Strategic Sales Executive

About Us

Proofpoint is a global leader in human- and agent-centric cybersecurity. We protect how people, data, and AI agents connect across email, cloud, and collaboration tools. Over 80 of the Fortune 100, 10,000 large enterprises, and millions of smaller organizations trust Proofpoint to stop threats, prevent data loss, and build resilience across their people and AI workflows. Our mission is simple: safeguard the digital world and empower people to work securely and confidently. Join us in our pursuit to defend data and protect people.

How We Work

At Proofpoint you’ll be part of a global team that breaks barriers to redefine cybersecurity guided by our BRAVE core values:

• Bold in how we dream and innovate
• Responsive to feedback, challenges and opportunities
• Accountable for results and best in class outcomes
• Visionary in future focused problem-solving
• Exceptional in execution and impact
• Strategic

Strategic Sales Executive (Italy)

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced pipeline generation specialist with a proven background selling into Enterprise and Strategic accounts. This individual will operate as an extension of our field sales organisation, partnering with Enterprise and Strategic Account Managers to create qualified opportunities across both prospective customers and our existing customer base. You will be responsible for opening doors within some of Italy's largest organisations, engaging senior business and security decision-makers, uncovering strategic initiatives and generating qualified meetings that convert into meaningful pipeline. The successful candidate will understand how Enterprise customers buy, how to navigate complex stakeholder environments and how to build executive relationships that create commercial opportunities.

What You'll Be Responsible For

• Build qualified pipeline across Enterprise and Strategic accounts throughout Italy.
• Develop opportunities within named new-logo accounts through highly targeted outbound engagement.
• Create expansion opportunities by identifying cross-sell and upsell initiatives within existing Proofpoint customers.
• Partner closely with Enterprise Account Managers and Strategic Account Managers to execute territory and account plans.
• Engage senior decision-makers including CIOs, CISOs, CTOs, Heads of Security and IT Executives.
• Conduct detailed account research to understand business priorities, technology investments, security initiatives and organisational structure.
• Build multi-threaded engagement strategies across target organisations.
• Execute personalised outreach using multiple channels including executive networking, referrals, LinkedIn, industry events, email and telephone.
• Work closely with Marketing, Customer Success and Channel teams to maximise campaign effectiveness and account penetration.
• Maintain accurate opportunity, activity and pipeline information within Salesforce.
• Consistently exceed pipeline generation objectives while maintaining a high-quality customer experience.

What We're Looking For

• Significant experience selling or generating pipeline within Enterprise software, SaaS or Cybersecurity organisations.
• Demonstrable success engaging Enterprise and Strategic customers.
• Experience working alongside Enterprise or Strategic Account Executives within complex sales environments.
• Strong understanding of enterprise buying processes and long, multi-stakeholder sales cycles.
• Experience prospecting into C-level and senior executive stakeholders.
• Ability to identify whitespace opportunities and commercial growth within existing customer accounts.
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to uncover business challenges and align Proofpoint solutions accordingly.
• Proven ability to influence opportunities from initial engagement through to qualified pipeline.

Preferred Experience

Cybersecurity industry experience is strongly preferred. Experience selling solutions involving email security, data protection, identity, cloud security or human-centric security. Familiarity with MEDDPICC, Challenger, Command of the Message or similar enterprise sales methodologies. Experience using Salesforce, LinkedIn Sales Navigator and enterprise sales engagement platforms.

Skills & Attributes

• Thinks strategically rather than tactically.
• Is comfortable engaging executive stakeholders from the first conversation.
• Builds credibility quickly with Enterprise customers.
• Understands how to penetrate complex organisations.
• Creates opportunities rather than waits for them.
• Demonstrates resilience, curiosity and commercial awareness.
• Works collaboratively with Sales, Marketing and Customer Success.