Kelly Wright

Super excited to release ep1 of Operators where I interview Kelly Wright, who led Tableau from $0 -> $1b in ARR. In this episode we discuss sales culture, how to interview reps, what companies fail at in go-to-market and how Kelly got into sales and scaled Tableau.

Kelly Wright has over 25 years of experience in leadership, sales, operations, and strategy roles. Her deep Go-To-Market and general P&L management delivers critical expertise to the boardroom. Kelly has helped teams navigate multiple stages of growth, through an IPO, global expansion, leadership transitions, business model changes, and the demands of being a private and public company. Kelly has broad depth of experience in driving companies to best leverage technology, data, information, and… Show more

Kelly Wright has over 25 years of experience in leadership, sales, operations, and strategy roles. Her deep Go-To-Market and general P&L management delivers critical expertise to the boardroom. Kelly has helped teams navigate multiple stages of growth, through an IPO, global expansion, leadership transitions, business model changes, and the demands of being a private and public company. Kelly has broad depth of experience in driving companies to best leverage technology, data, information, and the cloud in the digital age, all key board discussion areas. She recently retired from Tableau Software (NYSE: DATA) as Executive Vice President of Sales after a 12-year run. Kelly joined Tableau as the company’s first salesperson one month prior to the launch of v1.0, and she helped grow Tableau into a multi-billion-dollar public company as a key member of the executive team. She grew Tableau’s worldwide sales and field operations from zero to $850M in revenue and managed over half of Tableau’s global team as the company grew to over 3,400 employees. In addition to building a public company, Kelly has hired thousands of employees and has been instrumental in building strong corporate cultures and high-performance teams. Kelly is an accomplished speaker on topics including Sales, Culture, High Performing Teams, Operational Excellence, Diversity, and Scaling. Show less

Kelly Wright has over 25 years of experience in leadership, sales, operations, and strategy roles. Her deep Go-To-Market and general P&L management delivers critical expertise to the boardroom. Kelly has helped teams navigate multiple stages of growth, through an IPO, global expansion, leadership transitions, business model changes, and the demands of being a private and public company. Kelly has broad depth of experience in driving companies to best leverage technology, data, information, and… Show more

Kelly Wright has over 25 years of experience in leadership, sales, operations, and strategy roles. Her deep Go-To-Market and general P&L management delivers critical expertise to the boardroom. Kelly has helped teams navigate multiple stages of growth, through an IPO, global expansion, leadership transitions, business model changes, and the demands of being a private and public company. Kelly has broad depth of experience in driving companies to best leverage technology, data, information, and the cloud in the digital age, all key board discussion areas. She recently retired from Tableau Software (NYSE: DATA) as Executive Vice President of Sales after a 12-year run. Kelly joined Tableau as the company’s first salesperson one month prior to the launch of v1.0, and she helped grow Tableau into a multi-billion-dollar public company as a key member of the executive team. She grew Tableau’s worldwide sales and field operations from zero to $850M in revenue and managed over half of Tableau’s global team as the company grew to over 3,400 employees. In addition to building a public company, Kelly has hired thousands of employees and has been instrumental in building strong corporate cultures and high-performance teams. Kelly is an accomplished speaker on topics including Sales, Culture, High Performing Teams, Operational Excellence, Diversity, and Scaling. Show less

Career Talk celebrates the contributions of Wharton alumni on our annual Wharton Business Radio "Reunion Radio" special. Meet Kelly Breslin Wright (WG'98), Advisor and Board Director for multiple companies, as she discusses tips for finding a fulfilling job once you graduate with host Dr. Dawn Graham.

In episode #11 of Founder Real Talk, my guest host Crystal Huang and I interview the incomparable Kelly Wright. Kelly joined Tableau pre-launch in early ’05 as the first sales person, and she culminated her run in late ’16. Under Kelly’s leadership, Tableau grew revenue from zero to $850M! She led worldwide sales and all field operations, with over half the company’s 3,400 employees reporting up through her. In the episode, she shares incredible insights on the value of hiring, training and… Show more

In episode #11 of Founder Real Talk, my guest host Crystal Huang and I interview the incomparable Kelly Wright. Kelly joined Tableau pre-launch in early ’05 as the first sales person, and she culminated her run in late ’16. Under Kelly’s leadership, Tableau grew revenue from zero to $850M! She led worldwide sales and all field operations, with over half the company’s 3,400 employees reporting up through her. In the episode, she shares incredible insights on the value of hiring, training and supporting great people, using data to manage go to market and the importance of prioritization as a leader. I also love the lessons Kelly learned while selling books door to door to put herself through college, and how she put that experience to work throughout her tenure at Tableau. In short, you’ll love this episode! Show less

The Leadership Stories session will give an intimate look into the cycle of confidence and failure in leadership from the perspective of four accomplished leaders in diverse fields. Our speakers will share their stories in a way that goes beyond simply sharing about success, highlighting the failures, challenges, and forces that have shaped them.

Speakers:
Cort Worthington (Lecturer, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley)
Tanya Holland (Executive Chef and… Show more

The Leadership Stories session will give an intimate look into the cycle of confidence and failure in leadership from the perspective of four accomplished leaders in diverse fields. Our speakers will share their stories in a way that goes beyond simply sharing about success, highlighting the failures, challenges, and forces that have shaped them.

Speakers:
Cort Worthington (Lecturer, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley)
Tanya Holland (Executive Chef and Owner, Brown Sugar Kitchen and B-Side BBQ)
Kakul Srivastava (Tech Entrepreneur, Tomfoolery, WeWork)
John Thompson (Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer, Intero Real Estate Services, Intero Foundation)
Kelly Wright (Executive VP, Sales, Tableau Software) Show less

Kelly Breslin Wright wrote the Foreword for Skip Miller's book Selling Above and Below the Line - Convince the C-Suite. Win Over Management. Secure the Sale

Most salespeople work hard to become proficient in reaching the frontline managers in their markets. Cost, service, functionality--they know the value propositions that speak to their most visible customers. But while many of these managers hold the initial decision-making power that can lead to that first sale, even they report to a… Show more

Kelly Breslin Wright wrote the Foreword for Skip Miller's book Selling Above and Below the Line - Convince the C-Suite. Win Over Management. Secure the Sale

Most salespeople work hard to become proficient in reaching the frontline managers in their markets. Cost, service, functionality--they know the value propositions that speak to their most visible customers. But while many of these managers hold the initial decision-making power that can lead to that first sale, even they report to a higher authority who evaluates the manager’s decisions from an entirely different perspective. A salesperson who wishes to achieve long-lasting success with a client will learn how to also appeal to top-level executives from an “above the line” perspective.In Selling Above and Below the Line, master sales trainer Skip Miller shows how to simultaneously sell to both the frontline manager as well as the executive who is more concerned with profit/loss indicators such as ROI, time saved, risk lowered, and productivity improved--a strategy used by Google, Apple, Cisco WebEx, and other powerhouses. Salespeople wishing to gain a clear advantage over the competition will learn how to:• Create energy by including executives early in the sales process• Ask the right questions and pinpoint big-picture financial needs• Keep “below the line” managers from feeling bypassed• Uncover value propositions that target each set of decision-makers• And moreToo often, sales that seem locked in will stall or go dark. Or customers who have been loyal to you suddenly back out of the relationship due to decisions made above the manager’s head. Oftentimes, this could have been avoided had the salesperson been intentional to sell both the technical and financial fit. In Selling Above and Below the Line, learn to effectively communicate both, leading to more successful and lucrative deals than ever before. Show less

Kelly Wright leads worldwide sales for Tableau Software. Kelly brings 20 years of experience in leadership and sales roles, including ten years at Tableau selling the company’s award-winning applications. She has previously held positions at a number of high profile companies, including VP positions at At Hoc, a major venture-backed software company in Silicon Valley, and sales and management positions at Southwestern, Inc., Dale Carnegie and Bank of America. With an MBA from The Wharton School… Show more

Kelly Wright leads worldwide sales for Tableau Software. Kelly brings 20 years of experience in leadership and sales roles, including ten years at Tableau selling the company’s award-winning applications. She has previously held positions at a number of high profile companies, including VP positions at At Hoc, a major venture-backed software company in Silicon Valley, and sales and management positions at Southwestern, Inc., Dale Carnegie and Bank of America. With an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an undergraduate degree from Stanford University, Kelly has also spent time at strategic consulting firms Bain & Company and McKinsey & Company, helping executives solve strategic questions about organizational structures, channel conflict, operations, pricing and international expansion. Show less

Success in Technology & Sales: 5 Tips for Breaking Down Belief Barriers

This week I interviewed Kelly Wright, Executive Vice President of Sales at Tableau. Since sales and technology are known to be male dominated fields, I was anxious to ask Kelly about her experiences. I found her story, her philosophies, and her work ethic to be inspiring and I can’t wait to share them with you.