Senior Director, Worldwide Commercial Category Lead

Overview

Windows is entering its most significant transformation in a generation. As AI PCs, Copilot+ PCs, endpoint modernization, security, and manageability reshape how businesses buy and deploy devices, this is one of the most strategic commercial leadership roles in Microsoft’s Windows and Devices business — a chance to define how Windows shows up commercially in this new era and turn platform ambition into partner and field execution that drives measurable growth.

 

The Senior Director, Worldwide Commercial Category Lead is accountable for defining where the Windows commercial business plays, what gets prioritized, what gets funded, and what winning looks like globally. This role sits at the intersection of product strategy, engineering priorities, marketing direction, partner ecosystem dynamics, field input, and financial commitments.

 

The leader translates Microsoft's Windows and AI platform strategy into practical choices, sales conversations, lifecycle moves, partner motions, enablement, and investment prioritization that field teams and partners can execute with clarity and urgency. The role requires a rare combination of strategic category leadership, commercial P&L ownership, enterprise and channel depth, ecosystem thinking, competitive intensity, operational rigor, and executive-level orchestration.

 

This is a critical leadership role as Windows evolves as an AI platform, partner differentiation becomes more ecosystem-led, and compete strategy requires tighter coordination across BG, engineering, OEMs, silicon partners, distributors, resellers, field sales, and solution motions.

 

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

Responsibilities

Category Strategy & Business Ownership

• Define the global commercial category strategy for Windows devices and OEM-driven commercial services in Infrastructure, AI and Cloud services including where to focus, invest, and simplify — and how to measure success.
• Prioritize and fund. Own the category's business priorities and P&L commitments, ensuring strategic choices are linked to measurable commercial outcomes.
• Set the annual and semi-annual category agenda across Enterprise, SMB, and VSB segments, with clear prioritization across customer scenarios, partner motions, and field capacity.
• Make explicit tradeoffs across competing priorities, ensuring the organization maximizes opportunity across revenue, profit and share aligned to customer, partner, and field capacity and capability.
• Orchestrate the ecosystem. Lead Commercial GTM as an ecosystem business — orchestrating dynamics across OEMs, silicon partners, distributors, resellers, ISVs, solution partners, field sales, marketing, and engineering.

Strategy-to-Execution Translation

• Bridge product strategy, engineering priorities, BG planning, marketing direction, and field realities into execution-ready GTM programs.
• Build clear commercial motions that sales teams, OEMs, distributors, resellers, and solution partners can activate.
• Partner with regional GTM leaders to ensure WW strategy is locally executable and maximizes regional customer and ecosystem opportunities.
• Drive product and sales conversation readiness and enablement together with the Partner Marketing team.

Business Performance & Operating Rhythm

• Own the performance narrative for the Windows commercial category — connecting revenue, share, device volume, partner execution, investment impact, and market signal into leadership-ready insights.
• Run or influence the rhythm of business across planning, MBRs, investment reviews, compete reviews, scorecards, and executive updates.
• Use data, field feedback, market intelligence, and partner input to identify risks, opportunities, and required course corrections.
• Partner with Finance, Operations, Business Sales & Operations (BSO), and regional teams to ensure investment decisions are tied to measurable outcomes.

People Leadership

• Lead a distributed team responsible for commercial category strategy, partner transformation, business performance, compete planning, field activation, and investment execution.
• Build talent, create accountability, and establish a culture of strategic thinking, customer obsession, commercial discipline, and execution excellence.
• Coach the team to move from coordination to leadership — shaping work, influencing outcomes, and driving measurable business impact.

Other

• Embody our culture and values.  

Qualifications

Required/minimum qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Finance, Engineering, or related field AND 6+ years experience in GTM strategy, category management, commercial sales leadership, partner/channel strategy, business planning, product marketing, or related commercial leadership roles, or a related field
  • OR equivalent experience.
• 6+ years experience in in Near Term Strategy (2 years out), Management Consulting, Sales, or Finance.
• 4+ years people management experience.

 

Additional or preferred qualifications

• Master's Degree in Business Administration or related field AND 6+ years GTM strategy, category management, commercial sales leadership, partner/channel strategy, business planning, product marketing, or related commercial leadership roles
  • OR Bachelor's Degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Computer Science, or related field AND 8+ years of GTM strategy, category management, commercial sales leadership, partner/channel strategy, business planning, product marketing, or related commercial leadership roles.
  • OR equivalent experience.
• 6+ years of people management experience, including leading senior talent and distributed teams.
• Proven experience owning or influencing business strategy, commercial performance, and P&L outcomes at scale.
• Strong understanding of commercial customer segments, including Enterprise, Corporate, SMB, and VSB.
• Deep experience working across complex partner ecosystems — OEMs, silicon partners, distributors, resellers, channel partners, or solution partners.
• Exceptional executive communication — able to simplify complexity, shape decision-ready narratives, and influence senior stakeholders.
• Track record of operating in highly matrixed organizations and aligning cross-functional stakeholders behind shared priorities.
• Comprehensive understanding of how AI, endpoint modernization, security, and manageability trends are reshaping commercial device buying decisions.

Sales Strategy Enablement M6 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $155,800 - $277,200 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $202,400 - $303,600 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.