Running
Chris Zaharias
Startup Sales
San Diego,CA
Summary
Extensive experience partnering with entrepreneurs, investors and customers to bring growth to disruptive technology startups. Hungry to win, intelligent, motivating and aggressive, contributions consistently measure in millions of new revenue and successful investor outcomes. Experienced in AI, ML/CV, data annotation, algorithms, SaaS, B2B lead-gen, data insights and global growth.
Overview
29
29
years of professional experience
2
2
Languages
Work History
Chief Revenue Officer
Loyalty Juggernaut
11.2022 - Current
- Sourced, captained and closed company's largest-ever contract [$11M 5-year deal with major Asian airline].
- Drove operational excellence at every stage of sales funnel and developed innovative strategies to sell to customers in EU, U.S., LatAm and Asia.
- Drove planning and execution of lead-gen, B2B marketing, CRM and conference sponsorships
- Managed RFP pursuit teams located in U.S., LatAm and India, achieving consistently high RFP finalist rate.
- Developed and executed a go-to-market strategy to drive company success in exceeding revenue and profitability goals
Investor and Advisor
Aparkate
12.2021 - Current
- As sole outside investor, provided working capital to fund growth.
- Worked closely with founder to create sales strategy, lead-generation channels, commercial model and pitch decks.
- Trained and managed LatAm and EU sales team.
- Drove pivot from SaaS to concession sales model which increased deal close rate 10X.
Director EMEA Sales
IMerit
12.2018 - 11.2021
- Grew EMEA data annotation customer base from 2 to 15 including Enel (#1 utility), Bosch, SocGen, UK govt, Magna, Vricon/Maxar, DRDO (India military), NTT (Japan telco), Healthy.io and others.
- Drove business expansion by identifying new verticals, conducting research, and developing targeted B2B marketing campaigns.
- Closed 3 $1M+ deals in 2021, first ever for iMerit EMEA.
- Grew EMEA delivery team size from 50 to 700 in 2 years.
Founder
SearchQuant
01.2014 - 12.2018
- Founded this SaaS tool to generate awareness and inbound lead flow from LinkedIn.
- Grew customer base to 200+ (mostly other SaaS companies) and ARR to $1M+
- Inc Magazine's article on SearchQuant: bit.ly/SQInc2016
- Sold business to B2B SaaS firm in 2018
Chief Revenue Officer
Triggit
05.2012 - 05.2015
- Implemented robust performance metrics to evaluate and improve individual and team performance.
- Developed comprehensive training programs for new sales and marketing hires, ensuring their rapid integration into team.
- Grew revenue from $6M to $22M, international from 0% to 55%.
- Oversaw 12-city "Facebook retargeting landrush" roadshow.
- We signed 250 of top 5000 online advertisers including HomeDepot, Booking.com, Zalando, Mercado Livre, Hotwire and Hotels.com.
VP Search Sales
OMNITURE
03.2008 - 07.2010
- Responsible for sales of Omniture's search products and services. Hired to help acquire former company.
- Built and ran 12-person sales team.
- Grew product revenue from $12.7M to over $30M.
- Responsible for sales, marketing, events and integration with 150-person global sales team.
- Acquired by Adobe for $1.8B.
VP of Sales
Efficient Frontier
08.2003 - 08.2007
- 4th employee. Grew revenues from $0 to $40M and spend under management to over $2B. Acquired by Adobe for $425M.
- Built 15-person sales team responsible for over 200 client contracts in 12 countries.
- Partial deal sheet: eBay, Expedia, Amazon, Nordstroms, Intuit, Fnac, Bankrate, eHarmony, HomeAway/VRBO, WebMD, Marks & Spencer, ServiceMagic, Edmunds, VistaPrint, LegalZoom.
Sales Manager, Europe and East Region U.S.
Netscape Communications
08.1995 - 06.1999
- Played major role in starting EMEA sales, building direct field, inside sales and VARs.
- Directly sold dozens of major deals accounting for over $30M in revenue.
- Sold key wins at Fortune 500 firms in NYC area.
- Hired, trained and managed Paris inside sales team.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Marine Biochemistry
University of California San Diego
La Jolla, CA 05.2001 -
Skills
GenAI use in sales
Management Team Leadership
Finding buyer intent signals
Generating inbound from LinkedIn
Convincing public speaker
Understanding AI use cases
Sales team training and motivation
Interests
Ocean sports
Guitar
Family
Timeline
Chief Revenue Officer
Loyalty Juggernaut
11.2022 - Current
Investor and Advisor
Aparkate
12.2021 - Current
Director EMEA Sales
IMerit
12.2018 - 11.2021
Founder
SearchQuant
01.2014 - 12.2018
Chief Revenue Officer
Triggit
05.2012 - 05.2015
VP Search Sales
OMNITURE
03.2008 - 07.2010
VP of Sales
Efficient Frontier
08.2003 - 08.2007
Bachelor of Science - Marine Biochemistry
University of California San Diego
05.2001 -
Sales Manager, Europe and East Region U.S.
Netscape Communications
08.1995 - 06.1999