Senior Principal Account Executive

Overview

In this role you own strategic UK banking and payments accounts, shaping multi-year plans and executive engagement to drive revenue growth across licensed tech and SaaS offerings. You’ll navigate Tier 1 banks and cross-functional teams to build durable relationships, identify whitespace, and convert client priorities into measurable value. You’ll mentor a cross‑functional account team and represent ACI in senior client conversations, events, and industry forums. The opportunity centers on transforming customer outcomes and long-term partnership value within a global payments ecosystem.

Pay / Benefits

• competitive compensation and benefits package
• growth and career development opportunities
• innovative and collaborative work environment

Responsibilities

• Own overall commercial relationship and strategic account plan for large UK clients, accountable for retention, growth and loyalty
• Develop deep client intimacy to align ACI with client strategic agenda
• Map client organization, strategy, operating model and decision processes; maintain stakeholder maps
• Navigate Tier 1 organizations to access senior decision-makers and build executive sponsorship
• Create and execute multi-year account strategies with clear actions and growth priorities
• Lead with client challenges and outcomes, sharing market insight and clear point of view
• Foster lighthouse client relationships by delivering visible value and joint outcomes
• Develop account advocacy and reference plans for case studies, executive forums and events
• Recognize and celebrate joint success to broaden executive sponsorship and growth opportunities
• Identify and progress expansion opportunities across ACI portfolio
• Maintain a high-quality pipeline, forecasts and risk assessments in the CRM system
• Lead the virtual account team across Solution Consulting, Product Management and other functions
• Coordinate executive sponsorship and governance for strategic accounts
• Represent customer voice to product strategy and service improvement
• Protect existing business by anticipating risks and coordinating timely resolution
• Lead commercial negotiations for renewals and expansions
• Represent ACI at client forums and industry events
• Adhere to corporate policies and Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

Key requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in relevant studies with 12+ years of experience
• Extensive executive-level strategic account management or enterprise sales experience in banking, financial services technology, payments or related sectors
• Proven track record of growing major accounts through relationship expansion and high-value deals
• Experience navigating Tier 1 banks, processors, and multinational organizations with complex procurement
• Ability to build trusted relationships with C-suite and senior stakeholders across functions
• Strong strategic account planning, stakeholder mapping and risk management
• Commercial acumen to translate client strategy into measurable value
• Knowledge of banking and payments market and technology trends
• Ability to present complex solutions to executive, commercial, operational and technical audiences
• Excellent negotiation, influencing, presentation and written communication skills
• Disciplined sales leadership with forecasting, pipeline management and CRM discipline
• Ability to influence across a global, cross-functional organization
• Integrity, customer focus, commercial judgement, curiosity, courage, collaboration, resilience and accountability
• Established senior-level network across UK Tier 1 banking, card issuing, merchant acquiring or related sectors
• Knowledge of account-to-account payments, high-value payments, card processing, merchant payments, fraud management, or SaaS delivery models
• Experience managing relationships across divisions, brands, legal entities or international markets
• Experience developing executive governance, joint value plans or multi-year transformation roadmaps

• integrity
• customer focus
• commercial judgement
• strategic account planning
• consultative selling
• stakeholder mapping

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