Senior Director, Business Development

Position Title: Senior Director, Market & Business Development – Financial Ecosystems Location: Chicago, IL. or New York, NY. Your role Digital Realty’s Market & Business Development team sits at the center of how we grow—working with customers and partners to identify new markets, build high-value ecosystems, and expand the global reach of PlatformDigital®. Our data centers form the foundation of connected digital communities that power cloud, network, content, and enterprise platforms worldwide. As the digital and financial services landscape rapidly evolves—driven by cloud adoption, real-time data, and AI—we are building a world‑class team to lead this next phase of growth. This role is a senior, global leadership position responsible for shaping and scaling Digital Realty’s Financial Services ecosystem. You will act as the global quarterback for financial services initiatives, working closely with enterprise customers, cloud providers, technology partners and internal teams to define strategy, unlock new markets and deliver differentiated solutions at scale. Why This Role Matters This is a rare opportunity to shape how financial services infrastructure evolves at a global scale. You’ll influence where markets develop, how ecosystems form and how some of the world’s most demanding financial platforms operate—today and in the future. What You’ll Do Lead Financial Services Ecosystem Strategy Define and execute a global ecosystem strategy across financial services, including capital markets, banking, payments, fintech, insurance and risk & compliance. Identify priority markets, anchor customers and strategic partners that drive ecosystem growth. Shape differentiated value propositions focused on performance, interconnection density, neutrality, resilience and regulatory readiness. Drive Strategic Business Development Own executive‑level relationships with selected global enterprise accounts. Lead high‑impact customer and partner engagements, positioning Digital Realty as a trusted, long‑term infrastructure partner. Translate customer needs into actionable go‑to‑market, product and investment strategies. Build and Scale Financial Ecosystems Develop interconnected financial services hubs in key global metros by attracting exchanges, market data providers, cloud access points, fintechs and analytics platforms. Work directly with customers to align platform capabilities with their business models, workloads and growth ambitions. Build and strengthen alliances with leading technology and service providers across the financial services stack. Influence Product, Infrastructure & Investment Decisions Partner with Product and Engineering teams to deliver infrastructure capabilities tailored to financial services, including low‑latency connectivity, exchange proximity, antenna access and audit‑ready designs. Collaborate with Acquisitions & Investment and New Market Development teams to support market entry, site selection and strategic partnerships. Act as the voice of the customer to ensure mid‑ and long‑term investments align with market demand. Support Strategic Sales & Transformational Deals Serve as an executive sponsor for complex, high‑value pursuits, including AI/ML and real‑time risk workloads. Support enterprise sales teams in executive meetings and strategic negotiations. Help shape solution positioning and messaging for large, transformational opportunities. Thought Leadership & Market Engagement Stay ahead of industry trends, emerging technologies and regulatory developments in financial services. Represent Digital Realty at industry events and with regulators, industry bodies and partners. Contribute to external thought leadership through speaking engagements, white papers and executive briefings. How Success Is Measured A clearly defined and executed financial services ecosystem strategy. Strong joint value propositions with strategic customers and partners. Lighthouse customer wins that establish market leadership in priority use cases and geographies. What You’ll Need 12+ years of senior‑level experience in business development, partnerships or strategic selling within the financial services technology ecosystem. A strong network of industry leaders, customers and partners across financial services and adjacent technology markets. Proven ability to articulate complex value propositions and close high‑impact, multi‑stakeholder deals. Strategic mindset with the ability to operate globally and influence cross‑functional teams. Excellent communication skills and comfort engaging at the executive and board level. Willingness to travel internationally as needed. Compensation and Benefits Compensation range: $220,000 to $250,000 per year. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, life and AD&D insurance, 401k match, disability benefits, wellness and education benefits, employee stock purchase plan, paid time off, holidays and more. #J-18808-Ljbffr