Darius Lahoutifard

MEDDIC Academy

Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Salesforce, Oracle, Automation Anywhere, Couchbase, Checkpoint Software, and a lot of startups have all one thing in common: Their sales team are trained by MEDDIC Academy, a Global Learning Platform for Enterprise Sales Forces. 

I founded MEDDIC Academy to accelerate wide adoption of MEDDIC & MEDDPICC in any Enterprise sales organization. The company has been profitable since inception and enjoys triple digit growth year over year.

MEDDIC Academy is the only sales training company of its category to be on Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Sales Training Companies.

Complex Enterprise Sales Made Easy and Accessible!
https://meddic.academy

Founder & Educator

01consulting

http://01consulting.net
Consulting and Advisory Services,  Merger & Acquisition,  Analytics, Market Research, Expertise in Global Markets USA / Europe / Asia, Enterprise Software, SaaS, Cloud, CRM, PLM, SCM, ERP.  Fund Raising, Turn around, Business Development, New Product Launch, Business Consulting, Business Coaching, Expert Witness, Court Witness.

CEO, Founder

VentureBeat

Occasionally contributing to VB. Authored the most popular article on Venture Beat by a Guest Author in 2014. 

My contributions: 
https://venturebeat.com/author/darius-lahoutifard-business-hangouts/

Guest Author

University of Washington

Lectured on the Virtual Worlds during 5 years under The Virtual Worlds Certificate program.

Guest Lecturer

Business Hangouts

► Founded Business Hangouts, in 2013 and sold it in 2016. BHO was bootstrapped with a small team and reached nearly 2 million users 2.5 years later achieving the #1 position on Google Apps Market place as the leading webinar, conferencing, live streaming and webcasting solution for Google Apps and Google for Work ecosystems, growing 20% month over month for 3 years! Business Hangouts got acquired in March 2016 and continues rocking in 2019. https://Business-Hangouts.com

Specialties: 
SaaS, Cloud, Enterprise, ERP, CRM, PLM, Collaboration, Video Conferencing, Live Streaming, Live Online Events, Webcasting, Webinars, Business Hangouts, Virtual Events, conferences, Tradeshows, Live 3D web platform

Founder, CEO

Altadyn

► An initial business angel investor in the company as of 2002, joined in 2007 as the CEO, relocated the company from France to California, raised funds, developed successively 4 platforms (Virtual Reality, Virtual Worlds,Live 3D Character Animation, Live Events, Video Conferencing, Webcasting, Live Streaming)  and signed customers such as Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL), Cap Gemini, Saint-Gobain (NYSE Euronext: SGO), US Air Force, Cubic (NYSE: CBC), Aptima, Old Dominion University, NDU (National Defense University),  Air Liquide, Weather.com and more. Two of the platforms got acquired and continue today: Toon MX was acquired in 2013 and Business-Hangouts.com in 2016.

Specialties: 
SaaS, VR, Virtual Reality, Cloud, Enterprise, ERP, CRM, PLM, Collaboration, Video Conferencing, Live Streaming, Live Online Events, Webcasting, Webinars, Business Hangouts, Virtual Events, conferences, Tradeshows, Live 3D web platform

Oracle

Agile develops and markets PLM enterprise software ( Product Lifecycle Management). Public company with a 2006 revenue of $132M and 800 employees acquired by Oracle. 
•	Consolidated the distressed organization in France
•	Re-established communication with customers, delivered clear message.
•	Deployed Professional Services leading to more software sales.
•	Sold clients at the highest level (CEO, CIO) for faster deployment.
•	Established new partnership with consulting firms. 
•	Renegotiated agreements with Zodiac, Thalès, NEC computers.
•	Motivated and brought together key players in the sales and professional services team.
Result: Doubled revenue as of the first quarter.

VP Sales

think3

THINK3 is a PLM software company, with $35M worldwide revenue, Headquartered in the US and Italy. I was hired to run Western Europe and to turn around France.  
•	Consolidation of Company’s position in its major accounts
•	Implementation of sales methods and organization to grow revenue and margin
•	Signature of the Company’s largest worldwide contract ever in the Automotive Industry (Peugeot - PCI)
•	Increased revenue by 150% in one year; Profits multiplied by 4

Regional VP Sales and Marketing

Commerce-E

Software start-up in digital imaging online services and e-COMMERCE. First global Event Photography website launched in 1999. 15 people, VC backed (Trinova Ventures & 3 Suisses International), Revenue doubled every 6 months for 3 years.	Acquired NEOKASP SA.

Founder & CEO

Saqqara Systems (initially Genifer)

Founded Paris-based Genifer to develop and market a sales configuration software in the CRM and e-commerce markets; Signed customers: AT&T, France Telecom (ORANGE) and Siris; raised $3M from Silicon Valley Venture Capital; sold Genifer to Saqqara Systems (in the Silicon Valley) in 1998, became CEO of Saqqara, the acquirer, before leaving in 1999 for a new venture.

Coaching, Training and Mentoring Sales teams, Sales Leaders and Executives, overachieving revenue goals. 
Past: Serial Entrepreneur, 4 times Founder/CEO, 2 exists, 3 times VP at large SaaS/Software corporations, Multicultural Published Author, Inventor, Leader. US/Europe/Asia.
Founder of MEDDIC Academy, expert in MEDDIC Sales Methodology, Solution Selling, Power Based selling and similar successful methodologies in Enterprise and High End Complex Technology Sales.
SaaS, Cloud-based and E-commerce technologies as well as Consulting & Market Research. 
► Energetic leader ◄|►  Strategist and tactician ◄|► Multi-cultural and multi-lingual background  
► 20+ years of General Management (up to 150 execs), both within Startups and Fortune 100 companies.
► 11 years of over 100% annual revenue growth rate, across the career.
► Entrepreneurial Leadership:  as 1st employee and 1st Sales professional at several startups, built customer references and drove revenues, contributing to several successful exits, after raising up to $17M of Venture Capital.
► Leveraging expertise from both Fortune 500 and start-ups experiences to increase sales and shareholder value. Product Design and Management, Marketing and Business Strategy to transform innovative technologies into mainstream products.  
► Successful achievements in turning around distressed organizations.
► Holds several patents in Software and Internet technologies and authors the French book "Entreprendre aux USA"​  http://entreprendre-aux-USA.com/
CEO, Chairman, President, VP Sales & Marketing, COO, Founder, Co-Founder, Board Leadership, Sales, Solution selling, power based selling, MEDDIC sales, International, Business Development, Pioneered High-growth Startups, Management, Business Angel, Venture Capital, Private Equity, Leading provider of Enterprise Software, Virtual Worlds, Collaboration Technologies, Conferencing, Virtual Events Technologies, PLM, CAD, CAE, ERP, Digital Photography and Imaging.

Pearson

Now part of Corporate Strategy, Pearson Labs is a capability I am building to help teams across the company take advantage of new and emerging technologies and trends that could have a transformative impact on the future of learning and work. The Lab runs an Innovation accelerator, a start-up hub, a tech and trend radar service, and an ideation platform.  Together these services accelerate, systemise, and diffuse new innovations.

We are proud to collaborate with internal and external partners, early-stage start-ups, and entrepreneurs, to conduct rapid experiments, design prototypes, and surface new opportunities to drive growth and inform strategy, inspiring Pearson to disrupt itself.

Director, Pearson Labs

I work cross-divisionally reporting to the executive team across several workstreams.  I am leading a variety of initiatives in areas of strategic interest, with a focus on emerging technologies (Web 3, AI, blockchain) and trends (metaverse, creator economy, sustainability).  I also work on early-stage partnership opportunities, particularly with start-ups and support the strategy and organisational development of a new workforce skills division.  

With my background in leading innovation programmes and having recently completed my MBA, I am also working with our corporate development team leading venture selection for Pearson as part of our global future of work initiative with Unreasonable, Accenture, and Fossil Foundation.

Key achievements include:
- Launched a new direct-to-consumer online course with Escape Studios on a new digital studio platform
- Supported series A investment opportunity and now lead the ongoing business relationship
- Leading 4 workstreams with a global gaming industry partner
- Exploring a new open-innovation co-development opportunity with a global telecoms partner
- Carried out broad industry research to select 15 ventures as part of our social impact initiative in collaboration with Unreasonable Group.  I am currently working with these ventures as part of the mentoring team.

Pearson Labs Lead

I began an MBA and an important personal transformation.  I learned about the importance of a personal brand and being yourself, the power of mentorship and coaching, and the difference between leadership and management.  Innovation thrives in collaborative communities, so silo-busting became my superpower.

Senior Manager, Product Owners

I officially became a "boomerang" to sit on the other side of the RFI/RFP process, and put together a technology strategy for the future.

I learned that being early is the same as being wrong.  (The idea was implemented 4 years later)

Principal Services Architect

Unreasonable

Unreasonable builds community between entrepreneurs, institutions, and investors to profitably solve pressing global problems. As an Unreasonable Mentor, I'm part of an international network that is dedicated to leveraging business to solving the seemingly intractable societal and environmental challenges of our time.

I led venture selection for Pearson, in collaboration with Unreasonable, Fossil Foundation and Accenture, with a goal of aligning the promise of leading edge technologies  with the future of inclusive work and social equity.

Mentor

Virgin Media Business

I moved back into the telecoms, to consult with public sector organisations on large bids/tenders.  I began to spot emerging trends and patterns and think about how to steer business strategy in anticipation of future opportunities.

I learned about the importance of creating a vision, storytelling, and generating interest and excitement when trying to build momentum for implementing change.

Solutions Architect

Computacenter

New technologies are exciting and as "Software Defined Networking" began to make ripples in the industry I wanted to get back into consultancy and help businesses transform.

I learned to place emphasis on evaluating business needs and developing solutions that add value, understanding the strategy and transformation journey.

Technical Architect - Software Defined Networking (SDN)

I took all the skills I had developed and learned how to apply them in a large and digitally transforming global corporate.  This new context introduced the complexity of organisational design, ways of working, and business processes into my zone of proximal development.

I learned to work as part of a global team and the importance of communication to effectively run a large enterprise. I also learned about the power of automation as a driving force for digital transformation.

Atos

Up to this point, I had mostly been involved in the design of systems that move data, in this role I learned how to design systems in which data is at rest.  I learned about the importance of security, identity, and scalability.

Principal Network Engineer

BSkyB

I moved back into carrier-grade networks deployed at internet-scale, supporting mission-critical systems and services.  I learned the pleasure of being around world-class colleagues and mentors, where every day was filled with learning.  Systems thinking became second nature, designing and architecting complex solutions that deliver an intuitive user experience.

IP Network Development Engineer

nscglobal

I left design and R&D to take on a new commercial challenge in consultancy, broadening my exposure to new industries.  I learned how to listen, empathise, and translate complex business problems into simple technical solutions.  I began to understand how technology underpins and provides value to businesses.

Network Consultant

My first experience of R&D work was a formative part of my early career, as I began to understand the power of open distributed networked systems.  I learned the importance of thorough documentation, experimentation, and iterative design.

I managed a £1M budget for a small network design lab environment and learned how to maximise value for a team of 30 designers who used it.

IP MPLS Data Network Designer

Royal Air Force

As a Commissioned Officer in the RAF I learned discipline, determination, and the importance of teamwork in the successful execution of a mission.

Officer

As the Director of Pearson Labs, I lead a cross-functional team that helps Pearson take advantage of new and emerging technologies and trends that could have a transformative impact on the future of learning and work. With over 15 years of experience in technology, digital, and innovation roles, I have a passion for exploring the intersection of education, work, and society, and creating value for learners, educators, and employers.

Some of the initiatives I oversee include an innovation accelerator, a start-up hub, a tech and trend radar service, and an ideation platform. Together, these services accelerate, systemise, and diffuse new innovations across the company, and inform its strategy and growth. I also collaborate with internal and external partners, early-stage start-ups, and entrepreneurs, to conduct rapid experiments, design prototypes, and surface new opportunities. Additionally, I mentor and invest in EdTech ventures, and support the strategy and organisational development of a new workforce skills division.

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The Battle

Darius Lahoutifard

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