Company: Proofpoint, Sunnyvale, CA
Nomination Submitted by: AxiCom
Company Description: Proofpoint, Inc. is a leading cybersecurity and compliance company that protects organizations’ greatest assets and biggest risks: their people. With an integrated suite of cloud-based solutions, Proofpoint helps companies around the world stop targeted threats, safeguard their data, and make their users more resilient against cyber attacks.
Nomination Category: Sales Awards Individual Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Worldwide Sales Executive of the Year
 Nomination Title: Blake Sallé, Chief Revenue Officer
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes, explaining the achievements since July 1, 2020 of the nominated individual, OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 69 words used.
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video. If you are submitting written answers to the questions for this category, provide them in the spaces below.
- Briefly describe the nominated individual: history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 199 words used.
Blake Sallé is an esteemed tech executive with experience building strategic initiatives to drive momentum, growth, and revenue across global markets. His energy, resourcefulness, and passion for customer satisfaction make Blake an unforgettable figure among his peers, customers, prospects, and the broader enterprise cybersecurity community. With nearly 30 years of experience, Blake has a formed an impressive resume, having held senior sales executive positions with some of the most recognized and innovative organizations in technology and healthcare, including Cisco, VCE, VMware, EMC, Johnson & Johnson, DXC, and an Andreessen Horowitz backed start-up acquired by RSA.
Blake’s interest in fast-paced, innovative industries led him to cybersecurity and Proofpoint, where he now leads all customer-facing and go-to-market functions as Chief Revenue Officer. Before this role, he held the position of Proofpoint’s EVP, Worldwide Sales and led the Americas sales organization. Under Blake’s leadership, his team of 1,500 security sales professionals across 23 countries supports organizations of all sizes, including more than 75 percent of the Fortune 1000, in mitigating their most critical cyber risks across email, the cloud, social media, and the web. During his tenure at Proofpoint, annual revenue has increased fourfold and is now trending at $1.5B.
- Outline the nominee's achievements since July 1 2020 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 240 words used.
In 2020, under Blake’s leadership, Proofpoint became the first SaaS-based cybersecurity and compliance company to generate over $1B in annual revenue. In 2021, Blake’s organization was responsible for bringing on 800 new enterprise customers – making Proofpoint the most deployed cybersecurity solution amongst the Fortune 100, Fortune 1,000 and Global 2,000.
Today, Proofpoint is one of the top 5 cybersecurity vendors by revenue with over 4,500 employees worldwide; in 2021, it was acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo for $12.3B.
Blake is keen on arming his team with the resources they need to be successful. In 2022, he spearheaded the creation of a new internal training series titled First Line Operations Excellence. Launching in 2023, this holistic program is aimed at enabling, empowering, and growing first line sales manager capability and success. He is also passionately involved with “Sales Masters,” a weekly worldwide enablement training session; “Sales Boost,” a supplemental enablement training; “Sales Academy,” a three-day training for new sales employees; and “Story Time,” virtual meetings led by various sales team members who share their recent sales “wins.” These educational sessions have been well received internally, with hundreds of sales professionals tuning in weekly and over 300 Academy graduates in 2022.
Blake champions Proofpoint's "people-centric" approach along with his executive counterparts through "Exec Connect," an effective outreach program that has strengthened relationships with key decision markers of Proofpoint customers.
- Explain why the achievements you have highlighted are unique or significant. If possible compare the achievements to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the nominee's past performance (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
Blake’s leadership attributes have cultivated a sales environment of excitement and resilience. As the world faced uncertainty, many market competitors could not deliver on their financial forecasts. Astoundingly, Proofpoint executed a V-shaped recovery in 2021, with both revenue and billings growing by +20% YoY, grew new and add-on bookings by 25%, and achieved a renewal rate well above 90%, among other accomplishments under Blake’s leadership.
Unique to his peers, Blake maintains a robust communication cadence, equipping his team with the knowledge and motivation they need to win. He writes, reviews, and delivers regular updates to his team. He rarely misses a weekly all-company town-hall meeting hosted by the executive team, meticulously prepares and hosts worldwide manager meetings twice a quarter, is highly involved in the planning and execution of Proofpoint’s annual and mid-year Sales Kick Offs, and serves as executive sponsor of Proofpoint’s Employee Inclusion Group, “Masters in Life Experience”, whose mission is to provide a space for colleagues to share their unique experiences and insights.
In December 2022, Blake became a founding board member of XFactor.io, a company revolutionizing enterprise GTM and annual operations planning with a $10M seed round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Under this remit, Blake will leverage his experience scaling companies to provide proof-of-concept and product market fit analysis for startup founders and investors.
In summary, Blake is a steadfast force multiplier with unparalleled energy and enthusiasm. His performance as a leader and teammate has earned him a reputation for being approachable and trustworthy.
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