With over twenty-five years of sales and operations experience, Lars Nilsson is a global leader in enterprise software and selling solutions. He is currently the VP of Global Inside Sales for Cloudera, the company that has revolutionized enterprise data management by offering the first unified platform for data management and analytics. Lars and his team at Cloudera built the sales methodology Account-Based Sales Development (ABSD), which has transformed how businesses approach high-value targets. Lars also leads the Sales Enablement and Field Readiness teams at Cloudera.
Prior to Cloudera, Lars founded SalesSource, a business services consulting firm specializing in CRM customization and sales process development to help venture-backed startups scale and drive pipeline. Lars has also served in sales executive roles at ArcSight/Hewlett Packard, Riverbed Technology and Portal Software – all three of which achieved IPOs, in addition to Cloudera (2017).
As Special Advisor at True Ventures, Lars helps True portfolio companies develop sales compensation plans from the ground up, implement best-of-breed sales technologies, and rapidly scale sales teams to meet demand. His unique blend of leadership skills and sales acumen has benefited dozens of startups in and outside of the Valley. Mentoring young sales teams is one of his great passions.