Head of Sales - AI/API and B2B

VP of Sales (Enterprise B2B, DACH/EMEA) — ZurichLocation: Zurich, Switzerland (hybrid; frequent travel across DACH/EMEA)Team: Go-To-Market (Sales, SDR, Solutions, RevOps)Reports to: CEO Why this role exists: Build and lead enterprise sales engine to land and expand multi-year AI platform deals with regulated mid-market and enterprise customers.Outcomes (first 12 months)Grow new ARR to CHF 3–6M with 6–12 enterprise logos (DACH-led).Establish repeatable sales playbook (ICP, MEDDICC, pricing, mutual close plans).Build foundational team: hire 2–3 AEs, 2 SDRs, 1 Solutions/SE, initial RevOps.Reduce average enterprise sales cycle to < 120 days; maintain win rate ≥ 25% on qualified deals.Stand up partner motion (Azure/AWS/GCP co-sell, 2–3 SI partners).What you’ll doOwn topline: forecasting, pipeline hygiene, territory design, quotas, comp plans.Create and iterate pricing & packaging (consumption vs. commit, enterprise plans, procurement readiness).Drive executive-level selling (CIO/CDO/CISO) with strong ROI, security, and change-management narratives.Shape GTM messaging with Marketing; develop case studies and reference architectures.Orchestrate POCs with clear success criteria; partner with Product for roadmap signals.Build governance for large deals (mutual close plans, legal/procurement, InfoSec questionnaires).Lead forecast calls; implement MEDDICC and Stage definitions in CRM (Salesforce/HubSpot).Develop channel/alliances in DACH/EMEA (cloud marketplaces, SIs, data/AI partners).Must-have experience:8–12+ years in enterprise SaaS sales, 3–5+ years building/leading teams; early/scale-up stage experience.Proven record closing CHF 500k–2M+ TCV multi-year platform or consumption deals.Comfort selling AI/ML, data platform, or developer infrastructure to technical + security stakeholders.Mastery of MEDDICC/BANT, value selling, mutual close plans, and accurate forecasting.Deep DACH knowledge; German (fluent) and English (fluent).Familiarity with GDPR / Swiss FADP, data residency, vendor risk processes.Nice to have:Cloud co-sell (AWS, Azure, GCP) and marketplace motions.Public sector and regulated industries (FSI, Pharma, Manufacturing) experience.Network across Zurich, Munich, Frankfurt, Berlin, Vienna.Built SDR → AE → Enterprise progression and RevOps foundations from zero.