Ruwan Gunatilake

Enigma
DISC Type : cid

VP RevOps @ Redpanda at Redpanda Data

San Francisco, California, United States

Overview

Ruwan is a seasoned Revenue Operations leader with deep expertise in scaling Go-to-Market strategies for high-growth tech companies. His career features leadership roles at Redpanda, Postman, Grafana Labs, and HashiCorp. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B. S. from the University of Southern California.

He has a demonstrated passion for building and enabling teams to succeed in fast-paced, hypergrowth environments. He is focused on establishing the operational foundations necessary to drive significant revenue expansion and market leadership for cutting-edge technology platforms.

Ruwan co-authored a business case study, "To Catch a Vandal: A Power & Influence Exercise, " while at Harvard.

Personality Overview

Challenger

Persuasive & Assertive

Friendly Yet Blunt

They are generally strong communicators and are not easy to convince.  They can sound friendly and charming but can quickly change gears to become inquisitive and probing  They are likely to ask many questions and look heavily for supporting proof as well as information.

Topics They Care About

Revenue Operations
Currently the VP of RevOps at Redpanda and was formerly the Head of Revenue Operations at Postman, indicating this is his core professional discipline.
GTM Strategy
Previously held the title of Sr. Director of GTM Strategy and Operations at Grafana Labs, showcasing his expertise in bringing products to market effectively.
Hypergrowth Scaling
His career at HashiCorp, Grafana Labs, and Postman reflects a pattern of joining and scaling late-stage, high-growth startups.

Media Appearances

Ruwan has no verified media appearances

Work History

1-2026
VP RevOps @ Redpanda at Redpanda Data
6-2022 - 8-2025
Head of Revenue Operations at Postman
9-2020 - 6-2022
Sr. Director of GTM Strategy and Operations at Grafana Labs
7-2018 - 9-2020
Director of Sales Strategy and Business Operations at HashiCorp
5-2014 - 3-2018
Principal at Medley Management Inc.

Education

2008 - 2010
Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School
2000 - 2004
B.S. from University of Southern California

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 17 Location : San Francisco, California, United States Job Level : Senior Designation : VP RevOps @ Redpanda at Redpanda Data
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Insights For Selling To Ruwan

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Let them lead the discussion, create opportunities for them to speak if they are not very forthcoming
  • Use a combination of data as well as stories for your pitch, a ppt might not be necessary
  • Use phrases like ‘clear evidence’, ‘data-based results’ etc.

DONT's

  • Avoid making offhand commitments, understand the root of their concerns first
  • Don’t be too objective but make sure to pad your storytelling with data points
  • Don’t rely excessively on your relationship with them to win the deal even if you come to form one

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Ruwan is

  • Proven value, strong objective evidence are important for them, rapport can impact decisions a little.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Ruwan

  • They are practical and friendly, but can give a clear response with a little prodding

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Ruwan move?

  • They like to be detailed, so unless they develop strong conviction, they can take their time to arrive at decisions
  • Can Ruwan take some risk or not?

  • They evaluate their decisions systematically and do not take risks that often, unless you can get them to develop strong conviction

You And Ruwan

Personality Compatibility


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