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What is a global account director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted expert
Jerri Lynn Kyle

The global account director needs to be globally minded. After all, they're responsible for managing all of a company's accounts worldwide and making sure that standards of quality and customer support are equal for all of their high-profile clients. Global account directors are crucial in helping big clients manage their operations and increasing transparency and cohesion in a company's transactions.

Thankfully, the global account director does not need to do all of the work themselves. They oversee a whole staff dedicated to coordinating global accounts and managing every one of a country's worldwide operations. That doesn't mean that the global account director doesn't have to pick up the phone themself sometimes to try and lure in a high-profile client or build relationships with other executives.

It's almost impossible to become a global account director overnight. Many global account directors first get a bachelor's or even a master's degree, usually in business. They also have years of experience as account executives or account managers.

What general advice would you give to a global account director?

Jerri Lynn KyleJerri Lynn Kyle LinkedIn profile

Senior Instructor, Internship Coordinator, Missouri State University

1.Don't be discouraged! Jobs are out there but you might not get your dream job starting out. It's a journey, so try to make the most of every stop.
2.Start building your professional credibility, both with how you perform your job, and how you interact with your coworkers.
3.Finally, be confident, but at the same time be teachable and coachable. Your degree doesn't make you an expert. Sometimes you realize you don't even know what you don't know, and that's okay. You aren't going to know everything and that's why you need to be coachable.
ScoreGlobal Account DirectorUS Average
Salary
8.2

Avg. Salary $123,659

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
6.4

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
2.7
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.24%

Asian 4.07%

Black or African American 3.24%

Hispanic or Latino 9.82%

Unknown 4.41%

White 78.23%

Gender

female 29.48%

male 70.52%

Age - 46
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46
Stress level
6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level
8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
4.4

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Global account director career paths

Key steps to become a global account director

  1. Explore global account director education requirements

    Most common global account director degrees

    Bachelor's

    75.5 %

    Master's

    18.5 %

    Associate

    4.3 %
  2. Start to develop specific global account director skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Account Management14.15%
    Global Account11.30%
    Business Development8.72%
    Portfolio7.20%
    Customer Satisfaction6.81%
  3. Complete relevant global account director training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New global account directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a global account director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real global account director resumes.
  4. Research global account director duties and responsibilities

    • Supervise insurance billing maintenance and review all manage care contractual adjustments to ensure patients are billed correctly prior to self-pay transfer.
    • Research and purchase CRM system to facilitate customer feedback and retention.
    • Utilize and champion state-of-the-art technology, including CRM and Hoteligence tools.
    • Supervise insurance billing maintenance and review all manage care contractual adjustments to ensure patients are billed correctly prior to self-pay transfer.
  5. Get global account director experience

    Generally, it takes 6-8 years to become a global account director. The most common roles before becoming a global account director include account executive, account manager team lead and national account manager.
  6. Prepare your global account director resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your global account director resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a global account director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable global account director resume templates

    Build a professional global account director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your global account director resume.
    Global Account Director Resume
    Global Account Director Resume
    Global Account Director Resume
    Global Account Director Resume
    Global Account Director Resume
    Global Account Director Resume
    Global Account Director Resume
    Global Account Director Resume
    Global Account Director Resume
  7. Apply for global account director jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a global account director job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first global account director job

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Average global account director salary

The average global account director salary in the United States is $123,659 per year or $59 per hour. Global account director salaries range between $89,000 and $170,000 per year.

Average global account director salary
$123,659 Yearly
$59.45 hourly

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How do global account directors rate their job?

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Global account director reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2023
Pros

Rule of thumb with international travel is be ready for serious jet-lag!

Cons

rule of thumb with international travel is to have jet-lag non-stop!


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A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2020
Pros

The Strategic approach used to uncover new sales opportunities excites me the most working as an Enterprise Account Executive.

Cons

This is a great career.


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A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2019
Pros

Strategic Planning to develop and capture new business opportunities, building strong customer/partner relationships and analyzing the financial performance of customers to help improve their financial and operational performance. Negotiations

Cons

Being away from family because of excessive travel


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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