Leader, Cybersecurity Velocity Sales

We are seeking a dynamic, forward-thinking Cybersecurity Specialist Sales Manager based in Tokyo, Japan to lead, coach, and inspire a high-performing team of Cybersecurity Sales Specialists across Japan and Greater China (GC) within our Velocity (SMB & Mid-Market) organization. In this role, you will be responsible for driving double-digit growth, accelerating deal velocity, and deepening partner co-sell motions across our core security pillars. You will bridge local market execution in Japan with multi-cultural regional leadership across Greater China and the broader APJC ecosystem. What You'll Do 1.

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.

Responsibilities

• Leadership & Team Development • Lead & Inspire: Manage and mentor a diverse team of Cybersecurity Sales Specialists across Japan and Greater China, fostering an inclusive, high-performance, and coaching-led sales culture. • Forecast Accuracy & Pipeline Hygiene: Oversee weekly pipeline cadence, maintain disciplined forecast predictability and manage non-standard discounting to ensure profitable growth.
• 2.
• Formulate and execute regional go-to-market (GTM) strategies to capture market share across Japan and Greater China's mid-market and SMB customer segments.
• 3.
• & Distributor Co-Selling (Ecosystem Acceleration) • Channel Collaboration: Partner closely with System Integrators, National Distributors across Japan and Greater China to scale security reach.
• 4.
• Cross-Regional & Matrix Collaboration • Regional Interlock: Act as a strategic conduit between Japan sales operations, Greater China teams, and APJC regional executive leadership. • Voice of the Customer/Partner: Provide structured feedback to Product Management, Marketing, and Technical Solutions Architects on local competitive trends and localized product requirements.
• With You will report to the Director of APJC Security Velocity Sales and collaborate closely with: • Velocity & Commercial Sales Leaders: Aligning security specialist coverage with generalist account managers and virtual sales teams. • Cisco Partner Organization (CPO): Driving joint GTM campaigns with regional distributors and channel partners. • Systems Engineering & Specialist Architecture Teams: Ensuring robust technical validation and seamless customer proof-of-value (PoV) cycles. • APJC and Global Cybersecurity Leadership: Contributing to regional strategy, pricing governance, and product rollout initiatives.

Requirements

• Experience: 8+ years of successful technology sales experience, with at least 3+ years of direct people management or leadership of a specialist sales or commercial team in the Cybersecurity / SaaS / Networking domain. • Market Knowledge: Deep understanding of the Japan or GC cybersecurity market landscape, commercial customer buying behaviors, and compliance frameworks. • Language Proficiency: • Japanese: Native or bilingual business proficiency (JLPT N1 equivalent or native speaker) with exceptional communication and negotiation skills. • English: Professional business fluency (verbal and written) for active collaboration with APJC and global leadership.

Preferred

• Security Acumen: Strong familiarity with modern cybersecurity concepts (SASE, SSE, ZeroTrust, XDR, NGFW, Cloud Security). • Greater China / APJC Experience: Prior experience managing sales across Greater China (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China) or multi-country APJC territories. • Mandarin Chinese: Professional working proficiency in Mandarin Chinese is highly desirable. • Track Record: Proven history of consistently exceeding quota targets in a high-velocity, high-volume transactional or mid-market sales environment. • Education: Bachelor's degree in Business, Computer Science, Information Technology, or equivalent practical experience.
• Why Cisco?