Strategic enterprise sales · APAC + EMEA
I help complex enterprises turn fragmented tooling into strategic platform decisions.
Strategic enterprise sales across observability, incident response, security and digital operations — partnering with senior leaders at the largest organisations in APAC and EMEA. 15+ years closing complex multi-year deals at Bazaarvoice, WP Engine, New Relic and now Datadog.
- Based in
- Melbourne, Australia
- Currently
- Datadog · Strategic Enterprise AE
Selected accounts across a career in enterprise SaaS
- Philips
- Sainsbury’s
- Telstra
- Bupa
- Australia Post
- Qantas
- 10 Downing Street
- Penguin Random House
About
Built in EMEA. Sharpened in APAC.
I’ve been working in technology since the late 1990s and in enterprise SaaS sales since 2007 — starting at ChannelAdvisor during the early days of e-commerce platform software. From there I joined Bazaarvoice as the 12th hire in EMEA and helped scale the company through to a NASDAQ IPO. I went on to own the global Vodafone account at Clarabridge before joining WP Engine as their first Enterprise AE in EMEA. After relocating to Melbourne in 2018 I’ve focused on the most strategic and complex transformation projects in APAC — observability, incident response, security and platform consolidation across the largest enterprises in the region.
What I bring to a deal is the combination of product fluency, competitive insight and commercial discipline. I’m comfortable operating at both boardroom and practitioner level — whether that’s discussing vendor consolidation with procurement, positioning platform value to a CIO, or going deep with engineering on integrations and success criteria. The accounts I work with have a few things in common: they’re household names, the deals are multi-year, and the buying committees are large.
The three questions
Every enterprise buyer is really asking three things.
My job is to help them answer all three honestly — and to recognise the answer when it doesn’t favour me.
- 01
Why change?
What does the status quo actually cost? Fragmented tooling, slow incident response, poor visibility, duplicated vendor spend — most enterprises are living with hidden tax. The case for change starts with quantifying that tax credibly.
- 02
Why now?
Why this quarter and not next year? Renewal events, transformation programmes, security priorities, cloud migration, regulatory pressure and cost optimisation usually point at a real moment. The case for *now* is what unlocks the budget conversation.
- 03
Why this approach?
What does the right solution look like — strategically, technically and commercially — and why this approach over the alternatives in the room? This is where genuine product fluency and competitive insight matter most.
How I work
Clarity. Credibility. Momentum.
Three principles I keep in front of every deal I run.
Clarity
Understanding the customer’s current state, business pain, technical pain, decision process and measurable outcomes — not generic value statements.
Credibility
Engaging executives and practitioners without over-selling or reducing complex problems to slogans. Equally at home with a CIO and an engineering team.
Momentum
Creating a structured path forward — clear next steps, stakeholder alignment, evaluation criteria, commercial ownership and executive sponsorship.
Experience
A career spent landing the deals others don’t.
Strategic enterprise SaaS across observability, design, content infrastructure and customer experience — with a track record of building regions, winning the most complex logos, and earning expansion.
- DatadogCurrentAug 2024 — Present · ANZ
Strategic Enterprise Account Executive
Strategic enterprise sales across observability, incident response, security monitoring and digital experience. Working with engineering, security, SRE, procurement and executive teams at the largest organisations in ANZ to consolidate fragmented tooling into unified platform decisions.
- Net-new strategic logo wins across telecommunications, healthcare, automotive and retail
- Multi-year strategic relationships with Coles, Flybuys and Australia Post
- Partner-led account motions across AWS, GCP, Azure and global SI ecosystems
Notable accountsTelstraBupaHondaToyotaColesFlybuysAustralia Post - New Relic2020 — 2024 · APAC
Enterprise, Named Account Executive
Owned a multi-million USD book of strategic accounts across APAC. Led data-driven account planning, partnered with cross-functional teams, and used MEDDPICC for accurate forecasting in Salesforce. Built deep category expertise across observability, APM, logging and digital operations.
- Led the Victorian Digital Driver’s Licence and Myer’s POS upgrade engagements
- 100% account retention while consistently exceeding quota
- Trusted partner across customer technical and executive stakeholders
Notable accountsAustralia PostToyotaVictorian GovernmentMyerKmartCarSales - InVision2019 — 2020 · APAC
Enterprise Account Executive
Managed new and existing enterprise business across APAC, focused on design and digital transformation initiatives. Tailored solutions to support customers’ product and CX strategies on the platform used to make some of the world’s best customer experiences.
Notable accountsQantasTelstraANZ BankQBEOptusAGLRecruitGrabMYOBSingapore AirlinesCathay PacificLatitude FinancialLG Electronics - WP Engine2015 — 2018 · EMEA
Senior Enterprise Acquisition Sales Executive
First Enterprise Sales Executive in EMEA. Built the region from zero, then focused on the most strategic and complex projects as the team scaled. Promoted to senior enterprise acquisition — the first person in the business to earn the title.
- Top performer in EMEA and #2 globally
- Highest global ARPU — 2017
- Closed the largest deal in WP Engine’s history at the time
- Sales Culture Award (Jun 2018) — global peer-nominated, first ever in EMEA
Notable accounts10 Downing StreetNetwork RailbeIN SportsPenguin Random House - Clarabridge2013 — 2014 · EMEA
Enterprise Account Executive
Owned the global Vodafone account across 16 markets and 12 languages, partnering with OpCos worldwide. Closed Vodafone’s first social media analysis and engagement deal, drove platform renewals, and introduced a new sales methodology to the team.
Notable accountsVodafone (global) - Bazaarvoice2009 — 2013 · EMEA
Sales Director / Global Account Manager
Joined as the 12th employee in EMEA and contributed to scaling the business through to its NASDAQ IPO. Promoted twice — ultimately Sales Director, EMEA, specialising in social commerce and big data solutions across all verticals. Trained in Force Management’s Command of the Plan and Command of the Message.
- Global #1 award — pipeline generation and closed business
- $14M qualified pipeline / $4M+ closed in a single year
- Closed Apple, Toyota Motor Europe and Wyndham Hotels Group as new logos
Notable accountsAppleToyota Motor EuropeSamsungPanasonicPhilipsLG ElectronicsSainsbury’sWhirlpoolDysonNokiaKasperskyHouse of FraserWickesLenovo - ChannelAdvisor2007 — 2009 · EMEA
Sales Executive
My entry into enterprise SaaS sales — recruited via the Pareto Law graduate scheme during ChannelAdvisor’s scale-up phase as the e-commerce platform category was being defined. Worked with retailers and brands on Amazon, eBay and emerging marketplaces, building the consultative-sales foundation I’ve carried through every role since.
Notable accountsUK retail and brand customers across Amazon, eBay and marketplace platforms
Expertise
What I bring.
Six disciplines I rely on every quarter — equally at home in a working session with a CIO or rolling up the forecast for the regional VP.
- 01
Strategic enterprise sales
Complex multi-year cycles across multiple business units, technical teams, procurement and incumbent vendors. MEDDPICC and Force Management trained.
- 02
Competitive displacement
Building credible displacement strategies against incumbent platforms — translating capability differences into executive-level commercial cases.
- 03
Executive alignment
Connecting technology decisions to commercial outcomes, risk reduction, customer experience, operational resilience and vendor consolidation.
- 04
Account orchestration
Coordinating sales engineering, product, services, alliances, deal desk and partners to move complex opportunities forward as a single team.
- 05
Commercial negotiation
Renewals, expansions, multi-year agreements, pilot programmes, enterprise licensing and competitive pricing structures.
- 06
Technical credibility
Engaging directly with engineering, cloud, security, SRE and platform teams to validate use cases and shape success criteria.
In their words
What customers and colleagues say.
Jon was pivotal in helping to create a robust, secure and enterprise-level solution for our new website platform. Jon takes the time to understand the needs of the customer, is proactive in his recommendations and his knowledge and expertise is invaluable in designing the perfect solution to not only meet, but exceed expectations.
He has an exceptional ability to clearly explain the benefits of complex technology to line of business managers.
Jon is one of those colleagues every company needs. Always prepared to take on more responsibility, and be involved at every stage of the sales process. A gifted, technically-savvy team player — he can adapt to whatever challenges are placed in front of him.
Contact
Let’s talk about your most strategic logo.
Whether you’re a recruiter with a brief, an executive looking for a sounding board, or an old colleague catching up — drop me a note and I’ll be back in touch within two working days.
- linkedin.com/in/jonathandbird
- Located
- Melbourne, Australia