Alliance Sales Executive, Associate Director - IBM - Consumer Products & Retail

Alliance Sales Executive, Associate Director - IBM – Consumer Products & Retail

About Sales & Strategic Pursuits (S&SP)

EY’s Sales & Strategic Pursuits (S&SP) function unites sales leadership, sector insight, technology expertise, and solution depth to drive market-leading growth. As EY’s growth catalyst, S&SP shapes and executes integrated go-to-market strategies across priority accounts, industry sectors, and strategic alliances — delivering differentiated value through a deeply client-centric culture.

The Opportunity

• As an IBM Alliance Sales Executive for Consumer Products & Retail, you will operate at the front edge of growth for one of EY’s most strategic alliance relationships.
• This is a true sales hunter role — focused on originating net-new opportunities, building pipeline, and closing revenue through deep partnership with IBM and direct engagement with CP&R clients.
• You will be a market-facing, quota-carrying executive seller with deep expertise across IBM’s enterprise portfolio — watsonx, Planning Analytics, Apptio, Confluent, Maximo Application Suite (asset management and plant operations), Red Hat OpenShift, and IBM mainframe modernization — and strong depth across the consumer products and retail spaces.
• As an IBM Platinum Partner, EY brings the independent delivery and sector-specific advisory depth that connects platform decisions to enterprise operating model change.
• You will proactively create demand, not respond to it — identifying whitespace, shaping transformative conversations, and positioning IBM-powered EY solutions that address the most complex challenges facing CP&R organizations.
• You will also be expected to embed AI-driven thinking and tools into every aspect of your sales role — how you prospect, identify patterns, qualify opportunities, orchestrate pursuits, influence buyers, and accelerate time-to-close — serving as a model for modern, AI-enabled enterprise selling at EY.

Key Responsibilities

Sales Origination

• Relentlessly originate and qualify net-new pipeline within the Consumer Products & Retail setors by identifying unmet needs, emerging priorities, and transformation opportunities.
• Drive sales across three core channels: direct client origination, IBM field-led co-sell motions, and EY account team-led pursuits.
• Lead early-stage opportunity identification and qualification, independently shaping pursuits from signal detection through deal maturation.
• Architect and scope deals that integrate IBM technology with EY consulting and managed services capabilities, ensuring engagements generate meaningful EY services revenue alongside the technology sale.

IBM Alliance Leadership

• Act as a trusted partner to IBM Consumer & Retail field teams, evangelizing for EY by building credibility and mindshare across account executives, solution leaders, and sales leadership.
• Evangelize and position EY’s IBM-powered offerings across the CP&R portfolio: AI-driven planning and FinOps (watsonx, Planning Analytics, Apptio), real-time operations and intelligent automation (Confluent, watsonx Orchestrate, Maximo Application Suite), and retail edge and core modernization (Red Hat OpenShift, mainframe modernization).
• Activate the right IBM counterpart for each opportunity across IBM Industry CP&R, IBM Technology brand sellers, and IBM Consulting; shape joint go-to-market motions and influence IBM investment toward EY-led pursuits.

Consumer Products & Retail Industry Impact

• Demonstrate deep understanding of CP&R clients’ most pressing issues, including margin pressure, demand volatility, supply chain disruption, inventory optimization, pricing and promotion effectiveness, and evolving customer expectations.
• Translate IBM capabilities into outcomes that resonate with CP&R executives — AI-driven demand forecasting and planning; intelligent supply chain and operations optimization; omnichannel commerce and customer engagement; data modernization, governance, and AI-enabled decision-making; and retail edge and mainframe modernization.
• Build executive relationships with CFO, CIO, CSCO, and CMO sponsors to position EY as a strategic transformation partner.

AI-Enabled Selling & Innovation

• Infuse AI into the full sales lifecycle: account and opportunity analytics, intelligent prospecting and prioritization, pattern recognition across pipeline and buying signals, AI-supported storytelling, proposal shaping, and pursuit orchestration, and integration of digital sales agents.
• Champion AI-enabled EY and IBM solutions with credibility, demonstrating both technical fluency and measurable business impact.
• Serve as a role model for modern, AI-forward sales execution, helping elevate sales effectiveness across teams.

Market Leadership & Collaboration

• Bring deep CP&R domain knowledge and IBM technology expertise, with the ability to translate that knowledge into enterprise-scale transformations that deliver measurable outcomes.
• Be the face of EY’s IBM Alliance within EY’s Consumer Products & Retail businesses and the face of EY to IBM CP&R teams.
• Envision and activate a multi-alliance ecosystem, positioning EY as the orchestrator of partners, platforms, and services to unlock new growth and transformation opportunities for clients.
• Orchestrate cross-service-line and cross-functional teams; coach and influence account teams and peers through active leadership in the market — not authority alone.

Skills & Attributes for Success

• Hunter mindset with a strong bias for action, curiosity, and persistence.
• Exceptional executive presence with the ability to influence senior CP&R clients, EY leaders, and IBM stakeholders.
• Proven ability to navigate and succeed in a highly matrixed, alliance-driven environment.
• Consultative selling style — trusted advisor, not transactional seller.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to connect technology to business outcomes.
• Comfortable leveraging data and AI insights to guide decisions and storytelling.

To Qualify, You Must Have

• 10+ years of quota-carrying sales experience in professional services, technology, and/or enterprise solutions.
• Demonstrated success as a net-new business hunter, not solely an account or alliance manager.
• Direct experience selling to Consumer Products and Retail clients, with strong understanding of industry challenges and transformation drivers.
• Strong IBM ecosystem experience, including co-sell and partner-led motions, with active IBM field relationships.
• Deep familiarity with IBM’s enterprise portfolio, including AI, data and analytics, hybrid cloud, automation, and industry platforms.
• Experience operating within a complex, multi-vendor technology landscape.
• Prior experience selling at a Big Four firm or large global systems integrator.
• Demonstrated success closing large, complex solution engagements combining technology platform with professional or managed services.
• Exceptional client relationship management and executive communication skills.
• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent).

Ideally, You’ll Also Have

• Technical background or delivery/program leadership experience.
• Experience selling large, complex, multi-stakeholder transformation programs.
• Experience structuring managed services engagements alongside a technology platform sale.
• Strong coaching and mentoring capability.
• Proven team-selling experience across alliances and solution teams.
• Willingness to travel up to 50%.

What We Look For

Successful Alliance Sales Executives at EY are growth creators. You proactively shape demand, pursuits, and win strategies — bringing differentiated points of view to help Consumer Products and Retail clients reimagine what’s possible through data, AI, and intelligent operations. You are digitally fluent, AI-enabled, and deeply connected across your clients’ technology landscapes — collaborating to design the right solutions while challenging assumptions and elevating conversations from technology to commercial impact, resilience, and growth.

What we offer you
At EY, we’ll develop you with future-focused skills and equip you with world-class experiences. We’ll empower you in a flexible environment, and fuel you and your extraordinary talents in a diverse and inclusive culture of globally connected teams. Learn more.

• We offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits package where you'll be rewarded based on your performance and recognized for the value you bring to the business.  The base salary range for this job in all geographic locations in the US is $221,410 to $280,070 plus participation in an incentive compensation program applicable to Sales Executives. The base salary range for New York City Metro Area, Washington State and California (excluding Sacramento) is $265,650 to $318,290 plus participation in an incentive compensation program applicable to Sales Executives.   Individual salaries within those ranges are determined through a wide variety of factors including but not limited to education, experience, knowledge, skills and geography.  In addition, our Total Rewards package includes medical and dental coverage, pension and 401(k) plans, and a wide range of paid time off options.
• Join us in our team-led and leader-enabled hybrid model. Our expectation is for most people in external, client serving roles to work together in person 40-60% of the time over the course of an engagement, project or year.
• Under our flexible vacation policy, you’ll decide how much vacation time you need based on your own personal circumstances. You’ll also be granted time off for designated EY Paid Holidays, Winter/Summer breaks, Personal/Family Care, and other leaves of absence when needed to support your physical, financial, and emotional well-being.

Are you ready to shape your future with confidence? Apply today. 
EY accepts applications for this position on an on-going basis.  

For those living in California, please click here for additional information.

EY focuses on high-ethical standards and integrity among its employees and expects all candidates to demonstrate these qualities.

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