Sales Manager

Brian E. Thesing

**** ******** ***** • Sunnyvale, CA 94087

M: 408-***-**** • *****.*******@*****.***

Director of Business Development

Dynamic, performance business development executive with 20+ years broad based high-tech sales and

marketing expertise with keen ability to form strategic alliances. Proven track record of consistently driving

growth in B2B channels, from startups to Fortune 500. Exceptional business development and sales

management skills combined with ability to successfully ensure customer satisfaction and foster team

development. Expertise in North America, EMEA, APAC and India markets.

Key Strengths

Strategic Account Alliances • Solution Based Selling • New Business Development • Relationship Builder

GTM • Program Management • Cross Functional Team Management • Channel Marketing

Exceptional Communicator • Contagious Positive Attitude • Sense of Humor • Creative Problem Solver

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

GRAPHITE SYSTEMS, INC., Mountain View, CA

Director of Business Development, Feb 2014-Present

Lead all non-engineering initiatives for Graphite Systems including: business development, partner strategy,

product strategy, company and product evangelism, pricing, TCO, messaging, creative and brand.

• Develop and strengthen relationships with Graphite business & OEM partners (Hewlett Packard, Kx

Systems, FoundationDB, MongoDB, RedHat etc.) to ensure future channel and revenue opportunities.

• Work with Graphite engineering to identify key vendor relationships.

• Create and implement partner go-to-market strategies.

• Work with CEO and co-founders to identify initial strategic customers.

VIOLIN MEMORY, INC., Mountain View, CA

Director of Business Development, Aug 2011-Aug 2013

Lead business development initiatives for leading pioneer of computer data storage products. Direct go-to-

market programs - from rules of engagement and marketing messaging to solution selling, sales guide

development and field engagement models – while effectively communicating throughout all levels of

internal and partner organizations.

• Drive business development by collaborating with key partners, including SAP, HP, Juniper, and Redhat,

to produce joint revenue opportunities from zero to +$30M.

• Manage cross-functional teams of ten in technology alignment, joint development, certification and

revenue.

• Responsible for training internal and partner field teams on joint offerings, pricing, SKUs, and programs.

• Negotiate and structure OEM and partner deals, as well as contract addendums.

VARDA, INC., Danville, CA

Director, Sales and Business Development, Aug 2010-Aug 2011

Directed sales and business development of SaaS startup, leading a team of five in defining and

implementing strategic solutions for individual and channel partners targeting HNW/UHNW segments.

• Led sales team to close new business, valued at $250k annually.

• Managed business development strategies, including positioning, value proposition, contract negotiation,

pricing, and consistent brand delivery.

• Implemented software enhancement roadmap by gathering customer input and collaborating with

technology team.

• Represented organization to Series-A investment community.

B rian E. Thesing

Page 2 • *****.*******@*****.***

NETAPP, INC., Sunnyvale, CA

Senior Strategic Alliance Manager, Fujitsu, Aug 2006-Jul 2010

Served as NetApp corporate strategic alliance and business development manager for worldwide Fujitsu

account, representing $280M in revenue.

• Managed comprehensive business needs, including partnership evangelism, GTM programs, joint sales

and marketing campaigns, executive alignment, and revenue generation.

• Led business and virtual team of eight in building alliances to drive ownership, accountability and

resolution of issues.

• Engaged and managed C-level executive relationships, drove joint executive alignment, reporting

program and account status.

WEB ASSOCIATES, San Luis Obispo, CA

Senior Account Manager, Jul 2005-Aug 2006

Managed $1.5M revenue quota for professional service firm providing web strategies to help clients with

brand and interactive media.

• Established six new clients via sales and business development initiatives, resulting in $850K additional

revenue.

• Increased revenue by 75% per account by identifying projects and programs to further customer

business goals.

• Responsible for managing customer relationships and revenues for Hewlett Packard, AMD, Qlogic,

Micron, InfoGenesis, Aqua Minds and Experts Exchange.

BROCADE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS, INC., San Jose, CA

Senior OEM Account Manager, Dell Computer, Sun Microsystems/StorageTek, Feb 2004-Jul 2005

Responsible for worldwide account management of Sun, Dell, StorageTek OEM accounts, including

outbound marketing, operations, and product development.

• Achieved $30M/quarter in incremental revenue by successfully launching over twelve Brocade products

with partners.

• Improved product sell through by 65% by creating, negotiating and implementing field sales, channel

programs, and marketing strategies to generate revenue.

• Increased QBR customer satisfaction numbers at all accounts by an average of 15 points via proactive

relationship management and attentive customer interaction.

VERITAS SOFTWARE, INC., Mountain View, CA (1998-2003)

Manager of Program Management, Appliance Software Division, (2001-2003)

• Managed six-member team in launching products and driving cross-functional groups to achieve

aggressively schedules and product releases for direct and OEM products.

• Oversaw strategic intra-company initiatives, including product life cycle strategy, corporate licensing

strategy, internationalization and localization strategy, usability and certification.

• Promoted from individual contributor to Manager of Program Management, Cross Product Operations.

OEM Account Manager, Sun Account, (1998-2001)

• Built and enhanced critical Sun: VERITAS channel relationship, driving revenue through licensed

product sales.

• Collaborated with joint engineering and product management teams to facilitate and troubleshoot

product releases and announcement schedules.

Previous experience includes Program Manager, Product Manager -Worldwide Support Services Product

Marketing for SUN Microsystems, Inc., Marketing and VAR Manager for Western Multiplex Corporation, and

Technical Support Representative, Worldwide Support Operation with Hewlett Packard.

B rian E. Thesing

Page 3 • *****.*******@*****.***

E DUCATION & T RAINING

Bachelor of Science, Business Administration (Marketing Emphasis)

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA

Management for Impact, Making Groups Work, Effective Presentations

Veritas University, Mountain View, CA

Strategic Selling: Miller Heiman, Product Management, Taking Tech Products to Market: Caltech,

Strategic Thinking and Problem Solving: UCSC Extension, Exercising Influence: Barnes & Conti,

Project Management: Project Mentors, SAN Practitioner: Infinitiy I/O,

Practical Product Management: Pragmatic Marketing

Contact this candidate