Western Digital is seeking a strategic leader to identify and evaluate new business opportunities in storage adjacencies, software platforms, and emerging business models. This role will focus on strategic opportunities beyond our core hardware business, including software-defined storage, tiered storage solutions, platform partnerships, and innovative business models to serve hyperscalers, neoclouds, sovereign clouds, and OEM partners. The Senior Director will serve as the company's strategic thought leader on how Western Digital can expand its value proposition and capture new revenue streams in the evolving data storage ecosystem.
This is a pure strategy and business development role requiring deep expertise in cloud infrastructure, software platforms, and emerging storage business models. The ideal candidate will bring a management consulting background with experience advising technology companies on platform strategy, ecosystem development, and business model innovation. This role reports to the VP of Corporate Strategy.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Opportunity Identification & Assessment
- Identify and evaluate high-value strategic opportunities in storage adjacencies (software, platforms, services, new business models).
- Assess market opportunities in Software-Defined Storage (SDS), storage management platforms, data orchestration, and tiered storage solutions.
- Evaluate emerging business models (Storage-as-a-Service, consumption-based pricing, platform partnerships).
- Develop frameworks for assessing build vs. buy vs. partner decisions for software and platform opportunities.
- Identify white space opportunities where Western Digital's capabilities create unique competitive advantages, analyzing the strategic fit and value creation potential relative to the core hardware business.
Market & Customer Strategy
- Develop strategic approaches for serving hyperscale, neoclouds, and sovereign cloud initiatives.
- Analyze customer infrastructure trends and storage requirements that extend beyond hardware.
- Evaluate opportunities for differentiated solutions for emerging segments (e.g., edge computing, private/hybrid cloud).
- Assess evolving OEM partnership models for deeper value chain integration.
- Understand customer Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) drivers and map buying behaviors for integrated solutions versus component purchases.
Software & Platform Strategy
- Evaluate opportunities in storage management software, data placement, and intelligent tiering solutions.
- Assess Software-Defined Storage (SDS) architectures and Western Digital's potential role in the ecosystem.
- Analyze platform partnership opportunities with cloud providers, System Integrators (SIs), and infrastructure software vendors.
- Evaluate API strategies, developer ecosystems, and platform business models relevant to storage.
- Assess opportunities to leverage WD's storage expertise through software intelligence and optimization layers.
- Analyze the competitive landscape in storage software to identify differentiation opportunities.
Partnership & Ecosystem Development
- Develop and execute strategic partnership frameworks for software vendors, cloud providers, and system integrators.
- Evaluate potential strategic partners and alliances within the storage ecosystem.
- Assess diverse partnership models (licensing, co-development, joint ventures, revenue sharing).
- Analyze ecosystem dynamics to build platform effects and network value.
- Evaluate sovereign cloud initiatives globally for partnership opportunities.
- Support business development teams with strategic frameworks for partner evaluation and deal structuring.
Business Model Innovation
- Evaluate new business models for storage including consumption-based pricing, outcome-based models, and managed services
- Assess storage-as-a-service opportunities and requirements for Western Digital to compete in service-based models
- Analyze financial implications and unit economics of alternative business models vs. traditional product sales
- Evaluate capabilities, partnerships, and investments required to execute on new business models
- Assess implications of business model shifts on go-to-market, operations, and organizational capabilities
- Develop business cases and financial models for adjacency opportunities and new business model initiatives
Strategic Analysis & Executive Communication
- Conduct rigorous strategic analysis of adjacency opportunities with clear recommendations for executive decision-making
- Prepare strategic deep-dives and prepared executive and board briefings on storage adjacency strategies, translating complex platform and ecosystem opportunities into clear, actionable C-suite and investment priorities.
- Synthesize market research, customer insights, and competitive intelligence into strategic recommendations and thought leadership on industry evolution and business model disruption.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner with Strategy to identify integrated solutions and cross-selling opportunities.
- Collaborate with Product Management and Engineering on platform roadmaps, technical feasibility and feature prioritization for adjacency initiatives.
- Work with Business Development and Corporate Development on partnership evaluation, M&A targets, and deal execution.
- Engage Sales and Marketing to understand customer needs and validate strategic assumptions.
- Collaborate with Finance on financial modeling, business case development, and investment prioritization
- Experience: 12+ years in management consulting, corporate strategy, or business development with a focus on technology platforms and ecosystems. 5+ years at a top-tier management consulting firm strongly preferred.
- Expertise: Proven track record developing platform strategies, ecosystem frameworks, and business model innovations for technology companies. Deep experience with cloud infrastructure, neo clouds, data storage, or enterprise infrastructure markets is strongly preferred.
- Skills: Exceptional strategic thinking, deep expertise in platform strategy, two-sided markets, and ecosystem dynamics. Outstanding analytical/financial modeling skills, including business case development.
- Core Competencies:
- Strategic Vision: Ability to identify emerging trends and non-obvious opportunities.
- Technical & Market Knowledge: Strong technical understanding of emerging trends in AI infrastructure and edge computing alongside cloud architectures and data storage requirements across hyperscale, neo cloud , sovereign and enterprise segments.
- Platform Thinking: Deep expertise in platform strategy, two-sided markets, and ecosystem dynamics (network effects).
- Ecosystem Orchestration: Skill in designing and managing complex multi-party relationships.
- Communication & Influence: Proven ability to craft compelling strategic narratives and translate technical/market complexity into clear, actionable executive recommendations. Ability to drive alignment across organizational boundaries and influence C-suite decisions.
- Education: MBA from a top-tier business school is required. Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, or a related analytical field is required.
Preferred Qualifications
- Direct consulting experience advising storage, cloud infrastructure, or enterprise software companies.
- Experience with platform strategy projects including marketplace development, ecosystem strategy, or API strategies.
- Background in business development or corporate development with experience structuring strategic partnerships.
- Prior experience working with or for hyperscale cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP) or large OEMs.
- Knowledge of sovereign cloud initiatives in Europe, Asia-Pacific, or Middle East regions.
- Experience with M&A due diligence or strategic investment evaluation in software or platforms.
- Familiarity with open-source software models and community-driven platform development.
- International business experience, including understanding of regional market dynamics and partnership models.
Performance Metrics
- Quality and impact of strategic recommendations on adjacency investment decisions
- Identification of high-value strategic opportunities that lead to partnership or investment decisions
- Rigor and clarity of business cases and strategic analyses for adjacency opportunities
- Effectiveness in influencing executive strategy and resource allocation for new initiatives
- Stakeholder satisfaction across executive leadership and cross-functional partners
- Contribution to partnership pipeline and deal flow in storage adjacencies
- Quality of strategic thought leadership on storage industry evolution and business model innovation
Location
- San Jose, California (primary)
- Flexibility for remote work within established company policies
- 25-35% travel including domestic and international travel to meet with hyperscale customers, potential partners, industry events, and consulting network
What Makes This Role Unique
This is a critical strategic leadership position tasked with driving Western Digital's transformation by identifying and executing entirely new, multi-billion dollar revenue streams beyond the core HDD business in storage adjacencies (software, platforms, and services). The focus is high-stakes, requiring the development of strategic approaches for complex ecosystems, particularly the high-growth neoclouds, sovereign cloud initiatives, and global hyperscalers, relying heavily on Ecosystem Orchestration and the ability to shape C-suite decisions and define the company’s future value proposition.
Western Digital is committed to providing equal opportunities to all applicants and employees and will not discriminate against any applicant or employee based on their race, color, ancestry, religion (including religious dress and grooming standards), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), gender (including a person’s gender identity, gender expression, and gender-related appearance and behavior, whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth), age, national origin, sexual orientation, medical condition, marital status (including domestic partnership status), physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, protected medical and family care leave, Civil Air Patrol status, military and veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. We also prohibit harassment of any individual on any of the characteristics listed above. Our non-discrimination policy applies to all aspects of employment. We comply with the laws and regulations set forth in the "Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” poster. Our pay transparency policy is available here.
Western Digital thrives on the power and potential of diversity. As a global company, we believe the most effective way to embrace the diversity of our customers and communities is to mirror it from within. We believe the fusion of various perspectives results in the best outcomes for our employees, our company, our customers, and the world around us. We are committed to an inclusive environment where every individual can thrive through a sense of belonging, respect and contribution.
Western Digital is committed to offering opportunities to applicants with disabilities and ensuring all candidates can successfully navigate our careers website and our hiring process. Please contact us at [email protected] to advise us of your accommodation request. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.
Based on our experience, we anticipate that the application deadline will be 02/08/2025 (3 months from posting), although we reserve the right to close the application process sooner if we hire an applicant for this position before the application deadline. If we are not able to hire someone from this role before the application deadline, we will update this posting with a new anticipated application deadline.
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