Senior Strategic Execution Lead

at NetApp, Inc. in Wichita, Kansas, United States

Job Description

Overview & Mandate 

The Senior Strategic Execution Lead is a senior individual contributor within the Commercial, Partners & Ecosystems (CPE) organization, which drives NetApp's holistic partner ecosystem and commercial strategy to scale business globally. As a member of the Business Operations team, this role catalyzes and stewards the success of CPE and the Chief CPE Officer by leading high-priority initiatives, from confidential workstreams and strategic projects to executive reputation and influence. The Sr. Strategic Execution Lead translates leadership priorities into structured plans, decision-ready materials, risk mitigation actions, and impactful communications that drive measurable outcomes. 

Strategic Scope and Operating Model 

Operating across CPE leadership, partner and field teams, corporate strategy, finance, legal, HR, operations, and communications, this individual contributor creates the execution structure required to move complex initiatives from intent to completion. The Sr. Strategic Execution Lead is accountable for delivering milestones on time, identifying risks early, documenting decisions, and escalating unresolved blockers across business operations and communications imperatives. Success requires disciplined execution, sound judgment, executive-quality communication, and the ability to drive progress through influence rather than direct authority. 

Strategic Execution

• Lead high-priority strategic initiatives, confidential workstreams, and urgent escalations from definition through execution, stabilization, and closeout.
• Translate leadership priorities into structured plans with clear outcomes, milestones, owners, dependencies, decision points, risks, and executive inspection moments.
• Coordinate cross-functional execution across partner, field, finance, legal, HR, operations, strategy, and communications teams; drive alignment and accountability without direct authority.
• Create executive-ready briefs, decision memos, issue narratives, escalation summaries, and status updates that clarify options, implications, tradeoffs, and recommended actions.
• Maintain dependency maps, issue logs, action plans, and follow-up trackers so commitments, owners, timelines, and blockers remain visible and actively managed.
• Support escalation operating rooms by organizing severity assessments, daily action plans, decision needs, communications inputs, stakeholder updates, and closure criteria.
• Protect confidentiality, identify risks early, recommend intervention plans, and escalate blockers before they become missed commitments.

Communications Strategy and Execution

• Develop and execute the CPE communications strategy in close partnership with the NetApp Corporate Communications team, focused on activating the CPE narrative through the executive platform of the Chief CPE Officer.
• Translate CPE strategy and business outcomes into an integrated communications plan and deliverables inclusive of message architectures, speaking engagements, executive talking points, presentations, announcements, and social media.
• Run the review and approval process for CPE communications - including partner, analyst, press, event, employee-facing, and social content - to ensure necessary signoffs and protect against leaks and exposures.
• Maintain message consistency across CPE leadership and stakeholder channels; partner with the Head of CPE Business Operations, Business Manager, PMO Lead,and Corporate Communications to integrate execution updates, leadership moments, and communications into the RoB.

• 10+ years of experience spanning strategic execution, business operations, program management, corporate strategy, partner operations, executive operations, corporate communications, or related enterprise roles. 
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex, cross-functional initiatives through influence in highly matrixed organizations. 
• Strong execution discipline across milestone management, dependency tracking, risk management, governance, decision documentation, and executive status reporting. 
• Experience managing confidential or executive-sensitive work with sound judgment, discretion, and appropriate access controls. 
• Proven experience developing communications strategies, message frameworks, executive narratives, and integrated plans for internal and external audiences. 
• Demonstrated ability to partner effectively with a Corporate Communications function and operate within established brand, messaging, review, approval, and communications protocols. 
• Exceptional writing, editing, and presentation development skills, with the ability to create concise executive materials that frame issues, options, risks, tradeoffs, recommendations, and next actions. 
• Strong business acumen and ability to connect strategic priorities to practical operating plans, governance forums, measurable outcomes, and audience-relevant messaging. 
• Comfort operating in ambiguity, resolving blockers, aligning stakeholders, and engaging senior leaders without relying on formal reporting authority.