Industry veterans with over 30 years of combined experience scaling sales divisions and working with Fortune 500 companies further bolster Zilliant’s leadership team
Zilliant, the leader in pricing lifecycle management, announced three new major executive hires to further build out its leadership with a deep understanding of configure, price and quote (CPQ) processes as well as the manufacturing and distribution industries: Russ Halvorson, global head of sales engineering; Bob Pedersen, head of North America sales; and Matt Hobbs, strategic account executive. The expansion of its executive team builds on its recent momentum in the CPQ space, including onboarding new customers and the acquisition of InMindCloud last December.
“I was immediately drawn to the Zilliant team because of the high ROI they deliver for their customers, the customer-first culture, and their ability to solve a critical unmet need in the market.”
“Russ, Bob and Matt have worked with the largest brands and system integrators in the world, helping customers solve complex challenges,” said Zilliant CEO Pascal Yammine. “Zilliant has always been an expert in price management and optimization, and they will help continue to ensure our customers can build a comprehensive pricing lifecycle strategy that helps them deliver the right price for the right deal at the right time.”
Growing Salesforce Business Unit from Niche Startup to Market Leader
Russ Halvorson joins Zilliant as Global Head of Sales Engineering from Logik.io, where he was the head of product management. Prior to that, he headed up the CPQ and pricing engine product management team at Salesforce after leading the enterprise sales engineering team, responsible for helping grow the business from a niche startup to a market-leading enterprise influencer. He also held leadership positions in sales engineering at Oracle focused on the manufacturing vertical and holds a master’s in computer science from the University of Illinois, Springfield.
“Zilliant’s CPQ solves critical selling challenges that are very technically complex, but the company’s ability to go beyond quoting and solve for the entire pricing lifecycle is unlocking unmatched value for manufacturers and distributors,” said Halvorson. “It’s my mission to help our customers find those new growth levers that improve the buying experience for their own customers.”
Expertise in Sustainable Hypergrowth, Closing Deals with Fortune 100 Companies
Bob Pedersen joins Zilliant as Head of North American Sales from Salesforce, where he led North American teams across multiple major verticals including telecom, media, and technology. Under Pedersen’s leadership, his division grew significantly in size and closed record-setting deals with leading Fortune 100 firms. He has over 25 years of experience leading high performing sales teams at organizations like Astadia, Adecco and Allegis.
“Pricing and managing the entire lifecycle has become essential in the minds of many executive boardrooms,” said Pedersen. “Joining the leading company in pricing gives me the opportunity to help some of the best brands in the world transform their buying experiences and growth rates.”
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Empowering Startups to Work with Fortune 500 Companies
Matt Hobbs joins Zilliant as Strategic Account Executive from Logik.io, where he was a regional vice president. Throughout his career, he has specialized in helping startups work with Fortune 500 organizations to solve complex CPQ challenges and held early strategic roles at ThreeKit, BigMachines (now Oracle) and Steelbrick (now Salesforce).
“Ensuring my customers are successful is paramount for me,” said Hobbs. “I was immediately drawn to the Zilliant team because of the high ROI they deliver for their customers, the customer-first culture, and their ability to solve a critical unmet need in the market.”