The High Performance Sales Leader

Pree Sarkar
  • 0.0 (0)
  • MANAGEMENT

"Actionable Insights from Inspiring Tech CROs & VPs" dives deep into the world of sales leadership within the dynamic technology sector. Join us for 20-30 minute candid conversations with distinguished sales leaders—from nimble startups to global powerhouses—as they share their personal journeys, strategies, and secrets behind their remarkable results. Whether you're an aspiring sales leader or a seasoned expert looking for fresh insights, this podcast offers a treasure trove of real-world wisdom, actionable takeaways, and lessons learned from the front lines of tech sales. 

  1. 12/09/2025

    E53: How Great Leaders Are Built, Not Born

    What does it really take to grow into a high-impact leader—especially when the world won’t wait and your confidence wavers? In this episode of The High Performance Sales Leader, host Pree Sarkar sits down with Wendy Komadina, former VP at AWS, Cloudflare, and Cisco, and founder of TechMeForward, to unpack her framework for building leaders who lead with integrity, clarity, and commercial influence. Wendy shares her four-stage “Professional Arc,” a battle-tested roadmap that’s helped her scale teams across global tech, coach first-time VPs, and shape cultures that perform under pressure. From working on yourself, to building your team, mastering the business, and leaving a lasting legacy—this is leadership with no fluff, just honesty and impact. If you’re a sales leader, rising exec, or founder looking to lead with confidence and build teams that scale, this episode will reshape how you think about growth—yours and theirs. Connect with Wendy Komadina: 👉LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendykomadina/ Connect with The High Performance Sales Leader Host: 👉LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/preesarkar/ Hiring or replacing someone in the next 90 days? We partner with tech sales leaders who are time-poor and under-pressure, and introduce them to top performers without wasting time or risking average hires, so that they can build winning teams and careers. Message pree@ultratalent.com today!

    38 min

  2. 12/09/2025

    E54: Agentic AI for Leaders: Sell Outcomes, Not Hype

    What really matters when selling AI? It’s not hype. It’s not hallucinations. It’s inference, outcomes, and customer experience. In this episode of The High Performance Sales Leader, host Pree Sarkar sits down with Warren Schilpzand, Regional Director at SambaNova Systems, to decode agentic AI—and how sales leaders can turn it into revenue, not research. Warren breaks down the difference between training vs. inference, why context engineering beats fine-tuning, and how sub-200ms response times can make or break customer adoption. From retail to mortgages to compliance workflows, you’ll get real-world examples of agentic systems that adapt, decide, and scale—and what it takes to sell them. If you’re a seller, CRO, or enterprise leader navigating AI transformation, this episode gives you a practical blueprint for landing big deals with outcomes-first thinking. Connect with Warren Schilpzand: 👉LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/warrenschilpzand/ Connect with The High Performance Sales Leader Host: 👉LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/preesarkar/ Hiring or replacing someone in the next 90 days? We partner with tech sales leaders who are time-poor and under-pressure, and introduce them to top performers without wasting time or risking average hires, so that they can build winning teams and careers. Message pree@ultratalent.com today!

    30 min

  3. 12/09/2025

    E50: The Secret to Succeeding in PE Owned Software Companies

    What does it really take to thrive inside a private equity-backed company—especially when the stakes are high and the expectations even higher? In this episode of The High Performance Sales Leader, Pree sits down with Maurizio Garavello, SVP at Qlik, whose global career has spanned IBM, Dynatrace, Websense, and Forcepoint. From leading in public companies to mastering the dynamics of private equity environments, Maury shares what it takes to not just survive—but scale with purpose. We unpack what happens after the acquisition call: how to adapt, lead, and thrive when the rules change overnight. Maury shares raw lessons about fiscal discipline, people-first leadership, and balancing ruthless execution with long-term value creation. Whether you’re a CRO, sales leader, or rising AE eyeing a PE-backed role—this episode is a masterclass in building high performance in high-pressure environments Connect with Maurizio Garavello: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mauriziogaravello/ Connect with The High Performance Sales Leader Host: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/preesarkar/ Hiring or replacing someone in the next 90 days? We partner with tech sales leaders who are time-poor and under-pressure, and introduce them to top performers without wasting time or risking average hires, so that they can build winning teams and careers. Message pree@ultratalent.com today!

    20 min

  4. 12/09/2025

    E51: The Secret to Consistent Sales Wins

    What does it really take to build a top-performing sales team—without big budgets, brand power, or a pre-written playbook? In this episode of The High Performance Sales Leader, host Pree Sarkar sits down with Dave Lambert, General Manager of APAC at Iterable and former VP at Medallia, to reveal the secret behind consistent sales success. Dave shares how he built award-winning teams and earned multiple President’s Club and MVP titles by focusing on discipline, trust, and execution rhythm. Learn how to transform consistency into your competitive advantage, apply the “four-year sprint” mindset for sustained career growth, and build a culture that wins week after week. If you’re a sales leader, SaaS executive, or ambitious seller, this episode delivers practical frameworks you can apply immediately to boost performance and resilience. Connect with Dave Lambert: 👉LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-h-lambert/ Connect with The High Performance Sales Leader Host: 👉LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/preesarkar/ Hiring or replacing someone in the next 90 days? We partner with tech sales leaders who are time-poor and under-pressure, and introduce them to top performers without wasting time or risking average hires, so that they can build winning teams and careers. Message pree@ultratalent.com today!

    30 min

  5. 12/09/2025

    E52: Triple Threat Selling: Mastering Science, Art & Heart in Enterprise Sales

    What makes a truly elite Account Executive in complex enterprise sales? In this episode of The High Performance Sales Leader, host Pree Sarkar sits down with Antoine LeTard, a seasoned SaaS VP and APJ sales leader who’s built winning teams at AppDynamics, Rubrik, and RSA Security. Antoine introduces his “Triple Threat” framework—Science, Art & Heart—a powerful philosophy for sellers navigating today’s messy, multi-stakeholder buying world. From internalizing the playbook to coaching champions and asking the platinum question, “How great are you willing to let life be?”—this episode is a masterclass in intentional selling and leadership. If you're building a sales team, leading in a scale-up, or coaching the next generation of AEs, this episode is packed with practical tactics and career-shaping insights. Connect with Antoine LeTard: 👉LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoine-le-tard/ Connect with The High Performance Sales Leader Host: 👉LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/preesarkar/ Hiring or replacing someone in the next 90 days? We partner with tech sales leaders who are time-poor and under-pressure, and introduce them to top performers without wasting time or risking average hires, so that they can build winning teams and careers. Message pree@ultratalent.com today!

    28 min

  6. 12/09/2025

    E49: The Secret Formula Behind Top-Performing Sales Teams

    Ever wonder what separates good sales teams from elite ones that consistently win?  In this episode of The High Performance Sales Leader, Pree sits down with Daniel Elding—former Director of Revenue Enablement at CrowdStrike, Zscaler, and AppDynamics—to uncover the secrets behind high-performing sales orgs. Dan shares hard-earned lessons from leading sales transformations across top tech companies. From building go-to-market systems at scale to mastering recruitment, retention, and revenue generation, this conversation is a blueprint for building teams that don’t just hit quota—they crush it. Whether you’re a first-time sales leader or scaling your org into hypergrowth, this episode will give you the frameworks, mindsets, and real-world tactics to lead with clarity and drive consistent results. Press play and get the frameworks behind sales teams that actually win. Let’s build better together. 🎯 Connect with Daniel Elding: 👉LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielelding/ Connect with The High Performance Sales Leader Host: 👉LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/preesarkar/ Hiring or replacing someone in the next 90 days? We partner with tech sales leaders who are time-poor and under-pressure, and introduce them to top performers without wasting time or risking average hires, so that they can build winning teams and careers. Message pree@ultratalent.com today!

    43 min

  7. 12/09/2025

    E48: Why $1–5M ARR Is the Most Dangerous (and Fun)

    Ever feel like you're doing everything “right” at a startup, but still can’t scale past the $5M mark? Or wonder how some leaders seem built for chaos while others burn out? Kanika Pandey has done it again and again. She’s built multiple go-to-market engines across early-stage startups, weathered the chaos of founder-led sales, and learned the hard way how to scale from $0 to $5M ARR. But her story goes beyond sales. After a stroke, a failed startup, and the loss of her biggest pillar of strength, Kanika found clarity through Olympic weightlifting, resilience through loss, and purpose in building companies the right way. In this raw and unfiltered episode, you’ll hear why most founders get the $1–5M ARR stage completely wrong, how to test for founder delusion, why early-stage selling is built for women, and why conviction beats consensus—every time. Kanika's story isn't about theory, it’s about grit, conviction, and learning how to lead even when everything breaks. Let’s get into it. Connect with Kanika Pandey: 👉LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanika-pandey-959aa3a/ Connect with The High Performance Sales Leader Host: 👉LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/preesarkar/ Hiring or replacing someone in the next 90 days? We partner with tech sales leaders who are time-poor and under pressure, and introduce them to top performers without wasting time or risking average hires, so they can build winning teams and careers. Message pree@ultratalent.com today! Hiring or replacing someone in the next 90 days? We partner with tech sales leaders who are time-poor and under-pressure, and introduce them to top performers without wasting time or risking average hires, so that they can build winning teams and careers. Message pree@ultratalent.com today!

    29 min

  8. 08/15/2025

    E47: How Losing a $1M Deal Led to Achieving 29 President Clubs with Stephen Cottrell

    Ever felt like you were doing everything right in a deal, only to lose it and realize you were never truly in the game? Or wondered how some reps consistently hit President’s Club like it's just another checkbox? Stephen Cottrell doesn’t just hit quota. He’s earned 29 President’s Club awards over a 35-year career, closed over $1B in sales, and done it all across 48 countries. But it didn’t start that way. From boiling noodles in a Boston shoebox apartment to getting outflanked by IBM on a $1M deal, Stephen learned the hard way that grit, curiosity, and a process-driven mindset aren’t optional, they’re survival. This episode isn’t about polished one-liners or LinkedIn fluff. It’s about what actually works: why MEDDIC changed his career, how to build resilience before you build pipeline, and the real reason being liked isn't enough. If you’ve ever wondered what separates the good reps from the elite, Stephen lays it all out. No filter, no fluff. Let’s get into it. Connect with Stephen Cottrell: 👉LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cottrell/ Connect with The High Performance Sales Leader Host: 👉LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/preesarkar/ Hiring or replacing someone in the next 90 days? We partner with tech sales leaders who are time-poor and under-pressure, and introduce them to top performers without wasting time or risking average hires, so that they can build winning teams and careers. Message pree@ultratalent.com today!

    28 min
See All (54)

About

"Actionable Insights from Inspiring Tech CROs & VPs" dives deep into the world of sales leadership within the dynamic technology sector. Join us for 20-30 minute candid conversations with distinguished sales leaders—from nimble startups to global powerhouses—as they share their personal journeys, strategies, and secrets behind their remarkable results. Whether you're an aspiring sales leader or a seasoned expert looking for fresh insights, this podcast offers a treasure trove of real-world wisdom, actionable takeaways, and lessons learned from the front lines of tech sales. 

Information