Most Solutions leaders want a blueprint for forward deployed engineers. Shannon Hogue, Global Head of Solutions at Vanta, has a different answer: there isn't one yet, and you have to be okay with that.

In this episode, James sits down with Shannon to unpack how she scaled her org from 24 to 52 people in 11 months, restructured her team around a Center of Excellence, and iterated her FDE model in real time as Vanta pushed past $300M ARR.

In this episode:

→ Why Shannon built a Center of Excellence early, before the "textbook" maturity stage

→ How SE, SA, and FDE roles split across SMB, growth, and enterprise segments, and why POC rates shift from 13:1 to 7:1 ratios along the way

→ The hiring mistake that burned out strategic SEs when the field wasn't ready for an enterprise motion

→ Why FDEs report into engineering, how the "menu of pre-approved tasks" cut turnaround from 2-3 weeks to 24-48 hours, and Shannon's framing of FDEs as "product acceleration engineers"

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This episode is brought to you by Storylane.

Storylane is the #1 rated demo automation platform for marketing, sales, and SEs. Trusted by 5,000+ teams. Start for free: https://bit.ly/3POPKx5

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About SolutionExec

SolutionExec is a private network built exclusively for Solutions leaders in B2B SaaS. We connect, enable, and empower the executives who guide teams, influence deals, and shape the future of go-to-market.

🔗 Join the network: https://solutionexec.com/

📬 Reach out: [email protected]

📰 Subscribe to the Newsletter

🎙️ Watch more episodes from the podcast

We hear from Solutions leaders all the time that they love their Solutions role, but want to think about what’s next. So what is the real next move in a solutions career, and which paths actually hold up?

In this episode, James Kaikis and Jeff Margolese map the routes opening up for solutions leaders taking their next step, from product owner to CRO to chief customer officer, and what it takes to make each move work.

In this episode:

→ The transferable skills that make solutions leaders natural generalists, and why that is both the blessing and the curse of the role

→ The two most common exits, into sales and into product, and what separates the people who succeed from the people who wash out

→ How the forward deployed engineering motion is pulling solutions talent into product orgs

→ Why solutions leaders can make strong chief customer officers, and the "day two" mindset the role demands

→ What owning the number really feels like, including the procurement grind nobody warns you about

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This episode is brought to you by Opine and Storylane.

Opine helps presales leaders prove team impact, and teams at Docker, Gainsight, Snyk, and Tailscale use it to drive 30%+ more technical wins. Book a demo: https://bit.ly/3RLlsMY

Storylane is the #1 rated demo automation platform for marketing, sales, and SEs. Trusted by 5,000+ teams. Start for free: https://bit.ly/3POPKx5

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About SolutionExec

SolutionExec is a private network built exclusively for Solutions leaders in B2B SaaS. We connect, enable, and empower the executives who guide teams, influence deals, and shape the future of go-to-market.

🔗 Join the network: https://solutionexec.com/

📬 Reach out: [email protected]

📰 Subscribe to the Newsletter

🎙️ Watch more episodes from the podcast

Too many Solutions leaders are single threaded into the CRO. While the relationship between Solutions and Sales is important, the leaders who stand out are the ones who build relationships across the whole company, in legal, finance, HR, and IT, long before they ever need them. Jeff Margolese shares his approach to becoming known throughout the organization and building relationships through genuine curiosity.

In this episode, Jeff sheds some light on how he’s built relationships across his organizations, and how those relationships can help protect your team, get you the resources you need, and change how the business sees the Solutions function.

In this episode:

→ Why relying only on the CRO puts your team at risk

→ How to build real relationships outside sales without it feeling transactional

→ Using cross-org trust to protect headcount, comp, and resources

→ How to architect "collisions" to build connections across your organization

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This episode is brought to you by Opine. Opine helps presales leaders prove team impact, and teams at Docker, Gainsight, Snyk, and Tailscale use it to drive 30%+ more technical wins. Book a demo: https://bit.ly/3RLlsMY

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About SolutionExec

SolutionExec is a private network built exclusively for Solutions leaders in B2B SaaS. We connect, enable, and empower the executives who guide teams, influence deals, and shape the future of go-to-market.

🔗 Join the network: https://solutionexec.com/

📬 Reach out: [email protected]

📰 Subscribe to the Newsletter

🎙️ Watch more episodes from the podcast

Every leader has been told no to something they knew was right. Not because they were wrong, but because the business doesn't understand what Solutions actually delivers. This profession is at a crossroad, and the leaders who cross the chasm will define what it becomes. The Modern Solutions Mandate names what's actually happening to this profession right now, and what it's going to take to get through it. James Kaikis opens with the case for why Solutions has to move from reactive resource to proactive innovation arm. David Maloof breaks down the five forces compounding against every org and the Sarah Problem hiding inside our success stories. Jeff Margolese closes with what he's actually doing about it at ServiceNow.

In this episode:

→ The five forces reshaping the profession (the buyer, compounding complexity, flat headcount, the AI gap, and dissolving role boundaries)

→ Why the Sarah Problem means your system survived, it didn't win

→ How ServiceNow scaled from 700 POVs in a decade to 2,500 in a single year

→ The CFO and CHRO relationships every Solutions leader should be building, and why

→ What it takes to be bold with your CRO when the org needs to change

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This episode is brought to you by Storylane, the #1 rated demo automation platform for marketing, sales, and SEs. Trusted by 5,000+ teams. Start for free: https://bit.ly/3POPKx5

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About SolutionExec

SolutionExec is a private network built exclusively for Solutions leaders in B2B SaaS. We connect, enable, and empower the executives who guide teams, influence deals, and shape the future of go-to-market.

🔗 Join the network: https://solutionexec.com/

📬 Reach out: [email protected]

📰 Subscribe to the Newsletter

🎙️ Watch more episodes from the podcast

What does it actually take to scale a Solutions org without breaking it? A 3B+ company and a 1B company with 400+ SEs sit down to compare notes, and the answers are not the ones you'd expect. From unit economics-driven ratio models to agentic SEs joining live customer calls, this is where the real conversation is happening.

In this episode, David Maloof sits down with Leah McTiernan, GVP of Solutions Consulting at DocuSign, and Alok Agrawal, Chief Solutions Officer at Rubrik, to unpack what scale actually looks like at two very different stages of org development and why the principles often converge.

In this episode:

→ Why "no disco, no demo" is old school thinking and what's replacing it

→ How to model SE ratios using unit economics, not just capacity

→ The rise of Forward Deployed Engineers and specialization as a scaling lever

→ DocuSign's pilot of an agentic SE joining live SMB calls in real time

→ Why Solutions leaders must use data to position their orgs as a growth engine, not a support function

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This episode is brought to you by Storylane, the #1 rated demo automation platform for marketing, sales, and SEs. Trusted by 5,000+ teams. Start for free: https://bit.ly/3POPKx5

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About SolutionExec

SolutionExec is a private network built exclusively for Solutions leaders in B2B SaaS. We connect, enable, and empower the executives who guide teams, influence deals, and shape the future of go-to-market.

🔗 Join the network: https://solutionexec.com/

📬 Reach out: [email protected]

📰 Subscribe to the Newsletter

🎙️ Watch more episodes from the podcast

Your company has an AI mandate. No one gave you a playbook. That gap is exactly where most Solutions teams are losing ground right now.

In this episode, Jeff Margolese sits down with David Maloof, Managing Director of Programming and Advisory at SolutionExec, to unpack what SE leaders are actually getting wrong about AI adoption and what a practical path forward looks like.

In this episode:

→ Why jumping straight to AI tools without a workflow strategy is setting teams up to fail

→ How to carve out innovation zones inside your SE org without tanking productivity

→ What an AI hackathon looks like in practice and why they work

→ How to measure AI ROI in a way that actually holds up with leadership

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This episode is brought to you by Storylane, the #1 rated demo automation platform for marketing, sales, and SEs. Trusted by 5,000+ teams. Start for free: https://bit.ly/3POPKx5

—

About SolutionExec

SolutionExec is a private network built exclusively for Solutions leaders in B2B SaaS. We connect, enable, and empower the executives who guide teams, influence deals, and shape the future of go-to-market.

🔗 Join the network: https://solutionexec.com/

📬 Reach out: [email protected]

📰 Subscribe to the Newsletter

🎙️ Watch more episodes from the podcast

What does it look like when Solutions leadership sits at the center of a $12B GTM strategy? Jeff Margolese, SVP of Global Solution Consulting at ServiceNow, has lived it.

In this episode, James Kaikis sits down with Jeff to unpack how ServiceNow rebuilt its Solutions motion from the ground up. They scrapped discovery-heavy demos in favor of live Proof of Value engagements, stood up AI-first build teams, and earned a seat at the table with the CRO. Jeff shares what that transformation actually required, and what Solutions leaders at every level can take from it.

In this episode:

→ Why ServiceNow moved from POCs to production-ready proof of value

→ How "AI Experience SEs" and build teams are reshaping the field org

→ The enterprise deal story that turned a skeptic into a believer

→ What it means when the CRO names you in his 2026 goals

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This episode is brought to you by Storylane, the #1 rated demo automation platform for marketing, sales, and SEs. Trusted by 5,000+ teams. Start for free: https://bit.ly/storylane-se

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About SolutionExec

SolutionExec is the private network built exclusively for Solutions leaders in B2B SaaS. We exist to equip SolutionExecs with the private network, resourcing, and programming to lead the next era of go-to-market.

Join the network: https://solutionexec.com/

Reach out: [email protected]

Subscribe to the Newsletter

More episodes on the Podcast

This episode originally appeared on the GTMshift podcast with Jeff Margolese and James Kaikis.

Jeff Margolese, SVP of Global Solution Consulting at ServiceNow and 20+ year industry veteran, explores how AI is fundamentally transforming enterprise sales and the solutions engineering profession. Having guided ServiceNow's SE organization through explosive growth from $300M to over $10B in revenue, Jeff shares insights on navigating massive technological shifts while building trust with enterprise customers who now demand "show me my data in your product" rather than traditional demos.

Where to learn more:

• Join us at our Virtual Kickoff on March 4th and discover our current offerings.
• Subscribe to our Newsletter to learn more about our personal "why."
• Tune in to our Podcast to get to know us and our vision.

Join us: https://solutionexec.com/

If you have thoughts, questions, or want to get involved, reach out to [email protected].

Join Jeff Margolese & James Kaikis for a sneak peek at what SolutionExec is, how to find value in it, and what the 2026 programming will look like. The 2026 schedule will be unveiled at the March 4th Virtual Kickoff.

Where to learn more:

1. Join us at our Virtual Kickoff on March 4th and discover our current offerings.
2. Subscribe to our Newsletter to learn more about our personal "why."
3. Tune in to our Podcast to get to know us and our vision.

Join us: https://solutionexec.com/

If you have thoughts, questions, or want to get involved, reach out to [email protected].

Join Jeff Margolese & James Kaikis as they share their stories of SolutionExec, a private network that exists to equip Solution Executives with the executive programming and resources to lead in the next era of go-to-market.

Where to learn more:

1. Join us at our Virtual Kickoff on March 4th and discover our current offerings.
2. Subscribe to our Newsletter to learn more about our personal "why."
3. Tune in to our Podcast to get to know us and our vision.

Join us: https://solutionexec.com/

If you have thoughts, questions, or want to get involved, reach out to [email protected].