Sandra Flinders ─ the ultimate ecosystem-savvy leader creating next generation success!
November 23, 2020 • 3 Minute Read
Updated September 2022
Sandra Flinders
Vice President, Partner
Strategy and Programs
Commvault
(Previously—Senior Director, Global Partner Organization—
Partner Programs
Cisco)
Are you looking for a partner savvy leader who knows how to create next generation strategies, innovative partner programs, and rewards that deliver a multiplier effect through ecosystem partnerships? We know the person─Sandra Flinders!
Sandra is one of a kind! She has led the creation, implementation, and next-generation and transformational strategies for ecosystem initiatives that deliver a multiplier effect. Throughout her career, she has led the development of annuity-based models, lifecycle success and rewards, and classic and recurring services to strengthen customer relationships through partner differentiation.
Please meet this IT Wondrous Woman™─Sandra Flinders!
Our 10 Questions for this IT Wondrous Woman.
Fun Facts
1. What’s the one thing about you that your business colleagues don’t know about you?
I love to read which many know. However, I like reading so much in fact that after graduating from Radford University, I started my career as a librarian. After a few years of mingling with the K-12 crowd, I decided to take a different direction and launched into technology sales and what would determine my passion and my career from that point onward. My most known dream is to rescue German Shepherds!
2. Before the pandemic, how many air miles/KMs did you flying annually?
I surpassed the million-mile mark on United three years ago.
3. What is the most adventurous food you have eaten and what city/location did you eat it?
Clearly with one million miles behind me, I have been in many places but unfortunately don’t consider myself an “adventurous eater.” Japan comes to mind when I consider adventurous dining. A former colleague introduced me to sushi, but one bite was all it took. I have never been able to acquire a taste for sushi.
Your Career
4. What are the top two experiences, achievements or failures that shaped your journey as a successful leader?
While I was an accomplished sales leader, I wanted to become a well-rounded, more-effective executive. I went back to school and obtained my MBA. My post-graduate education provided me the business acumen to understand the operations side and shift my career to a more holistic business-view.
One of the top achievements of my career has been alternating between direct channel sales, channel leadership, and sales operations. Or, from quota carrying to a strategy and operations role to get into guts of how things worked. The experience of going back and forth provided a unique appreciation and helped me to become a stronger leader.
5. Did you have a mentor in the early part of your career and, if so, what is the biggest lesson you learned from your mentor or influencer?
Maybe it’s something many learn, maybe it’s something they should; but through my many mentors, I learned to trust my instincts, believe in myself and have confidence.
Walking In Your Shoes
6. What is one piece of business or career advice you would give to your younger self?
If I could only advise my younger self, but then, hindsight is 20/20! I would tell young Sandra to believe in herself and to follow the motto that is now prominently displayed in my office: “She believed she could, so she did.”
7. As a leader, how do you remain a resource for people early in their careers?
I try to go full circle to share my experiences, both achievements and failures, by devoting time to mentor others and making myself available sometimes to the detriment of family and friends. I encourage the people I mentor to consider work life balance, which I did not do when I was younger.
Today’s Business Environment
8. What is the most interesting project you have worked on in the last few years?
My current role leading the Cisco Recurring Value Programs team. I am working to determine a clear strategy, including the programs to transform transactional product resellers into next generation partners focused on recurring revenue and the whole customer lifecycle.
9. What skills are you currently developing or refining (in yourself) that will make you a more successful leader in the digital economy?
As we continue on the bullet train called the digital economy, I continue to learn the evolving needs of customers and what our partners need to deliver value to those customers as they seek to thrive in the “new normal.” Understanding what influences the lifecycle and propels subscription services helps me be a more successful leader.
10. What is your greatest business challenge today?
As I determine the right steps to help partners successfully make it through the Pandemic, the learning path is not without bumps.
