Global Business Development Manager

Key responsibilities 

1. Segment strategy and growth planning 

• Translate semiconductor and battery industry strategy into a clear, actionable global business development plan, with priorities by region, sub‑segment and key customers 

• Define and continuously refine where to play and how to win in:  

• Semiconductor (e.g. fabs, cleanroom OEMs, tool and equipment suppliers). 

• Battery manufacturing (e.g. cell manufacturing, gigafactories, test & R&D, energy storage). 

• Size and monitor the market opportunity, white space and competitive landscape; focus resources on the most attractive customers, applications and regions. 

• Identify market trends, customer needs and technology trends and frequently feedback and communicate this to Product Management, Business Line management and sales  

2. Pipeline and account development 

• Own segment pipeline development and focus, ensuring we build and maintain a strong global semiconductor and battery pipeline, while regional sales own individual opportunities and customer relationships. 

• Identify and prioritize strategic target accounts per region, meet and engage with target customers and support regional teams in building and executing account plans; Initiate which accounts should be treated as global key accounts and be part of negotiations to discuss global frame agreements 

• Act as a strategic sparring partner on key deals: shape value propositions, support deal strategy and join customer meetings independently and with sales 

• Set expectations and standards for industry‑related target account & pipeline management as per VIM sales process & Salesforce practice and follow up with regions to secure quality and consistency. Define the dashboards and metrics to be tracked in Salesforce  

3. Regional enablement and collaboration 

• Act as the primary global counterpart for regional sales organizations on semiconductor and battery topics. 

• Agree segment‑level targets and focus areas with regional leaders; report status and follow up regularly and support course corrections where needed. 

• Provide practical sales enablement tools for regional teams, such as:  

• Industry playbooks and target customer lists 

• Value propositions and sales narratives 

• Qualification guides and objection handling material 

• Visit key customers, new target customers and industry partners independently (in alignment with sales as needed) 

• Join regional customer visits, events and reviews where your presence adds value (e.g. strategic prospects, new applications, complex multi‑stakeholder deals). 

4. Cross‑functional leadership 

• Partner closely with Product Management to:  

• Channel segment‑specific requirements and customer feedback into roadmaps and portfolio decisions. 

• Co‑develop value propositions, pricing guidelines and solution configurations tailored to semiconductor and battery use cases. 

• Collaborate with Segment Marketing to:  

• Define positioning and messaging for semiconductor and battery segments. 

• Plan and contribute to campaigns, events and content to generate awareness and qualified leads. 

• Align on how segment leads are routed and followed up with by regions. 

• Work with R&D, operations, service and other stakeholders to ensure we can deliver on commitments for strategic opportunities. 

5. Execution, measurement and continuous improvement 

• Define and track KPIs for semiconductor and battery segments, such as:  

• Order intake and revenue vs baseline and targets 

• Segment pipeline value and structure 

• New logos, win rates, margin 

• From lead to opportunity and order conversion  

• Establish and run a regular segment execution cadence (e.g. monthly or quarterly calls) with regions and key stakeholders:  

• Review pipeline and key opportunities at segment level 

• Share best practices and lessons learned 

• Agree concrete actions and owners before the next review 

• Analyze wins and losses and systematically feed learnings back into segment strategy, offering, tools and ways of working. 

Note on ways of working 
This is a “through others” role: success comes from steering focus, shaping strategies and enabling regional sales teams, not from directly owning most opportunities and closing sales independently.  

Required qualifications & experience 

• Master’s degree in Business, Engineering or a related field. 

• Significant experience (approx. 7+ years) in business development, strategic sales, key account management or segment management in B2B industrial or technology markets. 

• Demonstrated success driving growth with:  

• Semiconductor industry customers (e.g. fabs, cleanrooms, equipment / tools, critical environment solutions), and/or 

• Battery / energy storage industry customers (e.g. cell manufacturing, gigafactories, test & measurement, process control). 

• Proven experience working through regional sales organizations in a global matrix environment. 

• Track record in building and steering a healthy opportunity pipeline and delivering results against growth targets. 

• Experience collaborating with Product Management and Marketing on portfolio priorities, value propositions and go‑to‑market initiatives. 

• Experience with technical products and interest and ability to have conversations with technical teams from customers  

Skills & competencies 

Commercial & strategic 

• Strong business acumen; able to connect customer needs, technical capabilities and financial impact. 

• Ability to build structured, data‑based segment views and business cases, and translate them into concrete actions. 

• Strong opportunity and deal‑shaping skills, focused on helping regions win high‑value opportunities. 

Execution & ownership 

• High degree of autonomy and ownership – can set own agenda within strategic boundaries and drive it forward. 

• Excellent prioritization and focus – able to choose the few initiatives and customers that matter most. 

• Reliable, high‑quality execution; strong follow‑through and discipline in CRM and reporting. 

Collaboration & influence 

• Strong influencing skills; able to challenge and support regional leaders without direct line authority. 

• Clear, concise and persuasive communicator in English; additional languages are an asset. 

• Strong intercultural competence and experience in working with different cultures. Emphasize on Asia & Europe. 

• Skilled at building trust quickly with both customers and internal stakeholders. 

Technical & industry 

• Solid understanding of (or ability to quickly learn) the technical and regulatory context of semiconductor cleanrooms and/or battery manufacturing environments. 

• Able to translate technical features into customer outcomes (e.g. yield, uptime, safety, quality, compliance). 

Personal attributes 

• Strategic and hands‑on: comfortable moving between high‑level planning and detailed customer work. 

• Curious, proactive and self‑driven; takes initiative rather than waiting for instructions. 

• Resilient and persistent; able to navigate ambiguity and setbacks. 

• High integrity and customer focus; acts as a trusted advisor, not a purely transactional seller.