Director, Sales Business Development - Agentic Trust

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Headquartered in Minnesota, Entrust is an industry leader in identity-centric security solutions, serving over 150 countries with cutting-edge , scalable technologies. But our secret weapon? Our people. It’s the curiosity , dedication, and innovation that drive our success and help us anticipate the future.

Position Summary

The Director, Business Development & Category Definition, Agentic Trust will turn an emerging customer problem into a recognized and commercially viable market category for Entrust. The role will define the category, validate priority buyers and use cases, secure lighthouse customers and partners, and create the evidence, commercial models and repeatable plays required to scale.

This is a hands-on market-making role, not a conventional field sales or alliance position. Working across Product, Architecture, Engineering, Marketing, Sales, Strategy and Executive Leadership, the Director will be the commercial voice of the market and shape how Entrust differentiates trust for enterprise AI agents across identity, delegated authorization, assurance, evidence, auditability, compliance and governance.

Core Outcomes:

· Credible category narrative, buyer problem definition and differentiated Entrust point of view.

· Prioritised market map covering use cases, buying centres, ideal customers, partners and alternatives.

· Lighthouse engagements that validate urgency, value, solution fit, willingness to pay and reference potential.

· Repeatable discovery, qualification, workshop, pilot, partner and executive-engagement plays.

· Fact-based input to product strategy, packaging, pricing, partnerships and investment choices.

Key Responsibilities:

· Category Definition & Market Creation

· Define the customer problem, category boundaries, buyer urgency, value drivers, alternatives and Entrust right to win.

· Refine the category narrative and terminology with customers, partners, analysts, Marketing and Product.

· Position Agentic Trust against adjacent markets including AI governance, agent security, non-human identity and trust infrastructure.

· Turn market evidence into recommendations on where we should lead, partner, integrate or not invest.

Market Discovery & Commercial Validation

· Run structured discovery to test use cases, personas, budgets, procurement paths, barriers and willingness to pay.

· Lead executive workshops and design-partner engagements that test pain, urgency, outcomes and commercial readiness.

· Prioritise opportunities by impact, repeatability, strategic fit, ecosystem leverage and speed to evidence.

Lighthouse Customers

· Originate and lead a focused set of lighthouse pursuits with account teams, from discovery through agreement.

· Define mutual success plans, measurable outcomes, learning goals, expansion paths and reference criteria.

· Codify winning use cases, objections, proof points and qualification standards for wider sales adoption.

Ecosystem & Partnerships:

· Prioritise hyperscalers, AI platforms, model providers, systems integrators, identity and security vendors, and industry alliances.

· Create joint value propositions, reference architectures, commercial frameworks and co-innovation or co-sell motions.

· Focus on partnerships that materially improve credibility, product relevance, distribution or customer access.

Product & Commercial Model Influence

· Convert buyer evidence into prioritised product, solution and integration requirements.

· Test packaging, pricing, services, partner economics and contracting models with the market.

· Define minimum sellable and scalable offers and inform build-partner-buy decisions.

Go-to-Market Incubation:

· Build the initial playbook: target accounts, personas, triggers, discovery, value hypotheses, competitive framing and qualification.

· Partner with Marketing on thought leadership, analyst engagement, demand creation and executive messaging.

· Coach strategic pursuits and establish clear hand-off criteria from incubation to scaled sales execution.

Operating Rhythm

· Maintain a scorecard covering learning velocity, lighthouse progress, evidence maturity, qualified pipeline and scale readiness.

· Run cross-functional governance and provide executive updates separating facts, hypotheses, risks and decisions required.

Measures of Success

Category traction

Customers, partners and analysts recognise a clear problem definition and differentiated Entrust point of view.

Market validation

Evidence confirms priority buyers, use cases, urgency, measurable value and willingness to invest.

Lighthouse progress

Strategic engagements advance through explicit learning, technical, commercial and reference milestones.

Commercial creation

Qualified opportunities and partner routes show credible paths to scalable revenue.

Repeatability

Proven plays, assets, qualification, packaging and hand-offs can be executed by field teams.

Strategic influence

Market evidence changes roadmap, partnership, packaging, pricing or investment decisions.

Required Experience & Capabilities

· 10+ years in business development, category creation, market development, strategic partnerships, product strategy or enterprise technology growth.

· Demonstrated success creating or scaling an emerging technology category, new market, platform proposition or ecosystem-led business.

· Experience leading ambiguous, zero-to-one initiatives and converting market learning into repeatable commercial motions.

· Proven ability to engage senior executives, shape new demand and secure sponsorship for first-of-kind initiatives.

· Experience structuring complex partnerships, design-partner programmes, co-innovation agreements or new commercial models.

· Experience in enterprise software, cybersecurity, identity, cloud, SaaS, AI or adjacent technology markets.

Core Capabilities:

· Category thinking: defines a market problem and builds a differentiated, externally credible point of view.

· Commercial judgement: converts interest into value, sponsorship, investment and qualified action.

· Market sensing: synthesises customer, competitor, partner, analyst, standards and regulatory signals.

· Executive communication: translates complex technical and commercial issues into decisions.

· Operating discipline: manages hypotheses, lighthouse pursuits, partners, dependencies and measurable outcomes.

· Technical fluency across AI agents, identity, authentication, authorisation, governance, assurance, cryptography, evidence and trust architectures.

Preferred Qualifications

· Experience with agentic AI architectures, non-human identity, delegated authorisation, AI governance, Zero Trust, interoperability or enterprise trust infrastructure.

· Experience with hyperscalers, systems integrators, AI platforms, major software providers, analysts or standards bodies.

· Experience in regulated industries such as financial services, insurance, government, healthcare or critical infrastructure.

· Bachelor’s degree in Business, Technology, Engineering, Computer Science or a related field; advanced degree preferred.

Leadership Profile:

A market maker rather than a caretaker: externally curious, commercially rigorous and comfortable operating before the category, product or buying process is fully formed. The successful candidate creates clarity from ambiguity, challenges weak assumptions, earns trust with executives and technical teams, and remains accountable for moving from insight to evidence to repeatable commercial outcomes.

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