Derek T. Newbern | Revenue Executive

The Difference

Three things a pure sales leader can't claim.

Carrying the number is table stakes. The differentiator is owning the whole P&L behind it: pricing, margin, forecast, delivery, and the team that grows it.

01

Own the full P&L

Pricing, margin, forecast, and delivery, not just quota attainment. Running the business behind the revenue and growing it year over year.

$260M peak P&LForecast to delivery

02

Build the team

President's Club performers and future leaders developed every year. Selected for high-potential leadership cohorts across more than a decade.

President's Club, every year50+ global team led

03

Grow through partnership

Growth comes from customer outcomes and solution selling, built on real understanding of the network and the operator's business, not from displacing the competition.

Solution / value / outcomeCxO relationships

Track Record

Where the number moved.

Three transformations across the operator and vendor sides of telecom. Every number below reflects direct ownership, not a team total.

01

Built the T-Mobile software business at Nokia

Nokia · First VP-level Customer Team Head · 2007–2019

Owned the T-Mobile software and services segment P&L and grew it from under $10M to a $260M peak, directing a 50+ person team, direct and indirect, across strategy, sales, services, and delivery for cloud, security, network management, and 5G core. This sat inside the broader team account that grew from $100M to over $4B. Named Nokia Global Software Sales Leader of the Year in 2018.

$10M → $260M

Segment P&L peak

02

Tripled the Spirent P&L through a GTM rebuild

Spirent, now Keysight · VP, Client Partner Executive · 2019–2026

Grew the P&L from $15M to a $48M peak, averaging $35M a year, across T-Mobile, Sprint, US Cellular, and roughly a dozen device and OEM accounts including Google, Samsung, and Motorola. Redefined the go-to-market from the lab to the live network across active service assurance, automation, application security, and UE validation. Named Spirent Global Sales Leader of the Year in 2024.

$15M → $48M

Peak P&L · $35M avg

03

Ran the network before selling to it

Dobson / CellularONE · Cell Site Tech to Director, Network Operations · 1998–2007

Came up on the operator side, from cell site technician to Director of Network Operations running field operations across five states with full CAPEX and OPEX budget responsibility. Drove dropped-call rate from 2.5% to an all-time low of 1.1%. That is why carriers get a partner who has carried the pager, not an outsider.

2.5% → 1.1%

Dropped-call rate

Recognition

Backed by the company, on the record.

Derek Newbern with Nokia's President's Award check on stage, January 2019 — **Nokia President's Award** · January 2019

Derek Newbern receiving the award plaque on stage, Nokia, January 2019 — **Recognized on stage** · Nokia, January 2019

Outlook

Where the next dollar of carrier revenue comes from.

A point of view on telecom, cloud, and security revenue right now, from someone who has sat on both sides of the network. The short version: AI is moving from a bolt-on feature to the core of how operators run and how revenue gets built, and the leaders who put it to work as a daily tool move first. A Kellogg AI certificate backs the commitment to it.

// 01

AI belongs in the core, not bolted on

The operators that pull ahead build AI into the network and the business, not onto the side as a feature. Spend keeps moving from boxes to software, automation, and assurance, and the revenue leader who knows the live network captures that shift first, because they sell the outcome, not the SKU.

// 02

AI has to earn its keep in operations

Operators pay for AI and automation when it shows up as fewer truck rolls, faster mean-time-to-repair, and protected SLAs. The win is a measurable operational outcome, not a demo. Legacy operating models break against competitors who run AI-native.

// 03

AI is a tool to use, not a trend to watch

Treats AI as a working tool in the day to day: the research, the forecast, the qualification, the account plan, and the prep behind every meeting. Built into how the team works, not bolted on after. Multi-year carrier revenue is still won on outcomes and CxO trust, now with sharper tools behind it.

Operating Principles

Four principles behind the number.

Character that holds up under pressure, on and off the clock: a Team Rubicon disaster-response volunteer, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt under a world champion, and an FCC-licensed amateur radio operator. The same discipline goes into building revenue teams.

// Builder mentality

Scale it, don't just maintain it

Every number on this page started smaller. Take a function, build the strategy, pricing, and team to grow it, then do it again.

// Customer partnership

Growth comes from understanding the customer's business

Lead with the operator's outcomes, network, and economics. Trust at the CxO level compounds into multi-year revenue, not one-off wins.

// Team development

The team is the product

A year is measured by how many people made President's Club and how many grew into bigger roles. Contributors developed every year.

// Operating discipline

Discipline under the relationships

Solution, value, and outcome selling, backed by disciplined qualification and forecast accuracy. The rigor sits under the relationship, it does not replace it.

Open To

The next role.

Senior revenue leadership where the mandate is to build and scale, not to defend a flat number.

Chief Revenue Officer

Full revenue ownership across sales, GTM, and post-sale. Telecom, networking, cloud, or security businesses where operator and vendor experience is a direct advantage.

Primary target

SVP / EVP Sales

Lead a sales organization through a growth or transformation phase. Strong fit for PE-backed environments with a clear scale mandate.

Strong fit

Ran the network.
Then sold to it.