Apex Fintech Solutions Leadership & Management

Tell us about yourself. Why were you brought on to lead this team?

My focus is on providing a seamless ecosystem of tools and platforms. These resources empower our clients to seamlessly evaluate and integrate with our cutting-edge fintech API platforms. Our goal is to facilitate a best-in-class experience for software engineering teams across our diverse customer base, ranging from nimble startups to established financial institutions. 

With over 15 years of experience in building global organizations, my expertise lies in cultivating mission-oriented teams. Prior to joining Apex, I worked for PayPal, spearheading the development of developer experience platforms catering to thousands of internal and external developers. Before that, I honed my skills in global manufacturing automation at National Instruments, leading distributed test and calibration software research and development teams. My journey as a software engineer began like many others, complemented by a background in electrical engineering. I’m proud to call Austin my home, and I'm passionate about contributing to the vibrant tech community here.

How would you describe your approach to leadership, and how do you plan on building team culture?

My leadership approach is anchored in building trust, setting clear goals and recognizing individual strengths and motivations. I firmly believe in the power of trust — it’s the ultimate multiplier for any team or organization, whether sports, the armed forces or the tech industry. 

As a leader, I foster an environment of trust by prioritizing transparent and empathetic communication within the team and with our customers; I advocate for an employee-centric culture that emphasizes safety, well-being and open dialogue; I ensure that the team comprehends the mission and overarching goals that drive our work. Instilling a sense of purpose is paramount, as it serves as a powerful motivator. Part of my role involves articulating how everyone’s individual goals align with the larger mission, fostering a shared understanding of our collective purpose. 

Central to my leadership philosophy is recognizing and leveraging the diverse spectrum of strengths within the team. I provide avenues for individuals to exercise their strengths and grow in their roles,  fostering a culture of personal and professional development.

What initiative are you most excited to tackle, and what impact will it have?

I'm excited about our mission to democratize investing. Our goal is to provide a platform for fintech organizations, allowing retail investors to purchase stocks or bonds with just a few dollars using our API capabilities, which enables trading seamlessly. This significantly lowers the barrier to entry for investments, attracting end customers who may have previously remained on the sidelines. Our customers, innovative fintech companies, leverage our platform to bring their ideas to life. 

Our team focuses on initiatives that accelerate our partner organizations’ time to market and revenue generation. In the past year, we concentrated on developing an ecosystem for integration — which includes utilitarian SDKs, comprehensive documentation and live guided trials, streamlining the journey from concept to product. Moving forward, our team is dedicated to further enhancing this ecosystem and fostering a vibrant developer community around our tools and platforms. We thrive on customer feedback, continually iterating to provide an exceptional environment and prioritize high benchmarks in security, scalability and cost-effectiveness.

Tell us about your journey into sales management. What specific roles, networking opportunities and/or projects helped you get to where you are in your career today?

Sales is about making customers, not just contracts. Early in my career, I admired leaders who learned deeply about products, customers and processes to solve tough problems. I embraced risk-taking and got out of my comfort zone to grow, starting my career at a global wealth management company. There, I gained foundational experience in how a regulated enterprise develops products and manages compliance and operations and came to understand the entire customer lifecycle for wealth management and investor user experience. 

Later, I co-founded an investment advisory startup in Beverly Hills, transitioning from a structured corporate environment to a fast-paced, zero-to-one operation. I made it a priority to expand my network — meeting two industry leaders or attending two events weekly — which shaped lasting collaborations. Understanding the client lifecycle from both a technology and operations perspective has been key in my approach to sales today, which is helping innovators solve hard problems. Exposure to companies of all sizes enhanced my empathy and ability to tailor solutions across diverse industries and needs.

What advice, skills or best practices do you find most valuable in sales? How do those skills translate into sales management?

Historically, I’ve used a tailored MEDDPICC framework, which stands for “metrics, economic buyer, decision criteria, decision process, paper process, identify pain, champion and competition.” Successful sales requires a personalized approach, consistency, enthusiasm and a strong focus on solving problems, especially in regulated industries where challenges are constant. In enterprise software sales, maintaining energy and overcoming obstacles are key for both tactical and strategic leadership. Exceptional sales experiences foster lasting impressions and lead to valuable referrals — the ultimate sign of success. Sales leaders must uphold a zero-tolerance policy for poor experiences, ensuring their teams consistently deliver a five-star experience, leaving customers delighted every time.

What is your top advice for sales professionals interested in breaking into sales management?

Master your craft and leverage your network to get work done. Not everyone can know every single thing that goes into a sale, and being able to manage the people and processes that influence a complicated B2B sale is a skill set you can’t learn in a sales 101 class. Sales managers need to be focused on empowering their teams and promoting a process and culture to leverage the resources and tools around them to make — and delight — customers, not contracts.