Donald Dengel
Fort Myers
Summary
Results-driven executive with extensive experience in strategic leadership and operational excellence. Proven track record in driving growth, optimizing processes, and fostering team collaboration. Exceptional skills in strategic planning, financial management, and stakeholder engagement. Adaptable and reliable, consistently achieving high-impact results in dynamic environments.
Overview
39
39
years of professional experience
Work History
Vice President North America
GridGain
01.2025 - Current
- Hired to retool the North American sales organization with a strong focus on expanding revenue within existing accounts as well as generating new logo accounts.
- Executed on a 3-month hiring plan to focus the sales team on Enterprise Solution selling. This hiring land culminated with all new hires in attendance at the Sales Kickoff in Aug 2025.
- Responsible for developing and delivering revised Go to Market strategy for GridGain in North America.
- Integration and execution of a solution focused sales process and sales methodology.
- Build consensus and develop strong relationships across all areas of the business (senior level executives, influencers, decision makers, peers).
- Continue to recruit, mentor and provide leadership to achieve annual revenue and growth targets.
- Provide specific feedback to the organization to improve product capabilities, enhance the marketing messaging.
- Responsible for forecasting to senior management regarding revenue projections.
- Provide consistent communication to the entire team regarding company strategy and initiatives.
- Provide direction and feedback on sales plans and compensation structures.
- Drive consistent and accurate use of internal sales systems to ensure accurate information is available to the company.
- Create and expand key partnerships, relationships and alliances with strategic channel partners, systems integrators, and professional services organizations.
Vice President North America
Aerospike
01.2020 - 01.2025
- Responsible for developing and guiding a high performance, consultative sales organization tasked with expanding revenue in North America region.
- Focus on expanding revenue within existing accounts as well as generating new logo accounts.
- Responsible for developing and delivering comprehensive Go to Market strategy for North America.
- Integration and execution of professional sales process and sales methodologies.
- Build consensus and develop strong relationships across all areas of the business (senior level executives, influencers, decision makers).
- Recruit, mentor and provide leadership to allow the team to achieve annual revenue and growth targets.
- Provide feedback to various parts of the organization improving product capabilities, marketing messaging, etc.
- Responsible for forecasting to senior management regarding revenue projections.
- Responsible for consistent communication to the entire team regarding company strategy and initiatives.
- Provide direction and feedback on sales plans and compensation structures.
- Drive consistent and accurate use of internal sales systems to ensure accurate information is available to the company.
- Create and expand key partnerships, relationships and alliances with strategic channel partners, systems integrators, and professional services organizations.
- Grew the sales team by to 100% while growing Annual Contracted Value (ACV) in North America from $12M in 2020 to ~$41M in FY2024.
- Large Transactions closed at Aerospike:
- $8.9M with large payment processing system
- $6.9M ($2.3M x 3 Years) with a large brokerage company
- $5.9M ($1.192M x 5 Years) for a large AdTech company
- Multiple $1M plus transactions across AdTech, Fintech etc..
Regional Sales Director, Strategic Accounts – NY Metro
Cloudera
01.2016 - 01.2020
- Develop and guiding a high-performance, consultative sales organization responsible for growing revenue within targeted strategic accounts in Financial Services.
- Integration and execution of professional sales process and sales methodologies.
- Development and delivery of comprehensive business plans to targeted accounts addressing their business priorities and critical needs.
- Build consensus and develop strong relationships across all areas of the business (senior level executives, influencers, decision makers) to position Cloudera technologies and elevate Cloudera to trusted business advisor.
- Provide mentorship and leadership to develop and execute regional strategies for the Sales team to achieve and exceed quarterly and annual revenue and growth targets.
- Communicate corporate strategy, provide direction and remove barriers allowing the sales force to increase bookings.
- Accurate forecasting to achieving monthly and quarterly targets, contributing to sales plan creation and communication, and compensation structures.
- Drive consistent and accurate use of internal reporting systems ensuring the correct culture is maintained around sales hygiene and process.
- Create and expand key partnerships, relationships and alliances with strategic channel partners, systems integrators, and professional services organizations.
- Work with and sell to the “C” suite to create deal structures to close large software subscription professional services deals. Be a trusted advisor to both customers and colleagues.
- Large Transactions closed at Cloudera:
- $42M ($14M x 3 Years) with Tier 1 Bank
- $24M ($12M x 2 Years) with Tier 1 Bank
- Multiple $2M plus transactions closed with Fortune 500 companies
Strategic Account Executive
Cloudera
01.2013 - 01.2016
- Sales position responsible for developing and delivering comprehensive business plans to select Fortune 100 clients to address their business priorities and critical needs.
- Build consensus and develop strong relationships across all areas of the business (senior level executives, influencers, decision makers) to position Cloudera technologies and elevate Cloudera to trusted business advisor status.
Strategic Account Executive
VMware
01.2010 - 01.2013
- Executive sales position responsible for selling the VMware vision, products, and services to a small number (4-5) of Strategic customers.
- Understand each account and create solutions to meet the customer's business needs, challenges and technical requirements.
- Create strong relationships at all levels in the account to bridge the gap to executives and elevate VMware to a trusted advisor.
- Manage complex sales campaigns across a diverse set of partners as well as internal entities.
- Large Transactions closed at VMware:
- $6M ($2M x 3 Years) with Tier 1 payment/HR organization
- $2M ($1M x 2 Years) with Cloud Communications provider
Senior Sales Engineer – Strategic Accounts
VMware
01.2008 - 01.2010
- VMware senior technical resource responsible for multiple strategic accounts in the New Jersey area.
- Primary responsibilities included building and maintaining business and technical relationships within the account to ensure acceptance as well as timely implementation of the VMware architecture.
- Technologies include VMware Virtualization software, Storage Area Network (SAN) design (FC/iSCSI,NAS), Disaster Recovery planning and testing, IT Lifecycle management, x86 hardware platforms.
Director Technical Consulting - US
Vanco
01.2003 - 01.2008
- Technical management of all US based technical consultants to continuously drive new business to increase revenue.
- Built strong technical expertise into the technical team and led each consultant towards professional and personal success.
- Provided technical input and management acceptance on all customer networks originated in the US. Acceptance signoff includes both technical as well as financial cost models.
- Member of the Vanco Design Forum.
- The Design forum consists of the 8 senior engineers tasked with setting corporate standards for all aspects of the network design process.
- The Forum identifies and documents “standards” for WAN technologies, Hardware including routers and security/load balancing appliances.
Director, Sales Engineering
Calix
01.2000 - 01.2003
- Responsibilities encompassed technical management of Ten (10) sales engineers and coordination of technical resources to sales managers throughout the company.
- Provided input to product development on customer requirements and feature requests.
- Responsible for technical leadership, mentoring and vision throughout all phases of the sales process.
- In depth understanding of carrier class network design and operations.
- Technologies including SONET, Digital Loop Carriers, ATM, DSL, FTTx, Ethernet, Video delivery.
Worldwide Director of Network Engineering
Top Layer Networks
01.1999 - 01.2000
- Recognized as number one sales team for the company in fiscal year 1999.
- Promoted to Worldwide Director because of proven ability to manage accounts and obtain revenue objectives.
- Managed thirteen U.S., two European and three Asian Network Engineers.
- Provided guidance in technical solutions as well as career mentoring.
- Responsibilities encompassed technical management of network engineering staff and coordination of technical resources for evaluations, seminars and events.
- Provided feedback from the sales and engineering force to our inside engineering staff to enhance and fine-tuned our product line to meet our customer's present and future demands.
- Demonstrated technical leadership in all phases of the sales process.
- Built a network engineering team by recruiting, hiring and retaining only the most highly skilled engineers in our field.
- In-depth understanding and experience in management of all aspects of the sales support processes.
- Traveled worldwide to participate in high-level meetings with customers to provide upper-level management exposure and support.
Regional Pre-Sales WAN Specialist
3Com Corporation
01.1998 - 01.1999
- Provided regional technical expertise in the design and implementation of converged networking systems.
- Responsibilities included in depth understanding of 3Com as well as our competitors Wide Area Networking products, standards-based routing protocols and voice technologies.
Pre-Sales Consultant
3Com Corporation
01.1993 - 01.1999
- Provided primary technical leadership to meet sales and business objectives.
- Supported entire sales process from initial meetings and technical sales presentations through completed installation.
- Attained Presidents Circle award for (4) consecutive years by obtaining sales in excess of 110% of quota.
- Awarded North American Pre-Sales Consultant of the Year in 1997 with total sales of $11 Million dollars (148% of quota).
- Consistently performed in the top 15% of all US Field sales teams.
- Technical qualifications included a complete understanding of data communications concepts and their role in the design and implementation of complex high-speed networks.
- Technologies included Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI, ATM, Switching, Routing, ISDN, SMDS, Frame Relay, X.25 and Network Management.
Senior Network Analyst
Reliance Insurance Company
01.1992 - 01.1993
- Network administration and troubleshooting, infrastructure design and expansion as well as all corporate WAN communications.
LAN Services Manager
U. S. Healthcare
01.1989 - 01.1992
- Design and Implement U.S. Healthcare Connectivity Solutions, which included LAN, WAN, and Client Server communications.
- Responsibilities consisted of research and implementation of Network applications that incorporated LAN products, WAN devices, Client Server Applications and Network Management.
- Credited with expansion of Network from seven clients using one File Server to a configuration consisting of over 3000 clients running on 25 File Servers in seven locations throughout the East Coast.
- Managed three Network Analysts whose sole responsibility was support of the entire Network.
- Was member of team responsible for design and installation of U.S. Healthcare's wiring facilities that supported voice and data communications.
Office Systems Analyst
Johnson & Johnson Company
01.1987 - 01.1989
- Responsibilities included evaluation, acquisition, installation and support of Network and Stand-Alone Personal Computers.
- Member of a team tasked with enabling all PCs within the company to communicate over a common wiring plan and interface with the PBX.
- Other responsibilities included system administration of the LAN, supervision of one Office Automation Analyst who maintained and supported all Personal Computers, Peripherals and Software.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Computer Science
The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina01.1986
Skills
- Effective team leadership
- Effective relationship management
- Strategic decision-making
- Problem-solving skills
- Client engagement strategies
- Strategic issue resolution
- Coaching expertise
AWARDS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Cloudera High Fliers Club 2019 (140% of Quota), Cloudera High Fliers Club 2018 (150% of quota), Cloudera High Fliers Club 2015 (200% of quota), VMware Presidents Club Recipient 2010 (185% of quota), VMware vSphere 4 Certified Professional (VCP), VMware Sales Engineer of the Year (NY Region) 2010, Vanco President’s Club Recipient 2002-2007, Top Layer Networks #1 Worldwide Sales Team (1999), 3COM North American Pre-Sales Engineer of The Year (1997), 3COM President’s Circle Recipient 1993-1997 (Obtained excess of 110% of quota), 3COM 3+Open Wizard, 3COM Wizard, Microsoft Certified Professional
Section name
REFERENCES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
Timeline
Vice President North America
GridGain
01.2025 - Current
Vice President North America
Aerospike
01.2020 - 01.2025
Regional Sales Director, Strategic Accounts – NY Metro
Cloudera
01.2016 - 01.2020
Strategic Account Executive
Cloudera
01.2013 - 01.2016
Strategic Account Executive
VMware
01.2010 - 01.2013
Senior Sales Engineer – Strategic Accounts
VMware
01.2008 - 01.2010
Director Technical Consulting - US
Vanco
01.2003 - 01.2008
Director, Sales Engineering
Calix
01.2000 - 01.2003
Worldwide Director of Network Engineering
Top Layer Networks
01.1999 - 01.2000
Regional Pre-Sales WAN Specialist
3Com Corporation
01.1998 - 01.1999
Pre-Sales Consultant
3Com Corporation
01.1993 - 01.1999
Senior Network Analyst
Reliance Insurance Company
01.1992 - 01.1993
LAN Services Manager
U. S. Healthcare
01.1989 - 01.1992
Office Systems Analyst
Johnson & Johnson Company
01.1987 - 01.1989
Bachelor of Science - Computer Science
The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina