P. Palani Kumar
Bengaluru
Summary
With a background as a transformational leader, I have served as a strategic partner and advisor across numerous functions including sales, operations, deal desk, partner management, global shared services, and the SaaS ecosystem. Throughout my career at esteemed organizations such as HP, IBM, Sun Microsystems, Oracle, Adobe, and multiple startups, I have provided advisory services and contributed to leadership teams. Additionally, I have led high-performing teams focused on sales optimization, operational excellence, partner management, global shared services deal desk, and customer success operations. These experiences have allowed me to collaborate with respected industry leaders including chairman, CEOs, board members, and CXOs. My expertise lies in strategizing, setting up operations from scratch, enabling teams, optimizing performance, fostering operational excellence, and cultivating a culture of trust.
Overview
21
21
years of professional experience
9
9
years of post-secondary education
Work History
Head-Revenue & Operations
PoleVault
Bangalore
7 2023 - Current
- Accountable for developing and executing strategic plans to drive revenue growth for AI-based SaaS startup
- Identify and pursue new business opportunities, markets, and strategic partnerships to expand customer base
- Lead implementation of effective sales processes and pipeline management strategies to optimize lead generation, qualification, and conversion
- Design, develop and execute CS framework
- Oversee entire customer journey, from onboarding and adoption to usage monitoring, renewals and expansions to maximize customer lifetime value
- Actively support the CEO and executive team in presenting the Sales Model & GTM strategy to venture capitalists and key investors.
Chief Operating Officer
Handdy.com
Remote
12.2020 - 06.2023
- Oversaw day-to-day operations to keep organization running smoothly while meeting business goals and streamlined operations by implementing efficient processes and systems, leading to increased productivity and cost savings.
- Developed a holistic B2B & B2C SaaS GTM and customer success framework, encompassing strategy, product education, CAQ, onboarding, support, value realization, loyalty and expansion initiatives
- Led the entire customer journey, overseeing brand awareness, education, renewals, retention, upsell, cross sell and churn reduction
- Achieved substantial revenue growth (10X increase in subscription business) by spearheading expansion into new markets and diversifying product offerings.
- Drove CSAT/NPS initiatives, which resulted in CSAT rating exceeding 80% and scaled Customer Success team and led efforts to achieve NPS score of 65 & secured an impressive 80% renewal
- Laid foundation for well structured and responsive support system with L1 and L2 support for crucial customer satisfaction, retention and positive customer experience
- Expanded company''s market presence by identifying new business opportunities and executing strategic partnerships, leading to software adoption in over 100 countries
- Collaborated and teamed up closely with Digital Marketing to implement various marketing campaigns spanning web, SEO/SEM, database marketing, email, social media, and display advertising.
Head of Operations and Customer Success
Indus Centre for Innovation
Bangalore
09.2017 - 12.2020
- Responsible for overseeing end to end operations of SaaS-based used car marketplace platform and in-house CRM solution for retail outlets
- 1 lakh+ downloads were registered on Playstore and App combined.
- Developed and executed SaaS revenue generation strategies, sales promotions, customer onboarding, support and upsell/cross selling
- Curated Customer Success Playbook to streamline onboarding, support, renewal and retention process
- Leveraged data analytics to generate actionable customer insights such as churn prediction, renewals, product enhancement, price optimization, operational efficiency, predictive analysis, customization & personalization and CSAT-NPS
- Building strategic partnerships and expanding platform's reach into new geographies and customer segments
Senior Manager, Global Deal Desk Shared Services
Adobe Systems India P Ltd
Bangalore
04.2012 - 08.2017
- Established Adobe's Global Deal Desk Shared Services, building 60+ member cross-functional team providing 24/5 multilingual support worldwide.
- Spearheaded deal support for Enterprise field sales, increasing revenue from $300 million to $3.5 billion within five years, comprising 40% of Adobe's global revenue.
- Drove digital transformation and automation initiatives, introducing tools, process automation, real-time dashboard reporting, and multiple projects
- Transformed Deal Desk Shared Service into 'Revenue Operations Center,' incorporating critical teams like Contracts Management and Revenue Assurance.
- Maintained manager approval rating exceeding 90% for over five years, identified and mentored five managers and next generation of leaders for seamless succession, and achieved lowest attrition rate for six consecutive years.
- Mastered Deal Desk processes, educated sales teams, managed CPQ (Configuration, Pricing, Quote), and tracked vital metrics like MRR, ARR, ACV, ARPU, Renewals, and Churn.
- Oversaw Contract Management (CMS) and deal integrity
- Effectively managed resources to plan and execute projects and SLAs for Global Deal Desk Shared Service operations.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to drive continuous process improvements, innovation, automation, change management, M&A integration, process re-engineering, and internal stakeholder engagement for Best Practices, Compliance, Operational Excellence, and Customer Success.
- Implemented a robust and responsive support system with L1 and L2 support for Enterprise customers globally.
- Ensured compliance with local, state, and US Federal statutory requirements, including SOX, ASC606, GDPR, and HIPAA, while addressing internal and external site audit, facility, and SEZ-related issues, closely coordinating with facilities and workforce management.
VAD Operations Manager (Japan Asia Pacific Region)
Oracle India P Ltd
Bangalore
10.2010 - 03.2012
- Established VAD operations from the ground up, creating a fully functional operating model across the Japan Asia Pacific region, facilitating transactions and deals valued at $100 million.
- Enhanced and scaled operational efficiency, partner engagement, cadence reporting, and dashboard automation, achieving an accuracy rate of 95%.
- Led and managed forecast calls, recorded bookings, and conducted quarterly-to-date (QTD) and year-to-date (YTD) revenue reporting while analyzing business financials.
- Delivered timely and qualitative reporting services to the operations team on a daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis, along with ad hoc reporting requirements.
- Identified and developed processes to support the regular documentation needs of VAD managers and leadership.
- Provided comprehensive order support, post-sales assistance, escalation resolution, and addressed distributor inquiries across the region.
- Managed Point of Sale (POS) data for sell-out reporting, compensation calculations, and ensured SOX compliance for all orders. This version incorporates more formal business language while maintaining clarity and professionalism.
Channel Sales Operation Manager
Sun Microsystems Pvt Ltd
Bangalore
11.2008 - 10.2010
Founder and CEO
A2Z BPO
Bangalore
06.2008 - 11.2008
Sales Operation Specialist
IBM India Pvt. Ltd
Bangalore
11.2005 - 06.2008
Sales Operation Executive
HP India Sales Pvt. Ltd
08.2003 - 11.2005
Education
Diploma Certification in Operations Management - Operations Management
Indian Institute of Management
Kashipur 11.2018 - 05.2019
Bachelor of Arts - Economics
Sir CV Raman University
Bilaspur 07.2014 - 06.2017
B.E, Instrumentation Technology - Engineering Technology
Bapuji Institute of Engineering And Technology
Davangere 08.1991 - 11.1996
Skills
Strategy & Operations
Sales Operations & RevOps Support
Global Shared Services Operations
Customer Success & Support
CSAT & NPS
Partner/Channel Operations
Forecast, QBR, Dashboard Automation
Lean Six Sigma
PMP Principles
Change Management (Prosci)
Cyber Security (Fortinet)
Robotic Process Automation
Jira ServiceDesk & Zendesk
Digital Marketing
Customer Experience Management
Agile Project Management
Timeline
Chief Operating Officer
Handdy.com
12.2020 - 06.2023
Diploma Certification in Operations Management - Operations Management
Indian Institute of Management
11.2018 - 05.2019
Head of Operations and Customer Success
Indus Centre for Innovation
09.2017 - 12.2020
Bachelor of Arts - Economics
Sir CV Raman University
07.2014 - 06.2017
Senior Manager, Global Deal Desk Shared Services
Adobe Systems India P Ltd
04.2012 - 08.2017
VAD Operations Manager (Japan Asia Pacific Region)
Oracle India P Ltd
10.2010 - 03.2012
Channel Sales Operation Manager
Sun Microsystems Pvt Ltd
11.2008 - 10.2010
Founder and CEO
A2Z BPO
06.2008 - 11.2008
Sales Operation Specialist
IBM India Pvt. Ltd
11.2005 - 06.2008
Sales Operation Executive
HP India Sales Pvt. Ltd
08.2003 - 11.2005
B.E, Instrumentation Technology - Engineering Technology
Bapuji Institute of Engineering And Technology
08.1991 - 11.1996
Head-Revenue & Operations
PoleVault
7 2023 - Current