Regional Sales Director Search for an Industrial Software Company; Building a new region, expanding SI partnerships, and securing major wins.

Client Overview

A European industrial software company engaged Crexia Search to appoint a Regional Sales Director to lead expansion across the UK and Nordic markets.

The business had established a strong reputation in industrial automation and digital manufacturing. There solutions support industrial IoT (IIoT), manufacturing execution systems (MES), and product lifecycle management (PLM). To accelerate growth, the company needed a leader capable of building a regional sales organisation, expanding strategic systems integrator (SI) partnerships, and winning large, multi-site transformation programmes within manufacturing clients.

The successful candidate would be responsible for building a high-performing team, creating regional go-to-market coverage, and developing a predictable pipeline of enterprise opportunities.

The Challenge

Industrial software sales differ significantly from traditional SaaS environments.

Customers require clear evidence of measurable business value, including improvements in operational efficiency, equipment utilisation, production quality, energy consumption, and downtime reduction. Sales cycles involve multiple stakeholders across operations, IT, engineering, and executive leadership teams, often spanning several sites and business units.

The company needed a sales leader capable of managing these complex sales motions while coordinating partner ecosystems, delivery teams, and customer success functions to ensure successful implementations.

Our Search Strategy

We partnered with the VP Sales and executive leadership team to define the capabilities required for success in the role.

Together, we identified four critical requirements:

Experience selling industrial software solutions across manufacturing environments

A proven track record of building new regions and sales teams

Strong systems integrator and partner management capability

Expertise managing complex, multi-site enterprise sales cycles

Our search focused on senior sales leaders from industrial software, manufacturing technology, automation, and digital transformation businesses. The individuals must have experience across IIoT, MES, PLM, asset performance management, and operational technology markets.

Rather than limiting the search to direct competitors, we mapped adjacent industrial technology sectors where leaders had successfully launched new regions and established scalable partner-led growth models.

Candidate Assessment

Candidates were evaluated through a structured process designed to assess commercial execution, leadership capability, and industrial sector expertise.

Finalists presented a two-quarter regional growth plan covering territory design, hiring strategy, partner development, pipeline generation, and revenue targets.

Assessment discussions focused on enterprise account planning, multi-site deployment experience, systems integrator engagement, and the ability to align sales commitments with delivery capabilities.

Cross-functional panels involving Delivery, Product, and Customer Success leaders ensured candidates demonstrated both commercial ambition and operational realism.

Search Outcome

The successful Regional Sales Director brought extensive experience building industrial software businesses across Northern Europe and had a proven record of partnering with systems integrators to drive enterprise growth.

The search was completed in eight weeks from launch to offer acceptance.

Search Snapshot

Time to hire: 7 weeks

First shortlist: 5 candidates

Finalists: 2 candidates

Stakeholders involved: Sales, Delivery, Customer Success, and Product leadership

Results

Within six months of joining, the new Regional Sales Director had established the foundations for sustainable regional growth and expanded the company’s partner ecosystem.

Key outcomes included:

Regional sales team built within four months

Two strategic systems integrator partnerships activated

£12 million qualified pipeline generated within two quarters

First multi-plant manufacturing deployment secured by month six

Joint account planning established across partner channels

Quarterly delivery reviews and shared success metrics implemented

The appointment delivered more than short-term revenue growth. It created a scalable regional operating model that aligned Sales, Delivery, Customer Success, and partner organisations around a common growth strategy, positioning the business for long-term expansion across the industrial software market.