IAN ENGELBRECHT

Reported to Senior Technical Sales Director EMEA

• Successfully hired, onboarded, and trained a team of engineers to support sales efforts across the region.
• Managed and monitored the progress of the engineering team on assigned sales opportunities, activities, and customer engagements within Salesforce CRM.
• Handled high-profile escalations and ensured timely resolution of technical issues, maintaining customer satisfaction.
• Conducted larger customer demos and proof-of-concept (POC) presentations, showcasing technical capabilities and solutions.
• Served as a media-trained PR contact, representing the company in articles, interviews, and TV appearances.
• Delivered keynote presentations at key industry events, positioning the company as a thought leader in data protection solutions.
• Had direct access to the Product Management tool, maintaining feature requests from the Africa region.
• Created and managed goals for the Systems Engineering team, providing leadership and direction.
• Engaged in Key Deal Reviews with upper management, including VPs, providing technical input and guidance.
• Participated in forecast calls, contributing to revenue projections and strategic planning.
• Collaborated with the marketing team, assisting in the planning and execution of events.
• Managed the Systems Engineering team's expenses, time-off requests, and approvals, ensuring efficient operations.
• Advised larger customers on strategic technology roadmaps and solution architectures, fostering long-term partnerships.
• Collaborated with vendors and partners, aligning business plans to drive growth in technical product and solution offerings.
• Participated in the interview process for key business functions, including new sales hires and country manager roles.
• Attended local team Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) and EMEA-level management QBRs, contributing technical insights and updates.
• Assist partners with Business Plans to grow Technical Product & Solutions.

Reported to Technical Sales Director France & Africa

• As an individual contributor, provided technical expertise and hands-on support to drive sales cycles and customer engagements.
• Conducted technical evaluations and provided mentorship, leading to the hiring of engineers to expand the team's capabilities.
• Onboarded and trained new engineering hires, ensuring they were equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge.
• Monitored and tracked the team's progress on assigned sales opportunities, activities, and customer engagements within Salesforce CRM.
• Managed high-profile technical escalations, working closely with customers to resolve complex issues and maintain satisfaction.
• Led larger customer demos and proof-of-concept (POC) presentations, showcasing the company's technical capabilities and solutions.
• Represented the company as a subject matter expert, speaking to media outlets, including radio and newspapers, on new product releases and data protection topics.
• Delivered technical presentations at digital and in-person industry events, positioning the company as a thought leader in data protection solutions.
• Managed the Systems Engineering team's expenses and time-off requests, ensuring efficient operations.
• Provided technical guidance and mentorship to the team, fostering growth and skill development.

Reported to System Engineering Manager MEA

• Engaged with customers and partners through in-person and virtual meetings, presentations, demonstrations, and proof-of-concept (POC) projects to showcase solutions, drive technical closure, and translate business objectives into technical requirements.
• Supported lead generation efforts by participating in events, webinars, and user group meetings.
• Collaborated closely with Product Management to provide customer feedback and insights for product enhancement.
• Secured "technical close" in complex solutions, supporting sales productivity and deal flow by ensuring proposed deals addressed customer needs and secured technical buy-in from key decision-makers.
• Fostered strong relationships with value-added resellers through training, joint meetings, and collaboration, supporting sales efforts in securing new partners and customers.
• Assisted partners and distributors with technical scopes, pre-sales support, sizing, implementation requirements, and advising on emerging technologies.

Reported Senior Sales Director & VP EMEA

• Supported local and regional sales teams, acting as a technical subject matter expert to drive deal closure and ensure proposed solutions accurately addressed customer needs.
• Proactively scoped technical solutions by assessing customer requirements, identifying unmet needs, and recommending optimal value-driven architectures.
• Collaborated closely with internal sales, sales support, and technical teams to align solution designs with customers' business objectives.
• Provided coaching and professional development to sales associates, enhancing their product knowledge, technical acumen, and sales skills.
• Monitored customer support for proposed technical solutions throughout the sales process, alerting sales and account teams to potential risks or issues.
• Progressively took over sales, marketing, and channel/distribution management responsibilities after positions were removed, handling end-to-end sales cycles, lead generation, and partner management
• Facilitated learning sessions, workshops for Arcserve Channel.

Reported to CTO

• Ensure High Level of Security is maintained in the Cloud environment
• Proactive monitoring of events
• Network troubleshooting, including routing, firewall rules and network segmentation
• Proactive capacity planning on all aspects of the Cloud Environment (Storage/Networking/Servers/Replication
• Etc)
• Design and Implementation of new SaaS/Iaas/DraaS & BaaS Solutions.

Reported to Technical Manager

• Ensure Client Backups are running and can restore
• Ensure VMware environment is optimal and in good health
• Maintain Hosted Exchange Environments
• Maintain Hosted Backup Solutions
• Provision Virtual Environments (Virtual Private Servers, Virtual Data Centers, VM's & Vshield)
• Provision Onsite BaaS Environments
• Build Hybrid Solutions Split Physical / Split Virtual
• Innovate New Cloud SaaS/Iaas/DraaS & BaaS Products
• Maintain & Upgrade the Physical Data Centre Infrastructure (Esxi Hosts).