Conor Forde

Doer
DISC Type : ds

Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at Aiven

Cork, County Cork, Ireland

Overview

Conor Forde is the Chief Revenue Officer at Aiven, responsible for the entire Go-To-Market organization, including sales and marketing. His career features progressive leadership roles at Cloudera and Hortonworks, focusing on scaling operational capabilities. He earned a Bachelor of Business in Information Systems from Munster Technological University.

Conor has deep professional ties to Cork, Ireland, where he previously established a global operations center for Cloudera and has driven Aivens recent EMEA hub expansion. In 2021, he accepted the "Best Workplace" award on behalf of Cloudera, highlighting his commitment to fostering positive work environments.

He operates on the principle of "do as I do, not as I say, " emphasizing transparent and authentic leadership.

Personality Overview

Fast-paced

Deliberate Doer

Strategic Planner

They exhibit a rare combination of being result-oriented but patient at the same time.  They might take some time to make their mind up but once they do, they don't change it easily. Reading between the lines and seeing beyond your words comes naturally to them.

Topics They Care About

Go-To-Market Strategy
He leads the entire GTM organization at Aiven and recently rethought how the company scales its market efforts to support its next phase of growth.
Open Source Data
He is a proponent of Aiven's open-source data platform, which is designed to help developers and businesses accelerate the creation of new applications.
Authentic Leadership
Believes in candid communication and leading by example, stating he finds little value in leadership that only highlights successes.

Media Appearances

Conor has no verified media appearances

Work History

3-2026
Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at Aiven
10-2024 - 3-2026
Senior Vice President - Go To Market at Aiven
10-2023 - 10-2024
Vice President Sales Operations & Strategy at Aiven
2-2022 - 9-2023
Vice President Go To Market (GTM) Operations at Cloudera
1-2020 - 2-2022
Snr. Director Global Field CoE at Cloudera

Education

2003 - 2007
Bachelor of Business (Honours) In Information Systems from Munster Technological University
1997 - 2003
Education details unavailable from Coláiste Chriost Ri

More Information

Social Presence :

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Exp : 17 Location : Cork, County Cork, Ireland Job Level : Leadership Designation : Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at Aiven
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Insights For Selling To Conor

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • You can spend time on BANT (or other qualification methodology) but keep it to the point
  • During followups, use phone or text if needed, they should be fine
  • Stick to your standard pitch and qualifying script, don't try to wing it

DONT's

  • Don't focus too much on mutual contacts or bother about other stakeholders, focus on them
  • Don't take their patience for granted, avoid long-winding sermons
  • Don't go over them unless you are left with no other option

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Conor is

  • Strong proof of impact and their conviction will matter the most, but they wouldn't want to act unilaterally either
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Conor

  • They will say no if they are not convinced but you will have to prompt them.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Conor move?

  • They will want to understand things well but can move fast once they have a clear picture.
  • Can Conor take some risk or not?

  • They have good risk tolerance but are likely to think it through once or twice.

You And Conor

Personality Compatibility


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