POSITION SUMMARY:
The Executive Director, Key Customer Strategy serves as Rigel’s senior leader and subject matter expert in KOL and key account strategy across the commercial portfolio. This role is responsible for shaping and executing customer engagement strategy across in-line products, lifecycle initiatives, and development-stage assets, with direct impact on brand performance, market understanding, and organizational alignment.
This individual operates as a strategic advisor to Commercial Leadership, translating key customer insights into actionable recommendations that influence brand strategy, resource allocation, and long-range planning. The role leads a team of field-based marketers and is accountable for building a high-performing organization that delivers consistent, high-impact execution across key customer segments.
The Executive Director will partner closely with Marketing, Sales, Medical Affairs, Market Access, and external stakeholders to ensure a coordinated and enterprise-aligned approach to customer engagement.
Salary Range $268,000 to $320,000
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Strategic Leadership & Enterprise Impact
- Serve as a strategic advisor to Commercial Leadership by translating key customer insights into recommendations that shape brand strategy, customer engagement models, and long-range planning
- Contribute to cross-portfolio strategy, identifying opportunities to improve customer engagement and commercial effectiveness
- Lead development of customer engagement strategies across in-line brands, lifecycle initiatives, and development assets
Insight Leadership & Market Understanding
- Own the prioritization, synthesis, and activation of key customer insights
- Ensure insights are translated into actionable recommendations that influence decision-making across the organization
- Maintain deep understanding of evolving clinical, competitive, and customer dynamics
Key Customer & KOL Strategy
- Develop and lead comprehensive KOL and key account strategies across academic, community, and network-based providers
- Build and maintain strong relationships with thought leaders, academic institutions, and key accounts
- Lead Commercial advisory board strategy, execution, and insight integration into brand planning
Customer Engagement & Channel Strategy
- Oversee development and execution of promotional speaker bureau and peer-to-peer programs
- Identify and deploy innovative engagement models and vendor partnerships to expand reach into high-value and limited-access accounts
- Ensure consistent and coordinated customer engagement across personal and non-personal channels
Pre-Launch & Asset Development
- Support pre-launch and launch readiness activities for new assets
- Contribute to early market shaping, KOL development, and customer engagement strategy leading up to key regulatory milestones (e.g., PDUFA)
- Provide input into asset evaluation and commercial viability from a customer and market perspective
Cross-Functional Leadership
- Lead alignment for KOL/ key customer management across Commercial
- Ensure coordinated execution and consistent messaging across all customer-facing functions
- Serve as a key connector across functions to drive a unified “One Rigel” approach
Team Leadership & Organizational Development
- Build, develop, and retain a high-performing team of field-based Regional Marketers
- Strengthen technical expertise across the team to enable independent ownership and execution
- Drive a culture of accountability, empowerment, and operational excellence
- Scale team capabilities to support expanding portfolio and organizational needs
Operational Excellence & Financial Stewardship
- Manage budget with a disciplined, ROI-driven approach to resource allocation
- Evaluate effectiveness of customer engagement initiatives and optimize investment decisions
- Ensure strong execution across key initiatives including advisory boards, conferences, and speaker programs
External Engagement & Partnerships
- Collaborate with hematology/oncology societies, networks, and GPOs
- Partner with ex-US affiliates and global stakeholders on key customer and conference strategies
- Represent Rigel externally as a key commercial leader and relationship owner
KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL REQUIREMENTS:
- 17+ years of pharmaceutical/biotech experience; hematology/oncology experience required
- Strong commercial leadership experience across marketing, field engagement, or customer strategy
- Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and senior leadership
- Experience in launch planning and/or lifecycle management preferred
- Strong analytical, strategic thinking, and decision-making capabilities
- Proven ability to build and lead high-performing teams
- Excellent communication and executive presence
- High ethical standards and professional integrity
- Bachelor’s degree in marketing or related fields (required); MBA (preferred)
WORKING CONDITIONS:
- PHYSICAL DEMANDS: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to stand, walk; sit; talk and hear. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus.
- WORK ENVIRONMENT: The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. Position will require significant travel pre-launch (e.g., key customer engagement, advisory boards, medical conferences, home office visits, etc.). Travel is approx. 35-50%.
Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by the law.
What We Do
Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is a biotechnology company dedicated to discovering, developing and providing novel small molecule drugs that significantly improve the lives of patients with hematologic disorders and cancer.
