Cyber security Chief Sales Offer search case study: appointing a sales leader who lifted enterprise ACV, secured four F500 logos, and expanded partner‑led revenue.
Client Overview
A late-stage cyber security company engaged Crexia Search to appoint a Chief Sales Officer to lead its transition from a successful mid-market sales model to a more strategic enterprise growth strategy.
The organisation had built a strong reputation within its market but wanted to increase average contract values, win larger enterprise opportunities, and strengthen relationships with systems integrators and managed security service providers (MSSPs). The successful candidate would need to lead this shift while maintaining commercial discipline and protecting margins.
The Challenge
The company had consistently performed well in high-volume mid-market sales but faced new challenges when pursuing larger enterprise accounts.
Enterprise buying cycles involved multiple stakeholders, longer evaluation periods, and increased scrutiny from CISOs, CIOs, procurement teams, and security committees. Partner engagement lacked consistency, and the alignment between Sales Engineering and the commercial organisation varied across opportunities.
The board wanted a proven sales leader who could increase enterprise revenue, improve strategic deal execution, and establish a more mature partner-led growth model.
Our Search Strategy
We began by defining the leadership capabilities required to support the company’s next phase of growth.
Working closely with the CEO and board, we identified four critical success factors:
A track record of winning complex enterprise security opportunities
Experience selling to C-level buyers and security leadership teams
Strong partner and channel development capability
The ability to build disciplined sales execution processes at scale
Our search focused on senior sales executives from leading cyber security, identity, cloud security, and endpoint protection vendors who had demonstrated success within large enterprise accounts.
Rather than restricting the search to direct competitors, we mapped a broader leadership market that included executives who had successfully navigated similar transitions from mid-market growth to enterprise expansion.
Candidate Assessment
Candidates were evaluated through a structured assessment process designed to test commercial judgement, enterprise sales leadership, and partner strategy expertise.
Interviews explored real examples of competitive displacement, executive stakeholder management, sales methodology, and value-based selling. Finalists were asked to present their approach to balancing direct and channel revenue while maintaining pricing discipline and margin integrity.
Cross-functional panels involving Product, Sales Engineering, and Channel leaders assessed both technical credibility and leadership effectiveness.
Search Outcome
The successful Chief Sales Officer brought extensive experience leading enterprise sales teams within high-growth cyber security organisations and had a proven record of securing large strategic customers.
The search was completed in eight weeks from launch to offer acceptance.
Here is the search snapshot:
Time to hire: 8 weeks
First shortlist: 6 candidates
Finalists: 2 candidates
Board assessment: Enterprise growth strategy and channel economics
Results
Within nine months of joining, the new Chief Sales Officer had strengthened enterprise sales execution, improved collaboration between Sales and Sales Engineering, and established a structured partner engagement framework.
Key outcomes included:
32% increase in average contract value (ACV)
Four Fortune 500 customers secured as reference accounts
Partner-influenced revenue increased to 28% of total revenue
Formal win-loss analysis embedded across the sales organisation
Improved qualification and resource allocation for enterprise pursuits
Stronger alignment between Sales Engineering and commercial leadership
The appointment helped the company accelerate its move into larger enterprise accounts while creating a more scalable and predictable revenue model. It remains a strong example of how executive search can support strategic transformation within high-growth cyber security businesses.