Regional Director, Americas

The Opportunity

Our client, a large, respected global professional society with annual revenue of approximately $20M, seeks a Regional Director for the Americas (RD). The RD is accountable for delivering sustainable growth across the organization’s products. This role is a regional business leadership position with full ownership of performance, combining strategic oversight with execution across revenue strategy, budgeting and forecasting, partnerships, and market development for both B2C and B2B markets.

The RD will own a multi-product, multi-segment portfolio in a mature, high-potential region and will drive accelerated growth by strengthening the organization’s presence in core markets while identifying and pursuing expansion opportunities in Canada and Latin America.

Serving as the senior leader for the Americas, this role is responsible for shaping regional strategy, aligning cross-functional execution, and driving measurable business outcomes. The Regional Director leads a business development team and works closely with global functions to execute an integrated regional growth plan. The idea candidate is agile with an entrepreneurial leadership and “hunter” mindset to drive business in the region while also maintaining and developing key stakeholder relationships both inside and outside the organizations. In addition to overseeing business development for the Americas, the RD will foster relationships with members, volunteers, partners, customers, and key stakeholders to drive sustained impact in the region. To ensure a holistic and integrated approach to development and acquisition, the position has significant interfaces with global/regional development team leaders and key department leaders.

This is a remote US-based position, ideally located in the Midwest or East Coast time zone.

The Regional Director Role

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Regional Business Leadership & Growth

• Serve as the senior business leader for the Americas region with end-to-end responsibility for regional growth, performance, and strategic direction, operating with full ownership of the region’s business outcomes.
• Own the regional revenue and business development plan across products, with clear annual revenue, pipeline, and engagement targets. Ensure supporting operational plans in other departments align with this commercial agenda and proactively adjust strategy as needed.
• Develop and execute an Americas growth strategy that strengthens the organization’s position in core markets and pursues targeted opportunities in Canada and Latin America, including identifying new expansion opportunities.
• Expand the organization’s profile and influence with CFOs and senior finance leaders in the Americas, positioning the organization as a strategic partner in talent development, competency upskilling, and the future of finance.
• Develop and maintain positive relationships with an extensive network of key business entities, government agencies, academic institutions, and training providers, either directly or through the regional team.
• Act as the primary regional commercial voice in global and functional planning, bringing market, customer, and competitive insights from the Americas to inform global priorities and departmental plans.
• Through ongoing market interaction and analysis, identify opportunities for the organization to better meet the needs of finance and management accounting teams in the Americas and proactively propose programs, partnerships, and offerings that strengthen relationships with finance and accounting decision makers.
• Represent the organization externally with key corporate clients, academic partners, professional bodies, and senior finance leaders, in coordination with global and technical leaders.
• Develop and monitor regional business development KPIs (e.g., pipeline, conversion, retention, account growth), ensuring effective use of CRM and related tools for tracking, reporting, and decision-making.

Hunter-Oriented Business Development

• Lead and develop a high-performing, hunter-oriented business development team focused on winning new institutional relationships, expanding existing accounts, and driving individual participation, instilling a proactive, opportunity-seeking culture.
• Serve as the senior business development representative in the Americas, building and deepening executive level relationships while empowering the team to execute day-to-day pursuits.
• Personally engage in and, when appropriate, lead strategic pursuits with major corporate, institutional, and sponsorship prospects, modeling effective enterprise selling and business development behavior.
• Lead B2B growth in the Americas by directing the team’s efforts to acquire and expand corporate memberships, grow and strengthen the training provider partner network, develop and maintain the education distribution network, and deepen relationships with affinity partners, ensuring each channel has clear targets and action plans.
• Oversee advertising, sponsorship, and exhibit sales for the Americas by working closely with the events, product, and marketing teams to create compelling value propositions, timing and integrated packages that maximize revenue and partner impact.
• Drive B2C growth in certification and individual membership by developing and executing targeted regional business development initiatives and by effectively leveraging campaigns, partnerships (e.g., universities, chapters, other financial profession associations or networks), and programs developed by global marketing and product teams.

Cross-Functional Orchestration and Execution

• Work closely with other departments to align their departmental plans and activities in the Americas with the regional revenue and business development plan, proactively leveraging both your team and peers to ensure programs, campaigns, and initiatives support commercial goals and ensuring accountability for execution.
• Ensure a holistic and integrated approach to development and acquisition by collaborating through peer leadership and directing your team’s engagement with global/regional development leaders and key department heads, so that their regional activities reinforce shared commercial objectives.
• Partner with the events and marketing teams, through both direct engagement and delegation to appropriate team members, to deliver a focused calendar of executive-level engagements in the Americas that deepen relationships with senior finance leaders and directly support pipeline creation and account expansion.
• Engage with the volunteer team, as well as the chapter leaders and volunteers they support, across the Americas, personally and via your team, to align local activities with regional priorities. Provide guidance as well as strategic team participation in chapter or virtual community events, so chapter programs enhance member value, elevate the organization’ s profile, and contribute to certification, membership, and corporate relationship goals.
• Collaborate with global marketing by shaping priorities and enabling your team to work closely with marketing counterparts to adapt and activate campaigns, content, and messaging for Americas audiences, ensuring strong execution of digital and in-person initiatives that generate qualified leads, support renewals, and increase awareness among key decision makers and influencers.
• Ensure outsourced partners (such as the advertising/exhibits sales agency and other external vendors) are clearly aligned to the regional revenue and business development plan, with day-to-day coordination handled by designated staff you oversee, and that they operate against defined performance targets and service levels and are regularly reviewed and guided to maximize commercial impact and brand alignment.

Team Leadership & Organizational Health

• Lead the Americas business development team, including setting clear goals, sharing best practices, coaching, performance management, and talent development, and assuming accountability for the team’s results.
• Support hiring, onboarding, and retention of competent, qualified staff in the regional team; provide constructive feedback and address performance issues as needed.
• Create and foster a high-performing, inclusive culture that emphasizes cross-functional relationship building, ownership, initiative, and results.
• Establish and continuously improve ways of working, tools, and routines to effectively manage regional business development activities, account management, and delivery of commitments in the Americas.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Other Requirements

• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in business development, commercial, or regional leadership roles, including at least 5 years managing teams and budgets.
• Bachelor’s degree in business, management, marketing or a related field required; advanced degree preferred. Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential optional.
• Experience in an association, professional society, or adjacent environment with audiences in financial services, accounting/finance, fintech, or edtech; strong understanding of finance and accounting decision-maker needs is a plus.
• Demonstrated success developing and executing national, regional or multi-country business plans, including setting, tracking, and achieving revenue and KPI targets for both B2B and B2C offerings.
• Proven ability to lead hunter-oriented business development or sales teams that acquire new institutional clients and expand existing relationships across multiple channels (e.g., corporate memberships, partnerships, sponsorships, training/education networks).
• Strong supervisory and leadership skills, with the ability to articulate a clear vision, rally others around commercial goals, and hold individuals and teams accountable for performance.
• Proven market development ability, strong sales consciousness and negotiation skills, with a track record of building pipelines and closing complex or multi-stakeholder opportunities.
• Excellent relationship-building skills with internal and external stakeholders at senior levels (including CFOs and senior finance leaders); able to work effectively in a matrixed, global environment.
• Superior verbal and written communication skills in English; Spanish, Portuguese, or French language skills are a plus, given the Americas footprint.
• High level of organizational, strategic planning, and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple initiatives and deadlines under pressure.
• Proficiency with Salesforce and Microsoft Office suite; familiarity with sales enablement tools (e.g., Dripify, Sales Navigator, Hubspot) is a plus.
• Self-starter who can set priorities and work independently while collaborating effectively with virtual and cross-functional teams.
• Willingness to travel within the Americas for business meetings, plus occasional international meetings/calls outside of standard business hours.

Compensation

A competitive compensation package will be offered to attract an outstanding candidate.