General Manager- China - Shanghai

This is an opportunity to build VAST Data's business from the ground up in one of the world's largest and most dynamic technology markets. China's data centre market is valued at approximately $29 billion and growing at over 14% annually, fuelled by massive AI infrastructure inve ...

工作描述

This is an opportunity to build VAST Data's business from the ground up in one of the world's largest and most dynamic technology markets. China's data centre market is valued at approximately $29 billion and growing at over 14% annually, fuelled by massive AI infrastructure investment, government-led digital transformation programmes, and the world's largest data generation volumes.

As General Manager, Greater China, you will be VAST's first commercial leader in the region – a pivotal role at a pivotal point in both VAST's growth and in computing history. You will establish the go-to-market strategy, build the team, develop the channel ecosystem, and drive revenue growth across enterprise, hyperscale, and AI-native customer segments in Greater China.

This role is for a builder. Someone who has done it before – taken a US technology company into China and created a thriving, profitable business. Someone who thrives on the energy and pace of a high-growth company and wants to be part of something extraordinary.

Key Responsibilities

Market Entry & Strategy

• Define and execute VAST Data's go-to-market strategy for the Greater China region, identifying priority verticals, customer segments, and use cases for VAST's AI Operating System and Universal Storage platform

• Develop the business plan and revenue forecast, working closely with International Sales leadership to set targets and resource requirements

• Navigate China's regulatory environment, including compliance with the Cybersecurity Law, Data Security Law, and Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), ensuring VAST's operations and customer deployments meet data localisation and sovereignty requirements

• Provide market intelligence and competitive insights to inform VAST's global product strategy, particularly regarding the Chinese AI infrastructure ecosystem and domestic competitors such as Huawei and Inspur

Revenue & Business Development

• Own the revenue target for Greater China, driving new business acquisition across enterprise, hyperscale cloud, AI/ML, and government/SOE customer segments

• Build and manage a high-value pipeline, personally leading strategic opportunities and C-level engagements with target accounts

• Identify and close flagship reference customers that will establish VAST's credibility and market position in China

• Develop strategic account plans for major opportunities, leveraging VAST's full platform capabilities including InsightEngine for real-time analytics, AgentEngine for AI workflow orchestration, and the core Universal Storage infrastructure

Channel & Partner Ecosystem

• Establish VAST's distribution and channel partner network in China, identifying and onboarding key distribution, reseller, and systems integration partners

• Develop relationships with global and Chinese technology alliance partners, including cloud providers (Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud, Huawei Cloud), hardware OEMs, and GPU/compute infrastructure providers

• Leverage VAST's existing global partnerships with Nvidia, Microsoft, and Google Cloud to accelerate market entry and create joint value propositions for Chinese customers

Team Building & Leadership

• Recruit, develop, and lead a high-performing team across sales, pre-sales/systems engineering, and customer success functions

• Embed VAST's culture of innovation without compromise, customer obsession, technical excellence, and collaborative spirit within the China team

• Work cross-functionally with VAST's global teams including R&D, Product, Marketing, Legal, and Finance to ensure the China operation is fully integrated and supported

• Serve as VAST Data's senior representative and brand ambassador in the Greater China market, representing the company at industry events, conferences, and customer forums

Requirements

Experience & Track Record

• 15+ years of progressive experience in enterprise technology sales, with at least 5 years in a General Manager, Country Manager, or VP Sales role covering the China market

• Proven track record of building a technology business in China from early stage or greenfield – establishing go-to-market, hiring teams, developing channels, and delivering revenue growth

• Demonstrable experience working for a US or Western technology company in the Chinese market, with a clear understanding of the dynamics of operating between Silicon Valley culture and Chinese business practices

• Strong track record of winning and developing large enterprise accounts, including complex multi-stakeholder sales cycles with deal values in the $500K–$5M+ range

• Experience with high-growth, pre-IPO or recently-IPO technology companies is highly valued

Technical Domain Expertise

• Deep understanding of data infrastructure, enterprise storage, and/or AI/ML infrastructure markets – ideally including experience with NAS, object storage, flash storage, or software-defined storage solutions

• Familiarity with AI/ML workload requirements, GPU-accelerated computing, and the data pipeline challenges associated with AI training, inference, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)

• Knowledge of the competitive landscape including Huawei OceanStor, Dell PowerStore/PowerScale, NetApp, Pure Storage, DDN, and WEKA

• Understanding of cloud-native architectures, hybrid cloud strategies, and the role of data platforms in enterprise digital transformation

Relationships & Network

• Established C-level and senior decision-maker relationships across Chinese enterprise organisations, telecommunications companies, cloud service providers, and/or government/SOE institutions

• Strong existing network within the China channel and distribution ecosystem, including relationships with leading VARs, SIs, and distributors

• Credibility and reputation within the data infrastructure or AI technology community in China

Skills & Attributes

• Fluent Mandarin (native or near-native) with strong professional English communication skills – the ability to operate effectively across both languages in executive and technical contexts is essential

• Entrepreneurial mindset with the energy, resilience, and resourcefulness to build a business from scratch in a complex market

• Strategic thinker with the ability to translate market opportunity into actionable plans and execute with urgency

• Cross-cultural leadership capability – able to lead a local team whilst operating effectively within a global, primarily US-headquartered organisation

• Willingness to travel extensively within Greater China and internationally (estimated 30–50% travel)

What We Offer

• Market-leading compensation: Competitive base salary, uncapped variable compensation, and equity participation in one of the highest-growth AI infrastructure companies globally. VAST Data is on a trajectory towards IPO – equity grants provide significant wealth-creation potential

• Career-defining role: The opportunity to establish a major technology company's presence in one of the world's most important markets, with the autonomy and support to build it your way

• Cutting-edge technology: Work with a platform that is genuinely reshaping how organisations interact with data and deploy AI at scale – from real-time analytics to agentic AI workflows

• World-class team: Join a global team of industry veterans backed by investors including Nvidia, Goldman Sachs, and Fidelity, with customers including CoreWeave, xAI, Lambda, and major government and enterprise organisations worldwide

• Innovation culture: Be part of a company where challenging the status quo is expected and where your ideas will directly shape VAST's global strategy