Area Sales Executive, Cortex

**Company Description** Our Mission**

At Palo Alto Networks® everything starts and ends with our mission:
Being the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life.
Our vision is a world where each day is safer and more secure than the one before. We are a company built on the foundation of challenging and disrupting the way things are done, and we’re looking for innovators who are as committed to shaping the future of cybersecurity as we are.

**Who We Are**

We take our mission of protecting the digital way of life seriously. We are relentless in protecting our customers and we believe that the unique ideas of every member of our team contributes to our collective success. Our values were crowdsourced by employees and are brought to life through each of us everyday - from disruptive innovation and collaboration, to execution. From showing up for each other with integrity to creating an environment where we all feel included.

As a member of our team, you will be shaping the future of cybersecurity. We work fast, value ongoing learning, and we respect each employee as a unique individual. Knowing we all have different needs, our development and personal wellbeing programs are designed to give you choice in how you are supported. This includes our FLEXBenefits wellbeing spending account with over 1,000 eligible items selected by employees, our mental and financial health resources, and our personalized learning opportunities - just to name a few

At Palo Alto Networks, we believe in the power of collaboration and value in-person interactions. This is why our employees generally work full time from our office with flexibility offered where needed. This setup fosters casual conversations, problem-solving, and trusted relationships. Our goal is to create an environment where we all win with precision.
**Job Description** Your Career**

Act as primary Cortex business partner for AVPs (Area Vice President) in conjunction with the Cortex VP for respective area(s). Be holistically responsible for overall business performance, GTM success, deals, and customer engagement across the area. This key regional role provides theatre leadership and will sit as part of the regional management teams carrying the Cortex quota and ensuring the Cortex business health for respective area(s).

They will work with the Product GTM teams to develop and aggressively drive Cortex sales plays and programs relevant for respective area(s) with the AVPs, DSMs (District Sales Managers), and account reps and own and drive the Cortex identity and community within respective area(s) and across the Theater

**Your Impact**
- Customer Activities and External Exposure
- Large Nascent deals - Heavily involved in large nascent deals to ensure the correct positioning of use cases and that the value proposition is being delivered - Management of key sales stages in the sales cycle for these deals
- External Event Participation - Participating in EBCs, customer roundtables, industry events, and other external events, representing Palo Alto Networks' strategy in SOC transformation strategy
- QSR Participation -**Monthly participation in Cortex QSRs to enhance understanding of how our customers utilize the Cortex platform and XSIAM/Prisma Access SD-WAN platform to benefit our Account Teams and Specialist Reps and improve our storytelling
- Participation rates in Cortex pipeline creation/bookings - Identify repeatable practices from successful areas, address underperforming districts/areas
- Business Performance Ownership
- Performance Management - Establishing and tracking against key performance indicators (KPIs) e.g., participation rates in CX pipeline creation/bookings and sales metrics, and analyzing data to identify trends, opportunities, and areas of improvement to address underperforming districts/areas - Identify repeatable practices from successful areas - Collaborating with Cortex VP and (Core) AVPs to define sales acceleration goals and objectives (Goals & Milestones for AVPs and DSMs)
- Pipeline Management - Working closely with the DSM and Specialist Reps to manage and increase the sales pipeline and lead generation activities
- New Opportunity Alignment - Align and work out the GTM specificities of the different products, new ones, and associated routes to market (ex - MSSPs/MDR) in the region
- Sales Process and Program Management
- Sales Process Optimization - Evaluate and enhance the sales process to identify areas for improvement, streamline workflows, and increase efficiency
- Selling industrialisation - Developing Cortex campaigns and selling initiatives to meet the adoption and growth goals of Cortex and supporting their execution
- Sales Execution Improvement - Identifying internal bottlenecks and streamlining processes with GTM, Sales Ops, and IT support - Drive QBRs and other internal reviews
- Collaboration and Alignment - Foster collaboration with cross-functional teams, such as Marketing, Renewal, Ecosys