Strategic Property operations • Transitional team leadership
Exceptional Portfolio management

Engineering Solutions. Driving Results.

Strategic, results-driven Sales Engineering & Product Leader with 20+ years of experience driving enterprise infrastructure sales, scaling global pre-sales teams, and leading go-to-market initiatives for industry-leading organizations.

  • $40M Backbone Network Designed
  • 75% Access Cost Reduction
  • 90+% Team Approval
  • Led $28M National LI System Install
  • Cut $1M in Deployment Costs
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Career Results

About Scott

Core Skills

  • Sales Engineering Leadership
  • Go-to-Market Strategy & Execution
  • Enterprise Cloud & Network Solutions
  • Solution Design & Architecture
  • Pre-Sales Enablement & Client Advisory
  • Product Development & Lifecycle Management
  • Process & Performance Improvement
  • Team Development & Leadership
  • Client Relationship Management
$32M
Over 15 Years in Sales
  • Director of Sales Engineering
  • Tech Product Leader
  • Global System Deployments
  • Sales Process Transformation
  • GTM Strategy & Product Innovation Expert

Industries​

  • Telecom and Network Infrastructure
  • Cloud Solutions and Managed Services
  • Government and Intelligence Technology
  • Enterprise SaaS and Cybersecurity

Product Management:

  • Authored numerous customer-facing white papers.
  • Worked with product management and carrier relations to revamp how we order services from last mile carriers.
  • Worked with product management and IP Engineering to roll out ‘hybrid loops’ which support the delivery of multiple services across a single local loop. Responsible for documentation.
  • Successfully championed offering 100 Gbps Ethernet services to our customers.
  • Developed customer-facing questionnaire for identifying problematic traffic profiles for 10 and 100 Gbps Ethernet services.
  • Worked with product management to roll out our cloud connect service offering to AWS, Azure and Google.

Sales Engineering:

  • Designed innovative routing solution for giving all sites in a VPLS WAN direct access to the cloud, as opposed to going through a hub.
  • Devised method of reducing cross-connect costs in data centers through the use of optical MUXs and colored interfaces on routers.
  • Developed improved outbound BGP load balancing solution for customers attached to redundant core routers through development of dual-homed (“crossed”) routers.
  • Devised new approach to encryption which addressed lack of voice encryption, while simultaneously adding support for dynamic routing protocols and for load balancing traffic across parallel links.

Case Studies

Rebuilding Trust in Sales Engineering

Challenge:

Sales force of 600 account managers dissatisfied with Sales Engineering (SE) support. Negative perception risked making SE irrelevant: sales team would avoid using us with customers.

Actions Taken:

  • Identified lack of baseline technical knowledge across SE team.
  • Attended internal training → realized inconsistency in skills and knowledge.
  • Instituted monthly internal training led by SE subject matter experts, focusing on telecom/networking fundamentals and product applications.
  • Implemented an annual feedback survey from sales organization to track performance and perception.

Results:

  • Approval rating of SE org rose from 74% → 90% within 1 year, maintained 90–95% thereafter.
  • Sales management feedback shifted: no longer heard complaints about lack of technical depth.
  • Strengthened collaboration: SEs seen as trusted partners, driving more effective customer conversations and solution design.
Designing a Nationwide Lawful Interception

Challenge:

This company had budgeted $1M for WAN hardware to connect two main sites in Iraq but had no viable design. The proposed router-based solution risked breaking SAN replication requirements, adding unnecessary complexity, while inserting additional points of failure.

Actions Taken:

  • Assessed requirements for SAN replication and disaster recovery across the two primary sites (<10 km apart).
  • Identified flaws in management’s proposed high-end Cisco router solution.
  • Recommended redundant directly-connected high-speed fiber-optic trunks between top-of-rack Cisco Nexus 9000 switches with LR optics.
  • Advocated to leadership, providing technical justification and risk analysis.

Results:

  • Achieved seamless SAN replication by extending a single LAN segment across both sites.
  • Eliminated unnecessary complexity and single points of failure.
  • Delivered a zero-cost WAN solution, saving the entire $1M hardware budget.
Enabling Cost-Effective Loops

Challenge:

Cogent offered two loop options: lower-cost basic loops that terminated on NNIs and premium loops that terminated on dedicated ports but supported QinQ for VLAN tunneling. Sales often lost deals when QinQ was required, as only the pricier premium loops supported it.

Actions Taken:

  • Analyzed loop provider interconnections and identified NNIs as router ports with sub-interfaces (and VLAN tags).
  • Realized QinQ could be supported on basic loops so long as loop providers added an S-tag to whatever traffic the customer sent.
  • Advocated solution internally, aligning product management and carrier relations on the approach.
  • Built credibility as SME on carrier Ethernet services to drive adoption.

Results:

  • QinQ can now be supported on all loop types, eliminating “basic vs. premium” distinction.
  • Depending on location, sales can leverage 25–75% cost savings while meeting all customer technical requirements.
  • Company-wide adoption of NNI interconnectivity as the preferred last mile solution.
Launching 100Gbps Layer-2 Services

Challenge:

Customer demand for 100Gbps connectivity was growing rapidly, but the company lacked a 100Gbps Layer-2 WAN product to compete with competitor wavelength offerings. Without it, sales risked losing high-value carrier and enterprise opportunities.

Actions Taken:

  • Lobbied product management and network engineering for rollout of 100Gbps Layer-2 PTP services.
  • Positioned the value: Internet traffic flows have random destinations, while PTP circuits provide visibility for capacity planning.
  • Sold company’s first 100Gbps Layer-2 PTP circuit and oversaw customer turn-up.
  • Identified critical MPLS hashing flaw on Cisco ASR9000 routers during implementation.
  • Persistently escalated issue to leadership and Cisco, overcoming initial resistance from internal architects.

Results:

  • Secured rollout of 100Gbps Layer-2 PTP services, expanding company’s product portfolio.
  • Improved network capacity planning by knowing exact traffic end points.
  • Strengthened company’s competitive position against 100Gbps wave offerings.

"His level of understanding regarding complex network topographies has proven to be unparalleled in his space."

"His level of understanding regarding complex network topographies has proven to be unparalleled in his space. Scott not only holds his own but actually demonstrates an understanding of network configurations beyond the expertise of both Cisco and AWS. Doing so all the while with a customer facing demeanor that projects the confidence and professionalism that only one exceptionally proficient in his discipline can adopt. He has been and continues to be one of the best resource our sales team has and I'm always grateful for his involvement as he is always a value add to any discussions regarding network infrastructure and even complex network configurations are never beyond his understanding. I unreservedly and wholeheartedly endorse Scott. It is my honor to work alongside him.”

Jon Whatley
Director of Sales

“I've worked with Scott for over 7 years and during that time, he's demonstrated the unique ability to combine his strong technical aptitude with that of a seasoned sales executive. Scott is well versed in all elements of technology and has been able to demonstrate that during both customer facing and internal sessions. He has a strong work ethic and a can-do attitude when faced with challenging situations and obstacles. He's an excellent leader, great contributor and team member. He would serve any organization well in a Sales or Engineering capacity and would be a great asset!”

Fitzgerald Anderson
VP of Sales

“Scott is one of the most knowledgeable and versatile Solution/Sales Engineers that I've worked with in telco. He excels at meeting his audiences where they are. Whether as an internal SME for team trainings or externally as a resource for our customer base, he excels in making the most complex concepts digestible for all parties involved.”

Terrence Keys
VP of Sales

“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Scott Ward side by side over many years - his unique set of skills from close attention to detail to his profound technical knowledge and background, alongside exceptional problem-solving skills have resulted in securing long-term strategic alliances; his business acumen and welcoming personality have additionally contributed to positive results and substantial increase in overall team productivity - great guy to have on the team and unique person to know.”

Victor Kosta
National Account Manager

Certifications

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

Date of Issue: 2023
Date of Expiry: 2026

AWS Partner:
Accreditation(Technical)

Date of Issue: 2022br> Date of Expiry: None

Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP)

Date of Issue: 2011
Date of Expiry: 2014

Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)

Date of Issue: 2008
Date of Expiry: 2011

Education

Duke University, The Fuqua School of Business

Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Finance and Accounting

NC State at Raleigh

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering

Contact

(301) 742-2860

scottw5175@gmail.com

/scott-ward-1303b3/

scottw5175

Let's grab a coffee and chat.