Alan Whitehead

Experience

Moving complex technology decisions forward

My strongest experience is in institutional selling: developing an account, coordinating a serious evaluation, and finding a workable path through approval and procurement. These examples distinguish completed commercial outcomes from opportunity development.

Customer identities and sensitive commercial terms are generalized. Dates refer to the relevant role period.

D2L

Senior Higher Education Sales Executive

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Outcome Approved purchasing path

Creating a purchasing path across a university system

Campus opportunities involved recurring evaluation and purchasing requirements. I led an initiative with a public university system’s central office to establish an approved path that individual campuses could use.

I coordinated the RFP, pilots, security review, commercial negotiation and final executive presentation, bringing together internal technical and executive resources with institutional stakeholders.

The result was an approved purchasing path with pre-negotiated pricing. Individual campuses retained their own purchasing decisions. The achievement was creating a usable route through institutional procurement.

Demonstrates: Strategic account development, central and local stakeholder alignment, and complex procurement.

D2L

Senior Higher Education Sales Executive

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Outcome Seven-figure, multi-year agreement

Winning a university platform replacement

I developed a private-university opportunity from cold outreach through a formal RFP to replace a homegrown learning management system.

The evaluation required academic and faculty support as well as technical and commercial confidence. I coordinated product, finance, solutions engineering and executive involvement, and helped the team respond to security questions and the institution’s priorities.

The opportunity became a seven-figure, multi-year agreement. My responsibility was the sale and the coordination needed to reach a decision; implementation and ongoing account ownership involved other teams.

Demonstrates: New-business development, institutional discovery and coordination across a complex buying group.

ProctorU

Regional Vice President

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Outcome Signed seven-figure, long-term agreement

Expanding a strategic university relationship

At ProctorU, my work combined new business with involvement in strategic renewals and expansion. In one public-university account, I coordinated academic, technical, procurement, product and operational stakeholders around a longer-term relationship.

I retained and expanded the account’s annual value and negotiated a signed seven-figure, long-term agreement. The commercial work involved balancing the annual commitment with the institution’s longer-term needs.

Across the role, I also advocated for standards-based authentication, security evaluations and integrations, and secured company funding for an external accessibility audit.

Demonstrates: Retention, expansion, contract negotiation and translating institutional requirements into internal priorities.

Cyberbit

Senior Account Executive, SLED, Western US

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Outcome Opportunity development

Developing public-sector cybersecurity opportunities

I developed state, local government and education opportunities for cyber-range training and readiness, working with security leaders, technical teams and channel partners across a western territory that included California and Hawaii.

The work included a state cybersecurity-team workshop and planning ahead of a future budget cycle, a partner-supported opportunity that progressed toward contracting, and a separate state RFP response and follow-up.

These state pursuits were unsigned when I left. The work involved executive engagement, technical evaluation, fiscal-cycle planning and public procurement.

Demonstrates: Direct SLED cybersecurity selling and patient development of complex public-sector opportunities.

A technical foundation and sustained account development

At D2L, I also developed a private-university relationship from an initial conference conversation through years of engagement, a pilot and a formal RFP to a contract. That work sits within broader experience with California universities and community colleges.

Earlier, at BlackBerry, I worked in technical account management, government and strategic accounts, and mobile-learning sales. Deployment preparation, carrier enablement and coordination with technical teams formed the foundation for my later institutional selling.

The selected examples above summarize my public experience. For further context, please contact me.

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