Strategic Public Sector Accounts Lead – SASE

Major Account Manager – SASE & SecOps | Central Government

Location: Rome, Italy

Fortinet is seeking a Major Account Manager to drive growth across the Central Government market in Italy, with a specialist focus on SASE and Security Operations (SecOps).

This is a direct, quota-carrying sales role responsible for developing and managing strategic government accounts, creating new business opportunities, and expanding Fortinet’s presence within organisations where cybersecurity, secure access, threat detection, and operational resilience are critical priorities.

The successful candidate will own a portfolio of strategic Central Government accounts and will be responsible for developing account strategies, identifying new opportunities, engaging senior stakeholders, and positioning Fortinet’s SASE, SecOps, and broader cybersecurity solutions to address complex government security requirements.

This role requires an experienced enterprise sales professional with a strong understanding of SASE, Secure Access Service Edge, Zero Trust, Security Operations and related cybersecurity technologies, combined with a proven track record of selling directly to large government organisations.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute strategic account plans for assigned Central Government customers, with responsibility for revenue growth, pipeline development, and achievement of sales targets

• Own and deliver a direct sales quota through new business development, account expansion, and strategic opportunity management

• Identify, develop, and close complex sales opportunities across SASE, Secure Access Service Edge, Zero Trust, SecOps, network security, cloud security, and related Fortinet solutions

• Build and maintain strong relationships with senior government stakeholders, including C-level executives, CISOs, CIOs, security leaders, IT decision makers, and procurement stakeholders

• Develop a strong understanding of government security priorities, digital transformation programmes, regulatory requirements, procurement processes, and technology strategies

• Position Fortinet’s SASE and SecOps capabilities against customer requirements, demonstrating clear business and security outcomes

• Manage the complete sales lifecycle, from opportunity creation and qualification through solution development, procurement, negotiation, and contract closure

• Identify opportunities to expand Fortinet’s footprint within existing government accounts through cross-sell and up-sell activities

• Work closely with System Engineers, Solution Specialists, Product teams, Channel teams, and partners to develop compelling technical and commercial propositions

• Lead customer meetings, executive briefings, solution discussions, business reviews, and commercial negotiations

• Develop and maintain accurate account plans, opportunity strategies, pipeline visibility, and sales forecasts

• Navigate complex, multi-stakeholder government sales cycles, including formal procurement processes, tenders, RFPs, and framework agreements

• Collaborate with system integrators, technology partners, and channel organisations to maximise account penetration and support strategic opportunities

What We Are Looking For

We are looking for an experienced enterprise sales professional with a proven track record of selling cybersecurity or related technology solutions directly into Central Government or large public sector organisations.

The ideal candidate will have:

• Proven experience in a direct, quota-carrying enterprise sales role within a technology or cybersecurity vendor

• Strong experience selling into Central Government or large government organisations in Italy

• Demonstrable experience selling or positioning SASE, SSE, Zero Trust, SecOps, SOC, SIEM, SOAR, XDR, network security, cloud security, or related cybersecurity solutions

• Experience managing strategic accounts and complex, multi-stakeholder enterprise sales cycles

• A strong track record of developing new business, expanding existing accounts, and achieving sales targets