Jithesh Karat
Bengaluru
Summary
Strategic Sales Leader with 17 years of experience in driving revenue growth and digital transformation for major technology companies such as Salesforce, Zendesk, Oracle, and SAP. Skilled in developing and executing strategies for enterprise-level accounts in India and Sri Lanka. Proficient in MEDDPIC methodology to manage complex sales cycles and build strong C-suite relationships, resulting in significant customer success and multi-million dollar revenue retention.
Overview
17
17
years of professional experience
Work History
Account Director
Salesforce India Pvt Ltd
Bangalore
04.2024 - Current
- AI Solution Leadership: Directing strategic business development for MuleSoft and Informatica to align AI-ready architectures with the digital transformation goals of key accounts in South India and Sri Lanka.
- Revenue Excellence: Managing complex, high-value sales cycles, and contract negotiations, consistently performing above revenue targets.
- Strategic Advisory: Acting as a trusted advisor to C-suite stakeholders, delivering insights on industry trends, and API-led connectivity best practices.
- Customer Success: Spearheading initiatives to enhance client satisfaction and retention, while unlocking significant expansion and upsell opportunities.
Account Director - India
GEP Worldwide
Bangalore/Mumbai
10.2023 - 04.2024
- GTM Execution: Formulated and executed a go-to-market strategy targeting $1M in annual revenue for enterprise software and IT services.
- Cultivated strong relationships with key stakeholders to drive account growth.
- Process Optimization: Spearheaded the implementation of the MEDDPIC sales approach, significantly enhancing team efficiency and deal predictability.
- Executive Engagement: Secured C-level buy-in by communicating enterprise value propositions to close high-impact deals.
Strategic Account Manager
Zendesk
Bengaluru
12.2020 - 09.2023
- Market Leadership: Led South India market initiatives, cultivating executive relationships to drive complex sales within the existing customer base.
- Portfolio Expansion: Acquired new logos, and enabled deep product adoption through customized customer experience strategies.
- Full Lifecycle Management: Managed the entire deal lifecycle, guiding prospects from the initial demo to closure, while building a robust upsell pipeline.
- Provided training and support for clients on Zendesk platform features.
Regional Business Manager
Oracle Netsuite
Bengaluru
09.2017 - 11.2020
- Cloud Transformation: Enabling fast-growing organizations to reach business goals via cloud-based management and operational efficiency.
- Sales Strategy: Led regional sales strategies to enhance market presence, and foster innovation through stakeholder collaboration.
- Program Development: Developed channel partners and sales programs focused on consumption-based outcomes.
- Reviewed customer feedback surveys to identify areas for improvement in product offerings or services.
Territory Sales Manager
SAP India Pvt Ltd
Bengaluru
04.2015 - 08.2017
- Revenue Growth: Increased portfolio revenue by 30% by cross-selling transactional products across ITeS, Manufacturing, and Pharma sectors.
- Quota Performance: Successfully carried an annual quota exceeding €1.2 million.
- Solution Orchestration: Collaborated with specialist teams (Ariba, SuccessFactors) to provide unified platform solutions to enterprise clients.
- Conducted market analysis to identify emerging opportunities and competitive threats.
Sr. Account Manager
Oracle India Pvt Ltd
Bengaluru
03.2009 - 03.2015
- High-Volume Sales: Managed end-to-end sales for high-growth accounts, with annual quotas ranging from $800K to $1.5M.
- Strategic Planning: Conducted account planning through ROI analysis and competitive assessments, using tools like OneSource and Hoovers.
- Value Quantification: Quantified client pain points against Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) to support data-driven decision-making.
- Cross-sold additional products and services to increase profitability within accounts.
Education
MBA -
JAIN University
Bengaluru02.2009
BBM -
Presidency University
Bengaluru03.2007
Event Management - Event Management
National Institute Of Event Management
Bangalore03.2004
Skills
- Strategic Leadership: GTM Strategy, Regional Sales Operations, Account Planning, & Executive Mentorship
- AI & Technology: AI-Integrated and Data Solutions, Cloud Management (ERP/CRM/CX) & SaaS
- Sales Excellence: MEDDPIC, Value-Based Selling, ROI/TCO Analysis, Scotwork Negotiation
- Business Development: New Logo Acquisition, Strategic Upsell/Cross-sell, & Global Partner Ecosystems
Languages
- English
- Hindi
- Kannada
- Malayalam
- Tamil
Hobbies and Interests
- Football: Man United Fan for life.
- Cricket: Saaaachin Saaaachin.
- Golf: Tiger is GOAT.
- Tennis: RF, Nadal, Joker - in that order.
Timeline
Account Director
Salesforce India Pvt Ltd
04.2024 - Current
Account Director - India
GEP Worldwide
10.2023 - 04.2024
Strategic Account Manager
Zendesk
12.2020 - 09.2023
Regional Business Manager
Oracle Netsuite
09.2017 - 11.2020
Territory Sales Manager
SAP India Pvt Ltd
04.2015 - 08.2017
Sr. Account Manager
Oracle India Pvt Ltd
03.2009 - 03.2015
MBA -
JAIN University
BBM -
Presidency University
Event Management - Event Management
National Institute Of Event Management