PagerDuty Career Growth & Development

Tell us about your sales journey thus far.

I joined PagerDuty in 2018 as the first hire on the small and medium-sized business sales team in Toronto. Since then, I’ve progressed through various roles in the commercial business, including mid-market and majors, and eventually moved into my first leadership role. Along the way, I’ve seen a lot of success, helping some of our largest customers leverage and get tremendous value out of our platform. I have been privileged to attend four of our Champion’s Clubs over the years. 

Today, I lead a very talented team in our enterprise growth business across Eastern Canada and the United States. We work with some of our largest customers and ensure their success with the Operations Cloud. 

Becoming a first-time leader has been an exciting challenge, and I can’t imagine doing it anywhere else than at PagerDuty. The support from my colleagues, mentors and peers has been key to my growth, helping me develop in ways I never imagined. PagerDuty’s culture of continuous feedback and recognition has been crucial in my journey from account executive to leader, showcasing the robust support and opportunities we provide. 
 

What is the sales culture like at PagerDuty?

At PagerDuty, our sales culture is dynamic, collaborative and highly supportive. My favorite PagerDuty value is “Run Together” for that reason. We thrive on a strong sense of teamwork and continuous improvement. As such, we offer mentorship and career development programs to ensure we break down the barriers of remote work and continue developing our talent. 

We celebrate both big and small victories across the team. This not only boosts morale but also fosters a culture of recognition and appreciation. Annually, we have our Champion’s Club, an exclusive event for top performers across the entire company, which is a significant motivator and a reward for hard work. 

Our culture and people are the top reasons I continue to feel energized to work at PagerDuty — for almost six years! The culture is unique. We truly have an employee-first mentality, so our sales team can bring themselves every day.

What advice do you have for sales professionals who want to join your team?

We’re on the hunt for top talent to join our growth and acquisition enterprise team. My top advice? Be authentic and true to yourself. We’re looking for talented individuals who have a proven track record and will commit to continuous learning and improvement. That means we want candidates who are prepared, who have done their research and who ask effective questions.

Take the time to understand our platform and the solutions we offer. You don’t need to be a tech expert, but having a basic grasp of DevOps, IT operations and incident management will definitely help.

One of our core values is “Champion the Customer,” so we’re looking for those who can share stories about how they’ve made customers successful through a consultative selling approach.

Finally, we value team players. Our culture is highly collaborative, and we want individuals who have demonstrated strong teamwork and partnership with their colleagues. It takes a village.

Describe your career journey so far. What skills and experiences have you acquired along the way that have helped you get to where you are now?

When I started in tech, I didn’t even understand what software was. Fortunately, my employer invested in comprehensive training that built upon the foundation my father — a sales professional and author — had given me. He taught me that success stems from building trust by answering three unasked customer questions: Can I trust you? Are you committed? Do you care about me?

Unlike many salespeople who rely on “the gift of gab” and generic pitches, I learned that listening matters more than talking. Years of customer meetings, negotiations and implementations helped me develop my skills, complemented by training programs and books. There’s no replacement for practice — you improve through repetition.

I approach every interaction guided by three principles: Do what’s right, do your best and treat others as they want to be treated. This customer-focused approach has been the cornerstone of my success in building lasting relationships and driving results throughout my career in technology sales.

What support did you receive from individuals or resources that helped you step into a leadership role?

I never aspired to leadership until my manager — a talented leader who built a top-performing team — approached me about a first-line role and offered his sponsorship. With his coaching, I received the Leadership MVP award that year and my team won top enterprise team the following year.

Great mentors have been essential to my growth. My network includes diverse leaders with different experiences whom I can ask questions and soundboard ideas. Some have become friends, others business acquaintances, but all model expertise I value, including balancing demanding careers with fulfilling personal lives. Approaching these conversations with curiosity, vulnerability and self-awareness has been game-changing.

PagerDuty invested in me with a career coach, continuous training and stretch opportunities. When our CRO called asking me to lead EMEA sales temporarily, I felt excitement mixed with uncertainty and fear. I was transparent and he explained why he believed in me and promised support. I’ve learned that admired leaders didn’t get there alone — they’re products of countless people who believed in them and invested their time, wisdom and energy.

How do you encourage other women on your team to become leaders themselves? Are there any stories you can share that showcase how you’ve done this?

A vice president once shared wisdom that shaped my leadership philosophy: “Leadership should be a pull, not a push.” Rather than forcing your way into leadership roles, be pulled through sponsorship and recognition from leaders who see your impact.

This drives how I develop women on my team. You don’t need a title to lead — opportunities present themselves daily and I encourage seizing ownership of projects requiring commitment and the ability to inspire others.

One sales rep excels at orchestrating cross-functional teams and building pipeline, so I asked her to lead training for our entire North American field team. Another rep deeply understands customers’ businesses, so I invited her to join a company-wide project defining our customer journey to accelerate value realization. By creating platforms for sharing expertise, I provide broad exposure that showcases their natural leadership abilities.

When asked about getting promoted, I share what I’ve learned: when you’re doing your job well, you don’t need to self-promote. Say yes to opportunities that let you share your story, actively help others succeed and recognition follows naturally when you focus on creating value for others.