Senior Account Executive, South Africa - Startups

About Us At Cloudflare, we are on a mission to help build a better Internet. Today the company runs one of the world’s largest networks that powers millions of websites and other Internet properties for customers ranging from individual bloggers to SMBs to Fortune 500 companies. Cloudflare protects and accelerates any Internet application online without adding hardware, installing software, or changing a line of code. Internet properties powered by Cloudflare all have web traffic routed through its intelligent global network, which gets smarter with every request. As a result, they see significant improvement in performance and a decrease in spam and other attacks. Cloudflare was named to Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top Company Cultures list and ranked among the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company. At Cloudflare, we’re not looking for people who wait for a polished roadmap; we’re looking for the builders who see the cracks in the Internet that everyone else has simply learned to live with. We value candidates who have the instinct to spot a "normalized" problem and the AI-native curiosity to create a solution using the latest tools. Our culture is built on iteration, leveraging AI to ship faster today to make it better tomorrow, while ensuring that every improvement, no matter how small, is shared across the team to lift everyone up. If you’re the type of person who values curiosity over bureaucracy, and that AI is a partner in solving tough problems to keep the Internet moving forward, you’ll fit right in. Available Locations - Dubai, UAE About the Role We are seeking a highly accomplished and strategic Account Executive to join our Digital Natives team in Dubai. In this advanced role, you will be pivotal in driving significant growth by leading comprehensive sales cycles within a portfolio of assigned enterprise-level clients, and strategically acquiring new logos. The ideal candidate possesses a deep blend of advanced sales acumen and sophisticated technical understanding, enabling them to lead engagements at all levels, from the C-suite to technical leaders (e.g., Head of/VP of Networking or Security). As an Account Executive, you will consistently demonstrate advanced proficiency in all sales activities, ensuring highly accurate forecasting, proactive and strategic pipeline management, and consistently exceeding attainment targets. You will be a subject matter expert, speaking fluently about Cloudflare's products, features, benefits, and use cases across diverse customer segments. This role demands the ability to deeply understand complex customer IT Architectures, match them with relevant Cloudflare Reference Architectures, and orchestrate successful, large-scale platform sales. You will be a key driver of digital transformation for our customers, understanding their broader market trends and how Cloudflare uniquely enables their strategic initiatives. Regional Focus: South Africa Responsibilities - Strategic Revenue Generation: Architect and execute advanced territory and account plans to consistently exceed multi-million dollar sales targets and annual quotas, with a strong focus on new business acquisition and expansion within complex enterprise environments. - Expert Pipeline & Forecasting: Lead proactive and strategic pipeline management efforts, demonstrating a sophisticated understanding of sales cycles and customer buying processes. Deliver highly accurate forecasts, providing clear insights and strategic guidance to sales leadership. - Deep Customer & IT Architecture Understanding: Develop a profound understanding of customers' IT architectures, including applications and third-party technologies. Architect and align Cloudflare Reference Architectures to customer environments, driving comprehensive platform solutions. - Multi-Engagement Leadership: Orchestrate and manage multiple complex customer engagements simultaneously across various business units within an organization. Strategically connect disparate needs to strengthen Cloudflare's platform sale, actively involving and influencing technical C-level minus one executives. - Virtual Team Leadership: Set clear direction and lead a virtual team of in-GEO specialists, Product Managers, Deal Desk, and Legal to collaboratively manage and close complex customer opportunities. Proactively identify and navigate through situations to address colleague and customer needs, escalating as appropriate to drive urgency and efficient delivery. - Digital Transformation Authority: Act as an authority on digital transformation, understanding key drivers (e.g., new offering development, enhanced customer capabilities) and the broader market trends influencing these decisions. Position Cloudflare as a critical enabler of these transformations. - Compelling Value Creation: Articulate highly compelling, strategic value propositions for Cloudflare's services, directly linking them to customer business outcomes and strategic obj