---
title: 'Head of APAC Sales at Speak'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-apac-sales-speak-seoul-nvqjvk797ycc'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-13'
---

# Head of APAC Sales at Speak

- **Company:** Speak
- **Location:** Seoul, South Korea
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-07-03
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-13
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/speak/29647892-bc3f-40fb-bd1b-8f70017073fd

## Job description

## About us

Our mission is to reinvent the way people learn, starting with language. Learning a language can change a life by opening doors to new cultures, careers, and communities. Two billion people around the world are actively trying to learn a language, but the best way to learn (one-on-one tutoring) is hard to access at scale and hasn’t been meaningfully improved in decades. Speak is building a human-level, AI-powered tutor in your pocket: a conversation-first experience that lets learners actually speak, get instant feedback, and progress through carefully designed lessons. The result is a complete path from beginner to confident speaker across multiple languages. Speak first launched in South Korea in 2019, where Speak has now become the number one language learning app, and we now serve learners across many markets and 15+ languages. Speak is one of the world’s leading AI companies, with over $150m raised in venture investment from OpenAI, Accel, Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, and more, with a distributed team across San Francisco, Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, and Ljubljana.

## About This Role

Speak is on a mission to transform language learning for enterprises around the globe. With a rapidly expanding B2B segment (Speak for Business), we are looking for a Head of APAC Sales to drive exponential growth in the company’s most dynamic region (based on existing B2B accounts as well as strong B2C brand foundations). This role will lead all sales efforts across South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and future emerging markets, from new-logo acquisition among top-tier enterprises to expansion within our existing customer base, while also managing and mentoring local sales team leaders and members. You will partner closely with Marketing, Product, and CSM teams to ensure that Speak for Business resonates through the region.

## What you’ll be doing

Set & Execute Regional Sales Strategy:

- Own the overall APAC go-to-market plan, aligning with global leadership to define regional priorities, revenue targets, and resource needs

Lead High-Performing Sales Teams:

- Manage and mentor local Sales team members (currently in South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan) - directly manage Account Executives and SDR team leader
- Build upon a culture of accountability, clear communication, and high-velocity execution

Drive New Logo Wins & Account Expansion:

- Engage top enterprise prospects in key verticals, forging relationships with C-level stakeholders and decision-makers
- Partner with the CSM & Partner Operations teams to identify and pursue upsell/cross-sell opportunities, ensuring high renewal rates and long-term customer success

Own Outbound & Inbound Sales Processes:

- Build robust outbound motion to penetrate target accounts, fostering a “fearless” approach to lead generation, leading the SDR team and partnering closely with our Marketing team
- Refine inbound qualification and closing strategies to achieve near 100% conversion on inbound leads

Collaborate Cross-Functionally:

- Provide market-specific feedback to the Product, Engineering, and Content Teams, influencing roadmap priorities
- Partner with Global Finance/Operations Teams for accurate forecasting and quota-setting

## What we’re looking for

- 10+ years of B2B Sales Experience, with 4+ years in leadership roles overseeing APAC or multi-country teams
- Proven Track Record in meeting/exceeding ARR targets in enterprise software, SaaS, L&D, or related tech sectors
- Team Builder & Coach: You’ve built distributed, multicultural sales teams from the ground up, not just inherited them, and you’re skilled at hiring, developing, and motivating people across markets
- Hands-On Coach: You coach sellers directly on live deals, hold the line on accountability with your AEs, and can point to win rates that moved because of it
- Executive Presence: You carry credibility in the room with senior external stakeholders, and you’ve personally opened and closed deals at the top of the enterprise market
- Playbook Builder: You’ve built sales playbooks and processes from scratch, covering prospecting through closing, renewals, and expansion
- Commercial Partner: You’ve worked with Product and Finance to shape pricing, selling strategies, and segmentation, not just executed what was handed to you
- Customer-Focused Communicator: Adept at building senior-level relationships and navigating complex enterprise buying cycles
- Cross-Cultural Competence: You understand how selling actually works across APAC markets at different stages of growth, including local sales etiquette and customs
- High Adaptability: Thrive in a fast-paced startup environment, comfortable with ambiguity, and eager to create solutions where they don’t yet exist
- Fluency in business English; communicating with the global team at Speak on a daily level should not be a blocker to get things done

While it’s not required, it’s an added plus if you also have:

- Complete coverage and experience across our existing markets (Korea, Japan, Taiwan)
- A multilingual or multicultural background, having lived or worked in more than one of our markets
- Experience selling to HR teams and leaders, especially in language learning or education category

## Why work at Speak

- Join a fantastic, tight-knit team at the right time: we're growing very quickly, we've most recently raised our Series C from some of the top investors in the valley, and we've achieved product-market fit in our initial markets. You'd join at a magical time when a single person could significantly change the course of the company.
- Do your life's work with people you’ll love working with: we care strongly about our craft and want every person at Speak to feel like they're growing every day. We believe in the idea that working with people you both enjoy and have respect for makes everything better. We hire thoughtfully and only work with people we admire deeply.
- Global in nature: We're live in over 40 countries and launching in a number of new markets soon. We have dedicated offices in San Francisco, Ljubljana, Seoul, Tokyo, and Taipei, and you’ll have the opportunity to talk to users in each of these regions on a regular basis as well as travel.
- Impact people's lives in a major way: Learning a language is one of the single most life-changing skills one can learn, and right now 99% of people never achieve their goal because the process is broken. We’re helping millions of people achieve their goals and improve their lives.

Speak does not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

## About Speak

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Speak is an AI-powered language learning app that focuses on teaching conversational fluency through real-time speaking practice and instant feedback, without needing a human tutor.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series C; $1B valuation as of December 2024)
- **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, USA (with offices in Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, and Ljubljana)
- **Founded**: 2016
- **Founders**: Connor Zwick (CEO) and Andrew Hsu (CTO)

## Core Business
- **Industry**: Language learning / EdTech
- **Target Customers**: B2C (individual language learners) and B2B (Speak for Business – over 200 enterprise customers)
- **Mission/Purpose**: “To reinvent the way people learn, starting with language.” The goal is to make conversational practice radically accessible so that hundreds of millions of people can gain fluency.

## Products & Services
- **Speak App**: A subscription-based mobile and web application (iOS, Android, Web) that uses a proprietary “Speak Method” – learn useful phrases, practice them out loud with AI-driven drills, then apply them in simulated real-world conversations. Supports English learning from eight source languages; plans to add Spanish and French.
- **Speak for Business**: A B2B tier for companies that want to provide English conversation training to their employees, currently serving 200+ corporate clients.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: $1 billion (December 2024, Series C led by Accel)
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of $171.3 million across six rounds; annual revenue estimated at $7.0 million (LinkedIn data)
- **Notable Investors**: Accel, OpenAI Startup Fund, Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, Y Combinator, Lachy Groom, Buckley Ventures; individual angels include Sam Altman and Peter Thiel.
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - 10M+ app downloads, #1 English learning app in South Korea
  - Available in over 30 countries
  - Headcount grew 30.9% YoY to 166 employees (LinkedIn, May 2026)
  - B2B segment has 200+ customers
  - Average user engagement of 10–20 minutes per day

## Competitive Advantages
- **Conversation-first approach**: Unlike grammar/vocab apps, Speak teaches by making users speak out loud, using proprietary speech recognition and generative AI to provide immediate feedback.
- **AI tutor that scales**: Replicates natural conversation without needing a live human, making high-quality practice affordable ($20/month or $99/year).
- **Deep OpenAI partnership**: Early access to the latest speech AI from OpenAI (also an investor), giving a technological edge in voice interaction.
- **Strong product-market fit in Asia**: Proven adoption in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and expanding to other markets.

## Strategic Focus
- Expand target languages (Spanish and French are next)
- Scale Speak for Business globally
- Develop a standardized, accurate English fluency assessment (an AI-powered test)
- Continue to invest in AI research and engineering to improve tutoring effectiveness

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Mission-driven team passionate about language learning and AI; values efficacy over gamification.
- **Team & talent**: 166 people from companies like Meta, Google, DoorDash, Block, Dropbox, and Duolingo. Engineering office in Ljubljana, product and design hubs in San Francisco, operations in Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei.
- **Flexibility**: Hybrid/office-based across locations; employees encouraged to travel between offices; annual company offsite.
- **Perks**: Competitive salary and equity, comprehensive medical/dental/vision, unlimited PTO, parental leave, 401(k), monthly wellness and language learning stipends, pet-friendly office (official company dog).
- **Growth**: Rapidly scaling headcount (+30% YoY) with active roles in engineering, product, marketing, sales, and design.

## Sources
1. [speak.com/careers](https://www.speak.com/careers)
2. [speak.com](https://speak.com/)
3. [linkedin.com/company/usespeak](https://www.linkedin.com/company/usespeak)
4. [TechCrunch: OpenAI-backed Speak raises $78M at $1B valuation](https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/10/openai-backed-speak-raises-78m-at-1b-valuation-to-help-users-learn-languages-by-talking-out-loud/)
5. [Y Combinator: Speak](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/speak)

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