Senior Director, Commercial Partnerships Korea

Join the leader in entertainment innovation and help us design the future. At Dolby, science meets art, and high tech means more than computer code. As a member of the Dolby team, you’ll see and hear the results of your work everywhere, from movie theaters to smartphones. We continue to revolutionize how people create, deliver, and enjoy entertainment worldwide. To do that, we need the absolute best talent. We’re big enough to give you all the resources you need, and small enough so you can make a real difference and earn recognition for your work. We offer a collegial culture, challenging projects, and excellent compensation and benefits, not to mention a Flex Work approach that is truly flexible to support where, when, and how you do your best work.

Based in Seoul, the Senior Director, Commercial Partnerships will be responsible for leading the sales, technical support, and business development activities for the company’s core Technology Licensing business and the supporting entertainment content ecosystems. This position reports to the Vice President, Commercial Partnerships & Global Sales, based in Madrid, Spain. In partnership with other senior leaders at the company, this individual will develop, execute, and ensure the success of the Dolby Korea strategy and execution plan.

The selected person will lead our growth opportunities by managing and developing the Dolby Korea Commercial Partnerships team (22 people) and actively participating in the work of this team.  Of critical importance are Dolby’s partnerships with Samsung, LG Electronics and Hyundai, three of our largest customers worldwide.  These major accounts are key customers for Dolby’s worldwide initiatives in both audio and imaging.  The successful candidate will personally establish and maintain executive-level relationships in these companies in addition to overseeing the overall account engagement strategies to meet revenue goals.

Enabling local entertainment content ecosystems (creation and distribution for both A/V and music content) are important to driving growth and realizing our potential.  The Commercial Partnerships team, in collaboration with our Cinema business team, manage these relationships to drive the overall success of Dolby in all our markets.

As Dolby’s sales leader in Korea, the successful candidate will work closely with the HQ-based business groups, global sales teams, local and corporate marketing to develop and align go-to-market strategies and manage the execution of these in Korea.  The ability to work with our R&D teams – as we often engage in early-stage product activities with these major accounts – will also be valuable.  Building these internal working relationships will be a key factor in determining future success.

The individual will need to be a strong leader of a highly capable team: setting direction, developing talent, and ensuring collaboration within the team to achieve both short- and long-term objectives.

The position will have six direct reports:

• Director, Samsung Sales
• Director, LG Sales
• Director, Business Operations
• Senior Manager, Operator Sales
• Senior Manager, Partner Engineering
• Office Manager

Additionally, the person will work in close collaboration with other key leaders in Dolby Korea, including:

• Director, Legal Operations
• Director, Marketing Manager
• Senior Compliance Manager
• Senior Manager, Cinema Sales and Content Partnership
• Senior Manager, Partner Support Team

Scope & Responsibilities
 

• Build and actively lead world-class sales (and related customer support) capabilities to license Dolby technologies to key OEMs, including Samsung, LG Electronics, and Hyundai across various departments, including executive suite, product planning, technical specialties (especially audio and video technologies), procurement, services, etc.  Personally manage top executive relationships at key accounts.
• Achieve revenue growth goals by both increasing attach of current technologies and sell-in of new technologies.
• Create, communicate, get alignment both locally and with HQ, and execute a global strategy for major Korea-based accounts that positions Dolby for long-term success in the technology licensing business.
• Provide long-term strategic input to HQ product teams by establishing a strong understanding of major customer needs, aligning Dolby’s directions and capabilities, and building a trusted partnership with HQ business groups.
• Communicate and report on strategic initiatives, key business activities, performance, and exceptions in a timely manner to get the support needed for success.
• Work collaboratively and in partnership with key functions within Korea and APAC, including compliance, legal, marketing, HR and Finance to ensure that Dolby both maximizes its success and minimizes risks in the region.
• As the senior Dolby executive in the Korea office provide leadership, guidance, and role modelling to both direct reports and non-reporting Korea-based Dolby associates.

Ideal Candidate Profile
 

The candidate must be a highly strategic, growth-oriented, and seasoned Korean sales executive. He/she must have proven revenue and operating expense management experience, multi-functional leadership capability and a strong track record of success selling to the largest companies in Korea. 

The candidate must be bicultural, with the capacity to adapt and succeed in both Korean and American working environments.

Position requirements include:

• Proven track record growing revenue with major Korean customers through personal executive suite sales activities and management/development of the sales and related customer-facing functions in a leading multinational company (MNC).
• Accountability for business results and organizational development goals.
• At least 12-15 years of experience in leading MNCs, preferably in technology licensing and/or other high technology sectors.
• Successful revenue and OPEX responsibility for the Korean operations of an MNC.
• High ethical standards and the ability to lead by example (and develop leaders) for both direct reports and others in the Dolby Korea office who report functionally outside Korea.

Other competency factors / key attributes:

Strong Leadership

• Built and led successful world-class sales organizations, with a history of exceeding expectations.
• Strong leadership presence: ability to engage, influence, and collaborate with senior leadership both internally and externally.
• Knows how to understand, motivate, and unify a team.
• Competence in knowing how to select, coach, and develop people.
• Self-motivated; must be able to “work for cause”.
• Comfortable with difficult decisions; objective in decision-making.

Strategic-minded and Results-oriented

• Able to develop and create internal alignment for a Korea strategy with strong emphasis on developing Samsung, LG, Hyundai (and other major accounts) as strategic customers to achieve long-term, sustainable, and profitable growth.
• Ability to drive the execution of a long-term growth plan.
• History of consistently exceeding goals.
• Ability to think and act strategically with strong problem-solving and analytical skills and the ability to communicate rationale and conclusions.

Strong Sales Leadership

• Commercially savvy with a proven track record negotiating and closing large (>$10 million US) business deals.
• Having and/or able to develop executive relationships with key leaders at Samsung, LG and Hyundai; comfortable with calling on executives at all levels.
• Able to “unlock hidden value” with customers.
• Desire and ability to roll up sleeves and get hands dirty.
• Strong customer advocate by developing win-win scenarios through understanding and anticipating customer and market needs.

Successful Internal Company Partnerships

• Able to establish trust via clear, consistent communications and partnering relationships with headquarters to ensure continual alignment and the support needed for effective execution.
• Able to balance being spokesperson of customer with being a representative of Dolby.
• Demonstrated success in utilizing senior HQ executives and subject matter experts in strategic account planning and execution.

Bicultural and Effective Communicator

• Able to switch seamlessly between Korean and American cultures.
• Can be an effective spokesperson for Dolby Korea at both key internal and external events.
• Excellent communication/interpersonal skills in both written and verbal Korean and English.

Domain Expertise / Experience

• Strong technical background in audio or imaging entertainment technologies and related industries (consumer electronics, broadcast, streaming services, etc.) a significant plus.

Flexibility and Ability to Adapt

• Ability to manage in situations with high ambiguity.
• Comfortable with a matrixed reporting environment.

High Integrity

• Has a high degree of integrity and reinforces a high-integrity culture in the workplace.

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