Country Manager

Datadog is seeking an experienced and respected country executive to serve as Country Manager, Japan. As the most senior leader in the market, you will be responsible for owning Japan’s overall business health across acquisition, usage, retention, ecosystem, culture, and cross-functional execution.

The Country Manager owns the country plan and operating cadence, ensuring effective direct management of all three sales segments (Enterprise, Mid Market, Commercial); and cross-functional influence across our broader GTM functions including Marketing, Sales Engineering, Customer Success, Sales Development, and Channel & Alliances.

This role is an opportunity to shape Datadog’s next chapter in one of the most important and exciting technology markets in the world, with the investment, infrastructure, and executive commitment to match this ambition.

At Datadog, we place value in our office culture - the relationships and collaboration it builds and the creativity it brings to the table. We operate as a hybrid workplace to ensure our Datadogs can create a work-life harmony that best fits them.

Country Leadership & Strategy

• Own the Japan Country Plan: Setting priorities, defining the operating model, and aligning all GTM functions across shared country-level outcomes across customer acquisition, usage, retention, and ecosystem growth
• Formalize GTM operating cadence across Sales, Customer Success, Sales Development, Marketing, Sales Engineering, and Channel & Alliances, ensuring cross-functional work has clear ownership, roles & responsibilities, and escalation paths
• Direct and lead quarterly country business reviews to present a comprehensive view of Japan business health
• Act as primary decision-maker on country plan priorities, which includes local hiring inputs, customer escalations, partner strategy, and business performance reviews

Sales Ownership & Revenue Accountability

• Direct management of all 3 sales segments in Japan: Enterprise (including Public Sector), Mid Market, and Commercial (SMB)
• Own Japan’s growth revenue accountability across Japan by ensuring consistent attainment across quarterly and annual targets
• Champion platform adoption and customer growth, partnering closely with the post-sales organization to turn Datadog's Japan customers into long-term strategic accounts
• Guide segment leaders through complex, multi-stakeholder sales cycles: Provide executive-level engagement and sponsorship on the most strategic accounts and key partners where needed
• Support Sales segment leaders in managing pipeline quality, forecast accuracy, and deal inspection, ensuring detailed and rigorous operating standards across all segments

Talent, Culture, and People Leadership

• Own the Japan hiring plan working with sales segment and cross-functional leadership, as well as People Business Partners to recruit, develop, and retain world-class talent across all functions
• Build and maintain a high-performing, tenured sales team across all segments by ensuring the right people are hired, ramped, and performing at the level the market opportunity demands
• Champion employee engagement and satisfaction across the Japan organization, creating a high-trust, high-performing culture that reflects Datadog’s values in a locally relevant way
• Invest deeply in leadership development, succession planning, and career progression for Japan leaders across Sales and GTM functions
• Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and customer obsession by serving as the cultural and values role-model for the entire Japan organization, building tenure and career pathing for existing employees

Executive Engagement and Market Presence

• Serve as the senior executive face of Datadog Japan by representing the company at public forums, conferences, press engagements, and in high-level customer and government relationships
• Build and deepen relationships with strategic customer C-suite and Board and acting as an executive sponsor for our most important accounts
• Develop and grow Datadog’s partner and ecosystem relationships in Japan including alliances, channel partners, ISVs, and system integrators
• Engage with the public sector and government bodies where relevant, building Datadog’s credibility and market position in regulated and public sector verticals
• Lead brand and market presence in Japan working alongside marketing to ensure Datadog’s narrative lands effective in the Japanese market

Cross-Functional Orchestration

• Provide oversight and leadership across broader Japan GTM functions and ensuring consistent alignment on country priorities and creating clear escalation paths for issues
• Partner closely with global and APJ functional leaders to ensure Japan-specific needs are represented in global planning and resourcing decisions
• Identify and resolve structural or operational blockers that prevent the Japan team from executing effectively, with appropriate escalations to global leadership where needed
• Own the people agenda for Japan in close partnership with People Business Partners, Recruiting, and People Operations across talent acquisition, retention, culture, and employee relations, and compliance