Retail & Consumer Goods EMEA Leader

Job Title: Retail and Consumer Goods EMEA Leader

Req ID: SLSQ127R516

This is not a role for someone who wants to inherit a playbook. As the Go-to-Market Leader for EMEA Retail & Consumer Goods, you will architect and execute a category-defining strategy from the ground up. You'll operate with the mindset of a founder of a hyper-growth enterprise—a rare opportunity that demands entrepreneurial instincts, relentless drive, and the courage to build in ambiguity.

Databricks is scaling at extraordinary speed. Databricks is the market share leader in data + AI in Retail & Consumer Goods, and this vertical represents one of the most significant growth opportunities in our portfolio. We need a leader who thrives in white space, who sees undefined territory not as risk but as canvas. You will shape how EMEA's largest retailers and consumer brands harness Data and AI to transform their operations, unlock new revenue streams, and reimagine customer experiences.

You will report to the Global VP of Consumer Industries, but your impact will extend across the entire organization—influencing product direction, shaping partner ecosystems, and setting the strategic agenda for one of our most consequential markets.

The impact you will have:

• A Scalable EMEA Growth Engine Design and execute a go-to-market strategy that doesn't yet exist in its final form. You'll establish C-level relationships with flagship accounts, construct an ecosystem of ISVs, SIs, and alliance partners, and create repeatable motions that accelerate revenue growth across Retail, Consumer Goods, Restaurants, and Wholesale.
• Programmatic Opportunity Capture Identify the highest-value use cases and industry-specific opportunities—demand forecasting, unified customer intelligence, supply chain optimization, real-time pricing—and build scalable programs that systematically convert these opportunities into revenue. You won't pursue targets one at a time; you'll construct the engines, assets, and activation frameworks that allow us to capture entire categories of opportunity across the region simultaneously.
• A Partner Ecosystem from First Principles Identify, cultivate, and scale relationships with the partners who will amplify our reach. This isn't about managing existing relationships—it's about seeing what partnerships should exist and making them real.
• Data-Driven Operational Excellence Use rigorous analysis to surface gaps, inefficiencies, and untapped opportunities within our go-to-market approach. Build the feedback loops and improvement mechanisms that compound our effectiveness over time.
• Sales Plays That Travel Create comprehensive, scalable sales initiatives tailored to EMEA's diverse geographies while contributing frameworks that support Americas and APJ. You'll work cross-functionally to ensure these plays move from concept to revenue.
• Industry Thought Leadership Establish Databricks as the authoritative voice in Retail & Consumer Goods transformation. Author white papers, command stages at premier industry events, and engage C-suite executives with a point of view that shapes how the market thinks about Data and AI.
• Cross-Functional Influence Serve as a trusted advisor across product, sales, pre-sales, marketing, and partner teams. Your credibility will be earned through results, and your influence will extend far beyond your formal remit.
• Market-Defining Content Collaborate with marketing to develop industry-specific collateral, demand generation campaigns, and event strategies that resonate with sophisticated enterprise buyers.
• Sales Team Acceleration Build enablement content and coaching programs that elevate the entire verticalized sales organization—making others more effective is as important as your direct contributions.

What we look for:

• An Industry Insider with Builder DNA You've held senior leadership or practitioner roles in Retail or Consumer Goods. You understand the industry's challenges from the inside—but you're energized by building something new rather than optimizing what exists.
• Entrepreneurial by Nature You've operated in environments where the path wasn't paved. You're comfortable making decisions with incomplete information, moving quickly, and course-correcting based on market feedback. Ambiguity is where you do your best work.
• A GTM Architect You have extensive experience constructing vertical go-to-market programs on technology platforms, working cross-functionally to deliver measurable revenue growth and customer value.
• An Executive Relationship Builder You engage naturally with CXOs and senior business leaders. You create trust through substance, not just polish, and you know how to translate technical capability into strategic business value.
• A Transformation Leader You've led large-scale change initiatives and understand both the technical and human dimensions of enterprise transformation in complex organizations.
• Technically Fluent You possess deep familiarity with the data and AI landscape, retail technology standards, and the broader ecosystem trends reshaping the industry.
• Regulatory Aware You understand the European regulatory environment—GDPR, Greenhouse Gas Compliance, food waste, sustainability reporting—and can navigate these considerations in strategic conversations.
• A Program Operator You've managed complex vertical initiatives end-to-end: gathering requirements, coordinating technical teams, driving marketing alignment, and managing partner relationships to hit milestones.
• A Force Multiplier You have proven ability to train and enable sales teams, making the entire organization more effective at positioning solutions to Retail & Consumer Goods customers.

Multilingual Fluent in English with strong proficiency in French or German.