In this episode of Sales Is King, host Dan Sixsmith kicks off the show’s 10th year and the launch of a brand new studio with a powerhouse guest: Andrew Brown, Senior Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer at Red Hat. Andrew shares how Red Hat is driving double‑digit growth with its hybrid platforms, automation, and AI capabilities—while staying anchored in long‑standing values like freedom, courage, commitment, and accountability. He also breaks down how AI is really changing sales, what separates top sellers from the middle of the pack, and why “happy customers” is his simple, non‑negotiable definition of success.
Red Hat’s growth engines in 2025
Three core platforms: Enterprise Linux, OpenShift (containerization/virtualization), and automation.
Why true hybrid (on‑prem, private cloud, hyperscalers) is resonating with customers globally.
The acquisition of Neural Magic and how Red Hat is playing in AI inference.
Values that customers actually feel
How Red Hat’s long‑standing values—freedom, courage, commitment, accountability—show up through products and people, not posters.
Stories from customer visits (including India) where clients proactively praise the team, not just the tech.
The call to become CRO and first 90 days
How Andrew was tapped from IBM by Rob Thomas to run “anything that touches revenue” at Red Hat.
Why he changed almost nothing at first: two ears, two eyes, one mouth—used in that ratio.
Moving the organization from “growing” to truly unlocking the next growth curve, with alignment on one vision and one belief.
What really separates top sellers from the middle
Active listening as a true differentiator—probing pain, impact, and outcomes versus just hearing words.
Never settling: aiming beyond the renewal, operating on the “front foot,” and treating success and failure the same way.
A sports mindset: being ready for the clutch moments, orchestrating stakeholders, and failing at least 50% of the time but getting back up.
How AI is reshaping sales at Red Hat
Building and buying: Red Hat’s own AI assistant embedded in sellers’ workflow (Slack → CRM opportunity creation) plus tools like People.ai to free managers from data validation and focus them on coaching.
The big challenge: not building AI models, but getting them into production at scale with governance, cost control, and the right deployment (cloud vs. on‑prem).
Why only a small percentage of AI projects show real value today—and what needs to change.
Channel and ecosystem as revenue multipliers
Why a significant share of Red Hat’s revenue runs through partners and how they’re enabled pre‑ and post‑sales.
Technical certifications, revamped partner programs, and advisory boards to keep value and alignment high.
Customer success and value realization
Consolidating scattered customer success pockets into a central, technical CS team that engages the day after the contract is signed.
Focus on hands‑on deployment, embedding Red Hat tech in customer architectures, and rescuing under‑utilized hybrid commitments.
The direct link Andrew sees between CS, value realization, and recurring revenue uplift.
Andrew’s personal journey and leadership lessons
From aspiring soccer player to IBM intern to CRO at Red Hat.
Doing an MBA nights/weekends to bridge technology and business outcomes in C‑level conversations.
Early “bad” first management role and learning from white‑space, door‑to‑door style selling.
Influences from Lou Gerstner and other mentors: keep it simple, communicate clearly, don’t define your life only by work.
Andrew Brown is Senior Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer at Red Hat, where he leads all revenue‑touching functions globally across sales, services, and ecosystem partners. Prior to Red Hat, Andrew spent nearly three decades at IBM in a variety of technical, sales, and leadership roles, combining a deep technology background with a strong commercial track record.
