Okta cultivates a dynamic work environment, providing the best tools, technology and benefits to empower our employees to work productively in a setting that best and uniquely suits their needs. Each organization is unique in the degree of flexibility and mobility in which they work so that all employees are enabled to be their most creative and successful versions of themselves, regardless of where they live. Find your place at Okta today! https://www.okta.com/company/careers/.

Okta is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, or status as a protected veteran. We also consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and convictions records, consistent with applicable laws. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please use this Form to request an accommodation.

Okta is committed to complying with applicable data privacy and security laws and regulations. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy at https://www.okta.com/privacy-policy/.