Sebastian Stein

About

I help security companies turn complex technology into closed enterprise deals - by building and leading the teams that make it happen.

15 years in cybersecurity across DDoS protection, WAF, Zero Trust, and Cloud Security. 8 of them at Zscaler, where I scaled Sales Engineering teams through hypergrowth - from 700 to 8,000+ employees. I've built SE organizations from scratch, defined regional operating models, led Major Account technical sales for Germany's largest enterprises, and developed individual contributors into leaders.

What I bring: Deep technical credibility paired with high emotional intelligence. Proven playbooks for scaling SE teams in complex enterprise sales. A culture-first approach where people grow, stay, and want to win together.

Now

Over the past year, I've been building AI systems hands-on: LLM-powered research agents, document intelligence pipelines, conversation analytics, and self-hosted infrastructure. Now applying that foundation to AI-driven data security and governance.

Track Record

• SEM of the Quarter (2025) · SE of H1 (2020) · SE of the Quarter (2019) · 2x President's Club
• Top Years Overachievement >120%: 189% (FY20)
  130%+ (FY25), 120%+ (FY24) - Consistent quota overachievement
• Entrusted with most complex territory (all Major customers, 11 SEs)
• 60% promotion rate, 10% early attrition - A-players hired and developed
• 20+ prospect and customer Works Council engagements (own territory + cross-region), 100% success rate
• Go-to resource for sensitive customer negotiations on German co-determination
• Partnered with Sales, Product, and Exec Leadership during scale from 700 to 8,000+
• Drove Zscaler's fastest seven-figure technical win - POV evaluation framework adopted as regional standard
• Drove Zscaler's first German bank deal (BAFIN regulated)
• Rated "Outstanding Impact" for high-EQ leadership under pressure
• People before metrics: Designed reintegration framework balancing performance with wellbeing, adopted as DACH regional standard

Expertise

Career Journey

15 years in cybersecurity across two defining chapters: 7 years building presales at a growing security vendor, followed by 8 years scaling SE teams through Zscaler's hypergrowth from 700 to 8,000+ employees.