Paul Albright

General Manager, SMB & CMO

Born:
Washington, DC (great place, especially before lobbyists stormed the city)

Prior Experience:
Network Appliance – Senior Vice President, Worldwide Marketing
Greylock – CEO-in-Residence
SeeCommerce – President & CEO
Informatica (INFA) – Executive Vice President, Channel Sales & CMO
Sybase – Senior Director, Verticals & Business Development
Tandem Computers – Western Region Sales
Unisys – Various general management, sales, and technical leadership positions


Education:
James Madison University – BS/BBA, Information (Computer) Science; Management

What I like to do outside of work:
Playing basketball, bike riding, and running…especially when it’s with my wife and kids. Reading great books (usually history and biographies) and spending time with family and friends.

Q: Where in your background did you learn the most?
A: I have been very fortunate to have worked around some great leaders who took chances on me. Mentorship and working with smart, passionate, leaders that want to change the world. They are in and around all great companies…I learned a lot at NetApp – a solid management team and the experience growing from $1B to $3B was invaluable. I learned the importance of great teams at Informatica – we all focused on execution and teamwork from the very beginning. And being a CEO during the boom and bust years in tech was quite a learning experience; I learned far more during the bust years than the boom ones though!

Q: If you could meet one person in history, who would you meet and why?
A: There are so many that come to mind… FDR, Abe Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Vince Lombardi, Prince Henry the Navigator, etc. But one person that sticks out for me is Nelson Mandela. He is a man with conviction and passion – a great, modern, leader. Even after being convicted and sentenced to life in prison, he came out strong and on the same mission (no whining) and has been the leader of the move to a multi-racial democracy in South Africa – what an impact!

Q: What’s been your biggest surprise during your time at SuccessFactors?
A:I was fortunate enough to spend time with the SuccessFactors team back in 2003 and I saw a very special company then. My biggest surprise now is how well the company has executed (grown) while continuing to foster a great culture. This company has an iron will to deliver great value to our customers and partners.

Q: If you had 20 seconds to tell a new client about why they should use SuccessFactors, what would you say?
A:SuccessFactors will immediately improve the performance and energy of your company’s most precious asset – your people. It’s easy to get started with, simplifies managers’ lives, is 1/10th the cost of traditional software, and SuccessFactors’ products are far more advanced than anything else in the market. That’s why there are millions of people in the world’s leading companies using SuccessFactors’ products every day.

Q: Why do you believe in the promise of Performance & Talent Management?
A: It’s simple. If people know clearly what’s expected of them, and you give them the tools to make it happen, your company’s performance will improve. Top performing companies have known this for many years (e.g., GE), and now SuccessFactors delivers products that make it simple to deliver tangible results (such as improved performance and reduced involuntary turnover). All great teams are aligned on a common vision. Their goals, metrics, and compensation are all focused on delivering the right results. People feel accountable; not only for their own goals, but they feel more a part of the larger team and clearly understand (maybe for the first time) why others depend on their success!

Q: Do you have a story or memory of how P&TM has helped you in your career? (a performance review, goal alignment to your team, paying people for performance, increase in performance as a results?)
A: This was a big part of my leadership plan at NetApp. Documenting a vision, our goals, and metrics; then aligning roles and responsibilities against that vision. We also spent a lot of time making sure our goals and metrics were 100% aliged and bought into by our stakeholders. This is how great teams operate!

Q: Why are you proud to work at SuccessFactors?
A: It’s one of the best performing companies I have ever seen. And SuccessFactors lives what it sells – we are focused on delivering innovative products that make a big impact in our customers’ business. Great customers, products, and people – SuccessFactors is a very special company.