Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Affiliations
Sales Performance Scorecard
Timeline
Generic

Kayode Rufai

Dallas,TX

Summary

Moving from the West Coast to Texas, I bet on myself and grew at Palo Alto Networks. In my first year as a Sr. BDR, I've consistently achieved 120%+ of quota, opened whitespace in Fortune 500 accounts, and progressed multimillion-dollar opportunities - including a $2.3M NGFW whitespace deal at NOV. I took this role intentionally to build deep product and customer knowledge, and I'm now ready to step into an AE position. By marrying my prior AE experience in Silicon Valley with my Palo Alto Networks expertise, I'm prepared to take on this next challenge and deliver results.

Overview

6
6
years of professional experience

Work History

Sr. Business Development Representative

Palo Alto Networks
Plano, TX
10.2024 - Current
  • Generated $7.03M pipeline in Q3 (703% to goal) including a $2.3M firewall project with NOV.
  • Revived $100K renewal and AI expansion at Robinson Bradshaw Harris, owning deal cycle from cold call to channel to exec.
  • Secured CISO-level engagement at Global Payments, Aflac, FIS, WestRock, WesBanco, and Flour, advancing Cortex and NGFW opportunities.
  • Consistently exceeded conversion quotas (125% Core, 400% C&C;) across three territories (Georgia/Carolinas, Gulf Majors, SMB Mid-Atlantic).
  • Hosting The Modern SOC Webinar: Powered by Cortex XSIAM (Sept 25) with Shailesh Roa, Gil Blum, and Josh Yost to showcase Cortex XSIAM to key U.S. accounts.
  • Selected for RSA25 PAB booth, FIS EBC, and Ignite, providing competitive intel and representing Palo Alto in high-stakes executive forums.

Account Executive

S&D Engineering Solutions
Sunnyvale, CA
07.2023 - 10.2024
  • Owned full-cycle account management for 50+ enterprise clients, including Lockheed Martin, Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, Samsung, and Palo Alto Networks.
  • Drove 60-100 daily outbound activities to C-level executives, creating and maintaining pipelines across hardware, software, and consulting projects.
  • Managed client solutions with focus on time-to-market, cost, and risk mitigation, resulting in repeat contracts and portfolio growth.

Funded Trader

Barker Capital Management Group
01.2020 - 01.2021
  • Earned a funded account valued over $50,000.
  • Lead and facilitated weekly group and sector meetings.
  • Actively traded with options, equities, and futures with defined risk parameters using
  • technical and fundamental analysis.
  • Bloomberg Market Concepts Certified: 159849487184
  • Interpreted Bloomberg terminal data/news to forecast, Linear Regression Analysis, and informed decisions.

Education

B.S. - Finance & Marketing Analytics

University of Idaho
Moscow, ID

Skills

  • Pipeline management
  • C-level engagement
  • Account strategy
  • Lead generation
  • Market analysis
  • Sales forecasting
  • Fortune 500 Penetration
  • Solution/Consultive Selling
  • Forecasting & Territory Management

Affiliations

  • Feed my starving kids volunteer 2024/25 Dallas
  • Oakland Marathon Finisher 2024
  • NFLPA 2022-2023
  • Bronco Strong Volunteer: Boise community outreach program
  • Vandal up: Moscow community engagement program
  • Water Shed Alliance: Cleaning Southern Washington beach and parks

Sales Performance Scorecard

Sales Performance Scorecard

Q4 FY25 | (to-date) Pipeline 136% | Core Conversion 200% |  C&C Conversion 167%

Q3 FY25 | $7.03M pipeline vs. $1M target (703%) | Core 125% | C&C 400%

Q2 FY25 | $700K pipeline (SASE $500K) | Conversions 200% | SQLs 300%

Timeline

Sr. Business Development Representative

Palo Alto Networks
10.2024 - Current

Account Executive

S&D Engineering Solutions
07.2023 - 10.2024

Funded Trader

Barker Capital Management Group
01.2020 - 01.2021

B.S. - Finance & Marketing Analytics

University of Idaho

Similar Profiles

  • Alex Nieves

    Alex NievesAlex Nieves

    Senior Manager of Global Certifications at Palo Alto NetworksSenior Manager of Global Certifications at Palo Alto Networks

  • Bonney Bhaik

    Bonney BhaikBonney Bhaik

    Customer Success Engineer at Palo Alto NetworksCustomer Success Engineer at Palo Alto Networks

  • Matthew Hewson

    Matthew HewsonMatthew Hewson

    Professional Services Associate at Palo Alto NetworksProfessional Services Associate at Palo Alto Networks

  • Antoine Hight

    Antoine HightAntoine Hight

    Distribution Center Manager at TH Marine SuppliesDistribution Center Manager at TH Marine Supplies

  • Maliya Berry

    Maliya BerryMaliya Berry

    Critical Care Technician at My Michigan HealthCritical Care Technician at My Michigan Health

CREATE PROFILE