Lars Nilsson

Technology Sales Leader II Board Advisor to Entrepreneurs II Early-Stage Investor focused on B2B SaaS II 5X Start-up to IPO Operator II Architect and Author: Account Based Sales Development

Lars Nilsson, a distinguished figure with over twenty-five years of experience in sales and revenue operations within the technology industry, is recognized as a global leader in enterprise software and sales solutions.

Prior to his role at Snowflake, Lars served as the CEO of SalesSource, a prominent Revenue Operations consultancy firm specializing in industry-leading practices for optimizing sales operations and inside sales teams. He is credited as the Architect and Author of Account-Based Sales Development (ABSD), a methodology widely adopted by sales organizations worldwide for approaching high-value targets.

In addition to his executive positions at Cloudera, ArcSight/Hewlett Packard, Riverbed Technology, and Portal Software, all of which witnessed successful IPOs, Lars leveraged his expertise in sales at Xerox Corporation, where he thrived in their prestigious Management Training program. Lars holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, graduating in 1989.

Lars has contributed his wealth of knowledge and skills as a Special Advisor at True Ventures, Founder and CEO of SalesSource, VP Global Sales Development at Snowflake, VP Global Inside Sales at Cloudera, VP Inside Sales at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and in various VP and Director roles at other leading tech companies.

Beyond his corporate engagements, Lars has been actively involved as an early-stage investor focusing on B2B SaaS & RevTech companies including DataGrail, People.ai, Demostack, Scratchpad, Spekit, Atrium, SecurityPal, and Mutiny. He has also served as an LP, Revenue Advisor, Scout, and GTM Specialist to Venture Capital Firms such as Mayfield Fund, Sapphire Ventures, DNX Ventures, Iron Pillar Fund, and GTMFund, guiding portfolio companies in implementing top-tier sales technologies and processes for optimized revenue operations.

Mentoring sales teams is a true passion for Lars, as seen throughout his career where he has blended leadership skills with sales acumen to benefit numerous startups in Silicon Valley and beyond.