There’s a famous, unattributed quote that says, “Leaders instill in their people a hope for success and a belief in themselves. Positive leaders empower people to accomplish their goals.”
Comparably’s Best Sales Leaders 2019 prove that to be true. These are 25 of the most inspiring department leaders in the country. Each of them heads up one of the sales departments that recently won one of Comparably’s Best Sales Departments 2019 awards. We wanted to tip our hat and mention them all by name, as truly inspiring leaders are hard to find, and these CROs and VPs of Sales run the departments that their employees voted as the nation’s best.
Andrew K. Glaub – SVP, Director of Sales at Aflac
Bio: Experienced Insurance Executive; responsible for leading Aflac’s sales efforts for group voluntary products, including accident, life, short- and long-term disability insurance, dental, vision, and other voluntary/worksite products. Previously led sales teams for individual life, including small case corporate owned life insurance and linked benefit products.
From Aflac Sales employees: “Leadership are constantly communicating with the team, pushing us, celebrating success, encouraging, and training.”
See Aflac’s award-winning sales scores
Christian Valiulis – Chief Revenue Officer at APS Payroll
Bio: Christian Valiulis serves as the Chief Revenue Officer at APS – HCM Solutions of APS Payroll. Christian started at APS Payroll in June of 2009. He is also a member of the Forbes Business Development Council. He holds a BS in Marketing from Georgetown University.
From APS Payroll Sales employees: “The leadership team at APS is dedicated to the success of the employee. From continuing education to allow employees growth, to upward advancement, to actually caring about what you have to say.”
See APS Payroll’s award-winning sales scores
Jed Smith – VP of Sales at BambooHR
Bio: Jed Smith serves as the VP of Sales of BambooHR. Jed started at BambooHR in Jun of 2013. Prior to that, he worked as a Direct Sales Manager at Celtic Bank and as VP of Sales and Service for OrangeSoda. He holds a BS from Brigham Young University.
From BambooHR Sales employees: “The leadership team cares. Not only have I improved my craft in a number of ways during my time at BambooHR, but I’ve also become a much better communicator and effective teammate.”
See BambooHR’s award-winning sales scores
Kristi Gupton – Director of Sales and Brand Growth at Chick-fil-A
Bio: Kristi Gupton serves as the Director of Sales and Brand Growth of Chick-fil-A, starting at the company in 2008. Prior to that, Gupton had a role as Lead Development Coordinator at Allscripts and as an Account Manager at Healthsource.
From Chick-fil-A Sales employees: “The leadership team emphasizes working together to accomplish things.”
See Chick-fil-A’s award-winning sales scores
Richard Chavez – SVP, Business Development at Costco
Bio: Richard C. Chavez serves as Senior Vice President of Industries & Business Development for Costco Wholesale Corp. Chavez has worked at Costco for 34 years, and previously held the role of Managing Director for Asia. He holds an MBA in General Management from the Harvard Business School as well as a BBA in Business from Loyola Marymount University.
From Costco Sales employees: “I like the diversity of our leadership team. Everyone is different and able to contribute to the daily workflow in a different way. It’s also nice to have options on who to talk to in regards to certain circumstances.”
See Costco’s award-winning sales scores
Josh Allen – Chief Revenue Officer at Drift
Bio: As CRO, Allen is responsible for building and executing Drift’s’s long term go-to-market sales strategy as the company strives to transform businesses’ sales and marketing into the NOW. He joins Drift after serving as SVP, North America Sales & Service at CarGurus (NASDAQ: CARG) where he led a team of more than 300 sales, service, and operations professionals during the company’s most expansive growth period. Allen also spent a decade at LogMeIn (NASDAQ: LOGM), where he held a number of leadership positions, including VP of Sales for two of the company’s three business units, and helped open and expand their international headquarters in Dublin, Ireland.
From Drift Sales employees: “They are always willing to dive into the trenches and help where they can. Servant leadership at its finest!”
See Drift’s award-winning sales scores
Stephen Pace – SVP, Global Sales at Dynatrace
Bio: Steve and his team have successfully expanded the Dynatrace platform to the world’s largest and most progressive organizations, across every major vertical, cloud provider, and solution provider. Steve has a degree, with Honors, in Electrical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University. Over his more than three decades in the software industry, he has held senior sales management positions with NetScout, IBM, Seagate, GeoTrust, Forcepoint, and Raytheon Cyber Products.
From Dynatrace Sales employees: The leadership team is approachable and inclusive. They keep innovation and growth at the forefront of their agenda.”
See Dynatrace’s award-winning sales scores
Steve Eagon – Head of Sales Operations at Eargo
Bio: Steve is Eargo’s Head of Sales Operations. With over 25 years experience as an audiologist, Steve has helped countless patients over the years. Prior to his work for Eargo, Eagon was the Director of In Clinic Success for Unitron Hearing and the Director of Learning in Development in North American for the Sonova Group. He has an MA in Audiology from Ohio University.
From Eargo Sales employees: “The leadership team has always been accessible and engaging. When I started the company had roughly 60 employees. We have more than double that now and the leadership team remains just as engaged and supportive.”
See Eargo’s award-winning sales scores
Randy Vaclavik – Senior VP of Sales at H-E-B
Bio: Randy Vaclavik has been Senior Vice President of Fresh Foods of H.E. Butt Grocery Company since January 2010. He holds a BS in Agriculture Education and a Masters in Meat Science from Texas A&M University.
From H-E-B Sales employees: “Our leadership team shows integrity, honesty and caring to partners, hospitality to customers.”
See H-E-B’s award-winning sales scores
Matt Weil – VP of Sales at Highspot
Bio: Senior executive with over 23 years of sales leadership and management with proven record of developing and executing sales management and go-to-market strategies. Skilled at acquiring and growing sales talent and creating new channels while improving customer relations and retention. Motivated and stimulated to work within an entrepreneurial environment and committed to strategic profit expansion.
From Highspot Sales employees: “Worked late one night, and it was just me, my VP, and our CEO in the office. I was having issues with my computer and was trying to fix the issue — without hesitation, the VP and the CEO literally got on the floor and were helping me solve the issue. ”
See Highspot’s award-winning sales scores
Danny Stubo – Director of Sales at HomeLight
Bio: Danny Stubo is the Director of Sales at HomeLight, leading our sales team since early startup. He has over 17 years experience developing highly productive teams to drive sales and exceed goals. He previously has lead sales teams at E-Loan.com from startup to IPO though the sale of the company. Danny has a B.A. in Economics from California State University Chico and holds his MLO license.
From HomeLight Sales employees: “HomeLight’s leadership team truly values feedback and suggestions from all employees, which is both refreshing and empowering in a corporate world that too often makes employees feel like just another number.”
See HomeLight’s award-winning sales scores
Hunter Madeley – Chief Sales Officer at HubSpot
Bio: Hunter Madeley is the Chief Sales Officer at HubSpot, where he guides the vision and execution of the global inbound sales strategy. As the company’s first Chief Sales Officer, Hunter empowers businesses around the world to adopt and leverage inbound sales to reach new customers in a more helpful and human way. Prior to this role, Hunter was SVP of Global Sales at HubSpot and lead the Direct and Channel international sales organization.
From HubSpot Sales employees: “Leaders here have a clear vision for the business and communicate that vision well. They are always looking out into the future and making the right decisions to get us to that future today.”
See Hubspot’s award-winning sales scores
Mike Fromhold – Executive Vice President at Insight Global
Bio: Mike Fromhold has been with Insight Global for nearly 12 years, serving previously as a Recruiter, a Sales Manager, the Director of Operations, Regional Manager, and Vice President before filling the role of Executive Vice President. He holds a degree in Supply Chain & Information Systems from Penn State University.
From Insight Global Sales employees: “Leadership truly cares about you and your personal and professional success.”
See Insight Global’s award-winning sales scores
Ian Scott – VP Sales Operations & Retail Sales at Jabra
Bio: Business, Sales Management and Operations leader with 20+-year record of delivery outstanding results. Strategic, forward-thinking and execution driven, adept in transforming business and team performance resulting in margin, revenue and market share growth. Highly skilled in influencing executive level decision-making, building high-performing teams and facilitating complex contract negotiations.
From Jabra Sales employees: “The leadership team values the input and inclusion of its employees. Every voice is heard and suggestions are welcome. Jabra has a great culture of winning and enjoying it while doing so.”
See Jabra’s award-winning sales scores
Ben Loeffler-Little – Head of Sales, Revenue Operations, and Enablement at Periscope Data
Bio: Ben is responsible for sales at Periscope, ensuring that the teams have the tools, training and motivation to successfully bring the power of Periscope Data to organizations across the globe. He brings over 14 years in cloud software sales and sales operations, including stints at SAP and Success Factors. Ben has B.A. in Economics from San Francisco State University.
From Periscope Data Sales employees: “The leadership team at Periscope is transparent, hard working, and supportive!”
See Periscope Data’s award-winning sales scores
John D’Agostino – EVP, Global Sales at Qualtrics
Bio: D’Agostino has held the role of EVP, Global Sales at Quatrics since 2013. Prior to that, he held the roles of Division Vice President for Americas Sales at Parametric Technology Corporation and Area Sales Manager for Pitney Bowles. D’Agostino holds a BS in Business Administration from Nazareth College of Rochester.
From Qualtrics Sales employees: “We are constantly receiving emails from our leadership team that includes encouraging words and information about our company as a whole.”
See Qualtrics’ award-winning sales scores
Allyson Fryhoff – Chief Revenue Officer at Salesforce
Bio: Allyson is responsible for all aspects of Salesforce’s platform product line, including Force.com, Heroku and Communites. Prior to Salesforce, Ms. Fryhoff held management positions at Oracle, Digital Equipment Corporation and Control Data Corp. Allyson spent 16 years at Oracle in a variety of product and sales leadership roles. Among her many accomplishments, Allyson led the creation and launch of Exadata, Oracle’s next generation engineered system.
From Salesforce Sales employees: “Authentic, positive, caring about the world outside Salesforce. Innovators and great business leaders.”
See Salesforce’s award-winning sales scores
Stephen Gomann – VP of Sales at Signal Sciences
Bio: Stephen Gomann has been Vice President of Sales of Signal Sciences Corporation since May 2, 2017. Mr. Gomann has more than two decades of experience as a senior sales leader, helping innovation-driven companies accelerate sales. Prior to Signal Sciences, he served as Vice President of sales for North America at MobileIron where he led a 100 person sales and channel organization and met quotas year after year.
From Signal Sciences Sales employees: “Leadership knows the industry and are very well respected in our market. They treat everyone on the team with respect & go out of their way to make sure we’re happy.”
See Signal Science’s award-winning sales scores
Irene Scher – VP of Sales at Sitetracker
Bio: Prior to her role as VP of Sales for Sitetracker, Irene Scher served as Regional Vice President of Sales for Oracle. Before that, she spent six years at Opower, first as an Engagement Manager, then as Director of Sales, and finally as Regional Vice President of Sales. Scher holds a BA and MS in Environmental Studies and Management from Yale University.
From Sitetracker Sales employees: “Leaders are very strategic and thoughtful about their efforts, but also still are open minded enough to collaborate with anyone in the org regardless of hierarchy.”
See Sitetracker’s award-winning sales scores
Jack Siney – Chief Revenue Officer at SmartProcure/GovSpend
Bio: Jack Siney serves as Chief Revenue Officer of SmartProcure, LLC and previously served as its Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Mr. Siney has over 20 years of sales and marketing experience. He began his career as a Contract Negotiator for the U.S. Navy, and I.T. Consultant for the government division of PricewaterhouseCoopers. He’s sold a variety of technology solutions to government agencies – resulting in sales of over $100 million.
From SmartProcure/GovSpend Sales employees: “Our leadership team has worked together for over 20 years. Learning from each leader is of great benefit to me as I grow in my career. Not only do I get to learn, but I get paid to learn!!”
See SmartProcure/GovSpend’s award-winning sales scores
Steve Cicurel – Chief Development Officer at SmileDirectClub
Bio: Steve Cicurel has been the Chief Development Officer at SmileDirectClub, LLC since January 17, 2019. At Quicken Loans, he was
From SmileDirectClub Sales employees: “The leadership team works together to make sure we are all working as a team, helping each other meet the goals and to become a better smile guide.”
See SmileDirectClub’s award-winning sales scores
John A. Freier – EVP, T-Mobile Retail at T-Mobile
Bio: Jon Freier leads all consumer sales, distribution, and overall operations for both the T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile brands including all company-owned retail stores, T-Mobile premium retailers, independent authorized retailers, national retailers, and virtual retail teams. Enthusiastically leading over 70,000 retail and operations employees, Jon has strategically transformed our retail operations into an award-winning and customer-obsessed culture by passionately serving our frontline teams.
From T-Mobile Sales employees: “Leadership is all about inclusion. They work with you to come up with best practices instead of just telling you what to do.”
See T-Mobile’s award-winning sales scores
Rich Liu – Chief Revenue Officer at TripActions
Bio: Rich Liu has been CRO at TripActions since 2018. Prior to that, he was Vice President of Global Corporate Sales for Mulesoft and – before that – an advisor for Avegant. He also held roles at Facebook and Fisher Investments. He holds a BS with Distinction in Biomedical Engineering from Yale University.
From TripActions Sales employees: “They’re constantly thinking big picture and innovating solutions to problems yet they still maintain the atmosphere that allows for an open door transparency.”
See TripActions’ award-winning sales scores
Craig Bumpus – Chief Revenue Officer at UiPath
Bio: Craig Bumpus has served as Chief Revenue Officer of UiPath Inc. since March 2018. He served as Senior Vice President of Sales at Nutanix, Inc. from January 21, 2016 until December 2017. Mr. Bumpus is a sales professional with more than 20 years of experience in sales strategy, channel development, OEM distribution, and development of direct and indirect global sales teams for start-ups and large enterprises in the security and data protection industries.
From UiPath Sales employees: “Leadership are very capable and realistic people. They see that now is the moment for RPA and are doing everything they can to take advantage of it.”
See UiPath’s award-winning sales scores
Dan Gross – VP, Business Development at WhiteSource
Bio: Technology entrepreneur and executive with over 20 years of experience in defining the strategic direction and ambitious growth planning for both start-ups and well-established global brands. Before joining WhiteSource, Dan served as VP for Business Development at Salesforce, and before that, Dan was the CEO and Co-Founder of Navajo Systems, a pioneering startup for cloud data encryption.
From WhiteSource Sales employees: “Leaders clearly understand that employees need to be high on the priority list. Providing the support and guidance together with great communication and genuine care has penetrated across the entire company from their example. Each of you are incredible role models.”
See WhiteSource’s award-winning sales scores
Methodology
Comparably’s Best Sales Managers are derived from the winners of the Best Sales Departments award. To arrive at those, sentiment ratings provided by Marketing employees nationwide who anonymously rated their departments on Comparably.com between March 8, 2018 and March 8, 2019. There were no fees or costs associated with participating, nor was nomination required.
Winners were determined based on a series of 50+ structured and comprehensive workplace questions in core culture categories, including: Compensation, Leadership, Professional Development, Work-Life Balance, Perks & Benefits, to name a few (in Yes/No, True/False, 1-10 scale, and multiple choice formats). The answer to each question was given a numerical score and then compared to companies of similar size across the U.S. Additional weight was given to scores at companies with more participation from their employee base.
About Comparably
Comparably is an online career destination for compensation and workplace culture data with a mission to make work dramatically more transparent and rewarding. Employees can anonymously and publically rate their company culture and access salary data through the lens of specific demographics, including gender, ethnicity, age, location, years of experience, company size, title/department, and education. With the most comprehensive and structured data in the industry, it has accumulated 10 million ratings and hundreds of thousands of salary records by employees at 50,000 U.S. companies, from startups to Fortune 50 businesses. The company’s data-driven approach has quickly made it a trusted media resource for salary and workplace culture, and one of the fastest-growing SaaS solutions for employer branding. For more information, go to Comparably.com. For workplace culture and salary studies, including Comparably’s annual Best Places to Work and Best CEOs awards, go to Comparably.com/blog.
