Zara Emma Johnson
Summary
Results-driven professional with expertise in go-to-market strategies, strategic partnerships, and business development. Demonstrates a proven track record in market expansion, revenue growth, and commercial strategy, leveraging strong relationship-building skills to develop partner ecosystems and enhance market positioning. Adept at sales management and driving sustainable growth through innovative approaches to market opportunities.
Overview
12
12
years of professional experience
Work history
VP Sales - Europe
CMORE
Portugal
2025.01 - Current
- Responsible for CMORE's European growth strategy, market expansion, strategic partnerships and commercial development.
- Developed the company's go-to-market strategy, defining target markets, buyer personas, competitive positioning and routes to market.
- Built and managed strategic partnerships including development of the global partner program
- Identified new market opportunities through partner engagement, helping shape the development of new platform capabilities and revenue-generating solutions.
- Developed strategic partner pipelines, identifying organisations capable of accelerating market access, increasing platform adoption and expanding data acquisition opportunities.
- Conducted market and competitive intelligence analysis across ESG, third-party risk, supply chain and compliance technology providers, informing commercial strategy and product positioning.
- Worked closely with executive leadership to refine CMORE's long-term vision as a non-financial risk intelligence platform powered by proprietary data and AI-driven insights.
- Engaged directly with enterprise clients, financial institutions, consultancies and industry bodies to validate product-market fit and identify scalable commercial opportunities.
- Authored thought leadership articles and executive content focused on ESG, non-financial risk, sustainability intelligence and the evolving role of non-financial data in corporate decision-making.
- Represented the company through industry engagement, executive roundtables and market education initiatives, strengthening brand awareness and supporting commercial growth.
Sales Director
Avenue Code
2024.08 - 2025.12
- Led Avenue Code’s European operations, refining service-market fit and standardizing sales processes
- Managed a team of 6 direct reports, and 7 indirect reports across multiple time zones.
- Developed a GTM adapted for regional success, demonstrating expertise in European market dynamics and client preferences.
- Managed cross-regional collaboration between US and EU teams to enhance client engagement & drive revenue in Europe.
- Restructured & focused existing sales team to drive strategic growth and market expansion, leading to a €2.1M revenue pipeline for 2025.
- Developed and executed sales functions including CRM standardization, pipeline development, and Account Mapping.
- Managed full P&L responsibility for Avenue Code’s European operations, ensuring financial performance, cost efficiency, and profitability
- Set regional growth targets aligned with budget goals
- Collaborated with marketing teams to design and implement campaigns, leveraging events to drive brand visibility and generate high-quality leads.
- Leveraged a large professional network to identify and secure strategic opportunities.
- Delivered pitches to C-Level executives, simplifying complex technology solutions and aligning them with client business goals.
- Established ESG policies, including CSRD and Green Digital Governance, strengthening Avenue Code’s ESG positioning and helping drive business.
Partner/ Head of BDM
The Stack - a start up business tech publication
2022.01 - 2026.06
- Joined The Stack during its early-stage growth to help establish and scale its executive community and commercial partnerships.
- Built relationships with CIOs, CTOs, CISOs and senior technology leaders across the UK and Europe, creating engagement opportunities around The Stack's content and events programme.
- Led the development and execution of executive roundtables, dinners and leadership forums, bringing together senior decision-makers for fireside chats
- Sourced strategic partners to secure sponsorship and funding for events.´
- Advised on commercial strategy, partnership development and market expansion opportunities as the publication scaled.
Head of Business Development - EMEA
Xebia
2023.01 - 2024.07
- Drove market expansion across the UK and Europe, securing two new labels worth €1.7M in projected revenue in 2024.
- Expanded existing accounts into new markets, generating €400K in new revenue for 2024.
- Led strategic GTM planning, ensuring alignment with global corporate objectives
- Ran knowledge-sharing workshops to ensure global understanding of all services and offerings, driving revenue growth in existing accounts.
- Planned and executed strategic campaigns to drive revenue growth successfully.
Senior BDM/Account Manager
Devoteam Portugal
2020.12 - 2022.06
- Responsible for market expansion into the UK
- Worked through full sales cycles, managing all aspects of new and existing businesses
- Closed two global enterprise accounts in the first year resulting in almost 1M revenue for 2024
- Doubled revenue from two key clients in Q1 2022.
- Developed a cross-functional collaboration model, integrating sales, marketing, and engineering teams to enhance service delivery.
- Developed and maintained social culture within the team
- Initiated and managed an eco-awareness branch within the company, focusing on combating climate change and producing monthly newsletters with updates on recent climate topics.
BDM/Account Management
Red Education
2014.09 - 2019.04
- Worked through full sales cycles, managing all aspects of new and existing business
- Built strong relationships with existing clients, ensuring their continued loyalty and repeat business across SMB & Enterprise accounts.
- Opened one of the big four banks as a client, resulting in 100k revenue and leveraged internal relationships to open NZ market.
- Consistently exceeded KPIs year on year.
- Awarded 'Top Sales Representative' for three consecutive years
- Worked closely with vendors to identify and manage resell/entry opportunities
- Grew Key Accounts year on year.
- Increased exposure to key industry partners
- Developed strong relationships with key players in the NZ markets resulting in 200% growth.
Education
English language
Newcastle University
ESG
Pennsylvania State University
Skills
- GTM
- Strategic Partnerships
- Business Development
- Market Expansion
- Revenue Growth
- Commercial Strategy
- Relationship Building
- Partner eco-system development
- Market Positioning
- Sales Management
Languages
English Native
Interests
Leadership: I am passionate about creating purpose-driven environments where teams feel valued, empowered, and aligned with a shared vision. I believe in leading with authenticity and trust, enabling individuals to thrive while driving meaningful impact for both the organization and its broader mission., The Earth: I actively advocate for eco-conscious practices within organizations, with a goal of ensuring leaders understand the importance of sustainability and compliance with evolving legislation., Writing: In addition to my professional efforts, I contribute to a blog focused on promoting eco-awareness and driving meaningful change within the technology sector and beyond.
Training / Courses
- Negotiation Mastery - Harvard online
- Leadership Principles - Harvard online
Timeline
VP Sales - Europe
CMORE
2025.01 - Current
Sales Director
Avenue Code
2024.08 - 2025.12
Head of Business Development - EMEA
Xebia
2023.01 - 2024.07
Partner/ Head of BDM
The Stack - a start up business tech publication
2022.01 - 2026.06
Senior BDM/Account Manager
Devoteam Portugal
2020.12 - 2022.06
BDM/Account Management
Red Education
2014.09 - 2019.04
ESG
Pennsylvania State University
English language
Newcastle University