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Announcing the 2024 XC Impact Award Winners

Aside from the occasional spot at President’s Club, there aren’t many formal ways to acknowledge outstanding Sales Engineers and SE leaders. There certainly haven’t been PreSales industry awards highlighting outstanding contributions across organizations.  

At UNXPCTD, the only conference by and for PreSales, Vivun announced the second annual XC Impact Awards to recognize exceptional current and aspiring SE leaders for outstanding contributions to driving not only their company but also the PreSales profession forward.    

“Companies increasingly lean on PreSales to drive go-to-market efficiency, product strategy, and customer retention and expansion, leaving PreSales leaders to adapt org structures and operations to accommodate increased workloads,” said Dominique Darrow, Vivun CCO, and Executive Sponsor of the PreSales Xpert Community. “We are excited to highlight these innovative leaders who continue to push the boundaries and showcase the strategic role of PreSales within their respective organizations.” 

This year, five current and aspiring leaders were honored for their work embracing innovation across key areas of impact: leadership style, process improvement, industry advocacy, career growth, and business transformation. 

Each of these stories demonstrates creativity and persistence in proving that empowering PreSales transforms business and customer outcomes.  

Congratulations to the 2024 XC Impact Award Winners!

Inspirational Leader

Ethan Hopkins, Motorola Solutions

As businesses place sky-high expectations on Sales Engineers, the most impactful leaders know that the best business outcomes come from a team that is motivated through mentorship, professional development, and genuine relationships. 

Ethan has demonstrated exceptional commitment to nurturing his team’s knowledge and professional growth. Prioritizing mentorship, he has guided his team to continued success in a highly demanding and competitive landscape.

Process Innovation

Stephen K. Potter, Perforce

Stephen has leveraged a combination of AI advancements and process improvements to strategically reshape the way his team collaborates with other departments, from Engineering to Customer Success

The best SE leaders, by nature, have mastered the art of using technology in novel ways to solve complex problems, whether for customers or internal partners.

Stephen’s ability to unify and empower diverse teams while driving operational success has expanded the influence and elevated the impact of PreSales at Perforce.

Thought Leader & Industry Advocate

Diana Cappello, Eightfold & Templates 4 SCs

This award recognizes a leader whose impact extends beyond her team. 

In XC, we know that Sales Engineering expertise is hard-won, often through trial and error and years of experience. 

Diana dedicates extra time and effort to help other SEs benefit from her hard-earned expertise. She regularly speaks at industry events, participates in mentorship programs, and has started Templates 4 SCs, to make PreSales best practices affordable and accessible. Learn more here.

Initiative Taker

Nicholas Campa, LoginVSI

This award recognizes an aspiring leader with incredible potential. In PreSales, leaders emerge at every level. Some SEs go above and beyond to help their teammates be successful. 

2 years into his PreSales career, Nicholas is already making a huge impact on revenue, a testament to his ability to learn quickly and earn customer trust. 

Perhaps more importantly, he makes extra efforts to uplevel those around him, contributing to training materials and marketing content.

Business Transformation with AI

Jon Pendergast, FIS

Jon has accomplished a complete PreSales transformation by innovating across people, processes, and tools.  

Driving change as an SE leader is often a cumbersome and lengthy endeavor, not for the faint of heart. You must be data-driven, creative, and unapologetically vocal. 

Jon successfully executed a 5-year plan to drive PreSales efficiency and outcomes by leveraging the latest research and technology for training, development, and operations. 

Jon has given his team a lift (and improved the customer experience) with automation and AI, while furthering his team’s professional development with an accreditation program and PreSales Olympics.

Congratulations to the 2024 XC Impact Award Winners!

In different ways, these individuals have exemplified a commitment to innovation, leveraging new technology and new ideas to create opportunities that elevate PreSales’ impact across their organizations and the industry as a whole.

About the XC Impact Awards

The XC Impact awards celebrate exceptional individuals who are driving change, both within their organizations and across the profession, helping to elevate our industry.


The awards are sponsored by the PreSales Xpert Community (XC), a private thought leadership network for PreSales executives. This community is dedicated to best practices and professional development. For more information about XC, please visit www.xpertcommunity.com.

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