Enterprise Account Executive, AI Platform for Creative, Brand, and Agency Buyers | Founding EMEA Seat in London

What if the founding EMEA seat at a category-leading AI platform came open and it was written for someone like you? This is a founding Enterprise Account Executive role based in London, the first AE the company has ever based outside North America, owning EMEA as a net-new territory and building the international playbook from scratch.

Pave Talent is hiring on behalf of our client, a category-leading artificial intelligence (AI) platform that has become one of the most recognized names in applied AI, with rapid year-over-year revenue growth and backing from top-tier strategic and venture investors. Their product is actively used by creative professionals, agencies, brand teams, and marketing organizations across the Fortune 500. They have a UK entity, a small London presence with a co-working space available if you want it, and a newly hired post-sales colleague already based in London who will be your in-region partner.

Who thrives here:

• Sellers who have already done a founding-in-region role somewhere, or who are the lone AE in London at a European or American company today, and want to do it again with a stronger product.
• Operators who are genuinely comfortable being on an island some of the time, with a manager eight hours behind, and who can ramp themselves rather than wait for instructions.
• Builders who can talk to a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Creative Director, or agency head the way those buyers actually want to be talked to: consultative, polished, zero jargon.
• Account Executives (AEs) who run their own demos, build their own pipeline, and share what is working with peers across time zones without being asked.

If you need daily face time with your manager, a defined territory map, or a 200-person enablement team, this is not your role.

Career acceleration:

You will not be inheriting a region. You are starting it. The company has seven Enterprise AEs today, all in North America, and you would be the first based outside the US. The newly hired Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) is East Coast based, giving EMEA more leadership time zone overlap than the team had even a year ago, and the EMEA playbook is genuinely yours to write.

Why this company:

Most AI tools chasing the creative market are wrappers built by engineers who have never written a brief or sat in a creative review. This one is not. A significant portion of the team building and training the models comes from creative backgrounds, and the customers can tell. That is why agencies and brand teams who have tried every AI tool keep coming back to this one, and why some of the most respected creative organizations in the world have signed on.

Leadership and support:

Your direct manager is a West Coast-based Senior Sales Manager who plays player-coach: still actively closing large deals while running the team. Your day-to-day support comes from an East Coast-based Sales team lead who will act as a teammate while you ramp, and a London-based post-sales colleague who will partner with you in-region. The structure is built so that your manager is reachable for weekly one-on-ones and key deal calls (typically 5 to 7 PM London time, which is mid-morning for them), and the East Coast team covers more of the overlapping support hours.

THE OPPORTUNITY:

You will report to a West Coast-based Senior Sales Manager and own EMEA as a net-new territory. The wider Enterprise AE team is seven people today (all in North America), with two founding business development representatives (BDRs) ramping. Every rep on the team hit or exceeded quota in both Q4 2024 and Q1 2026. This is high-velocity enterprise, not strategic. Average contract values (ACVs) land in the $30,000 to $100,000+ range with some larger strategic lands, and a fully ramped rep typically runs 8 to 10 closes per quarter. Sales cycles average 3 to 6 months with a heavy education component, since most prospects across EMEA have not yet adopted AI into their creative workflows. You will sell into creative professionals, agencies, brand teams, and marketing organizations across the United Kingdom, continental Europe, and the Middle East.

What you'll do:

• Own the full sales cycle from prospecting through close as a pure net-new business hunter. Post-sales handles 100% of renewals and expansion.
• Sell into creative professionals, agencies, brand teams, and marketing organizations across the United Kingdom, continental Europe, and the Middle East.
• Run your own demos in front of real creative buyers, including Heads of Marketing, Creative Directors, Motion Designers, Editors, and agency leads. There is no sales engineer (SE) and no in-region enablement team.
• Build pipeline proactively across EMEA. Inbound is healthy today and will dilute as the team scales, so you will be expected to hunt as much as you close.
• Help build the EMEA playbook itself: discovery frameworks, regional pricing logic, partnership motion, event strategy. The decisions made in your first year will shape how Europe is sold for years.
• Partner closely with Research, Engineering, Product, and Marketing on net-new use cases and product feedback that shapes the roadmap. Most of those teammates are North America-based; async fluency matters.

The real talk:

A few things this role is not. It is not for someone who needs daily face time with their manager. The reporting line is across an 8-hour gap (West Coast US to London), which means weekly one-on-ones and high-stakes deal calls typically land 5 to 7 PM London time, and your direct manager will not be online for most of your morning. The hiring team has been honest about it: they will be "a bit off on an island, which definitely isn't for everybody." This works for sellers who already operate autonomously, lean on async, and have done a first-in-region role before. It does not work for sellers who need real-time coaching to function.

It is also not a built-out enterprise org with a sales engineer team and a finished playbook. Annual quota lands at roughly $1.8 million USD, which is high relative to a typical SaaS bag but standard for the AI category and matches what the team is actually closing (Q4 2024 attainment: 118%; Q1 2026: every rep hit or exceeded). And the AI category is genuinely changing every quarter. If "the org is evolving" energizes you rather than destabilizes you, you will thrive.

Qualifications Required:

• UK right to work. Already living in the London Metro area (or able to relocate before start date) and able to get into central London for customer events, dinners, and the company's London co-working space when needed.
• 5 to 10+ years selling enterprise software, with at least one role at a startup or scaleup under 300 employees where you built pipeline rather than inheriting territory.
• A track record selling to creative, marketing, brand, or agency buyers, or selling complex technical products consultatively to non-IT audiences.
• 2 to 3+ years of tenure in at least one role where you ramped, hit stride, and grew. No job-hopping pattern.
• Comfortable working independently across an 8-hour time zone gap to a West Coast US-based manager, and willing to take regular manager calls between 5 and 7 PM your local time.
• Deep product aptitude. Comfortable running your own demos, prototyping live in customer calls, and translating AI capabilities into creative workflows.
• Consultative, low-ego communication style.
• Equity-motivated. You understand and are excited about equity as a meaningful piece of the compensation.

Bonus points:

• Prior experience as the founding or lone AE in a region (most commonly: an EMEA AE at a US-headquartered company).
• Direct experience selling to CMOs, Creative Directors, agencies, brand teams, or studios across EMEA.
• Active personal user of AI tools in your daily workflow, not just aware of them.
• Background in consulting, investment banking, or another consultative-communication discipline. Several members of the post-sales team come from these backgrounds.
• Existing network in EMEA creative, advertising, and brand-marketing communities.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

• On-Target Earnings (OTE): £165,000 to £205,000. Split: 50/50 base/variable. Base £82,500 to £102,500; variable £82,500 to £102,500 at target.
• Commission: Uncapped, with accelerators above 100% attainment.
• Equity: Pre-IPO equity. 4-year vest, 1-year cliff, monthly vesting after.
• Quota: ~$1.8 million USD annually (Q4 2024 attainment: 118%; Q1 2026: every rep hit or exceeded).
• Healthcare: Private medical, dental, and vision through BUPA, 100% covered for you and your dependents.
• Pension: UK pension plan.
• Cycle to Work: UK Cycle to Work scheme.
• Time off: Unlimited paid time off (PTO) with a 15-day recommended minimum.
• Employment: Direct employment under the company's UK entity (no employer-of-record intermediary like Deel or Rippling).
• Location: Remote-first. London Metro residence required for occasional customer events, dinners, and use of the London co-working space.

This is a confidential search. Apply via LinkedIn and we'll reach out to schedule a confidential conversation. We share the full company name and details on our first call. Your application is fully private.