Sales Training and Professional Development Organization

Dave Mattson is a best-selling author, sales and management thought leader, keynote speaker and leader for sales training seminars around the world. As CEO and President of Sandler Training, Mr. Mattson oversees the corporate direction and strategy for the company’s global operations including sales, marketing, consulting, alliances and support. His key areas of focus are sales leadership, strategy and client satisfaction.

Under Dave Mattson’s leadership, the Sandler organization expanded domestically and internationally to over 230 offices in 30 countries around the world.

After a brief stint in public accounting at Price Waterhouse, Dave spent the next 27 years of his career in marketing and advertising professional solutions- focused specifically on the development of performance creative and content solutions for large enterprise organizations. This experience included 10 years in various account leadership and business development roles within the EuroRSCG organization as well as another 10 years with New Control Direct & Digital. Dave was President & CEO of New Control in 2014 when it was acquired by Merkle where he subsequently led their creative and content service lines until 2021. Dave’s industry and brand experience is quite broad, as he has worked extensively with Sony, Visa, Liberty Mutual, WellPoint, AAA, Allstate, Constellation Energy, Chase, Gap, AstraZeneca, Humana and Citi. In 2022, Dave joined Sandler as Chief Operating Officer before his current role as President, where he remains focused on Sandler’s transformation from sales training services to more holistic sales performance solutions. In 2022, Dave joined Sandler as Chief Operating Officer where he was instrumental during the launch of PerformanceIQ, the company’s innovative solution to help teams identify and grow top talent to accelerate success. As President, he remains focused on Sandler’s transformation from sales training services to more holistic sales performance solutions.

Before joining Sandler, Seth spent the last six years at Forrester advising Go-To-Market executives on how to achieve their growth objectives. Prior to this he was a consultant and senior vice president leading sales operations and marketing organizations for multiple private equity-backed companies ranging in size from $200 million to $1 billion, where he handled customer acquisition, sales execution, and sales enablement.

Before going into private equity, Seth led sales operations for Carl Zeiss Meditec in the United States and held multiple executive sales and service roles at GE Healthcare, including leading sales operations for GE Life Sciences EMEA, building and running a global lean organization for the $3 billion life sciences division of GE Healthcare, and leading sales enablement for the US region (which represented $7 billion of GE Healthcare’s revenue).

Education

Seth received a BA in marketing and a master’s in finance from the University of La Verne, an MBA from the University of Oxford, and an MS in data science from Northwestern University.

Paula Driesell brings over 25 years of senior human resource experience with a focus on operational and strategic HR practices. She oversees all aspects of human resource management and establishes and develops infrastructures for companies to effectively support rapid business growth and change.

She has experience with sales, IT consulting, enterprise services and manufacturing environments. She has proven success in creating cultures of collaboration and implementing change to achieve workforce excellence.

Paula graduated from the University of Maryland with BS in Journalism.

Luke Blazejak brings over 10 years of accounting and financial management experience in both the public and private sectors across a variety of industries. Luke began his career in public accounting with KPMG LLP in their audit practice for several years prior to joining a multi-billion dollar publicly traded company to lead the finance team of one of their premier divisions.

He now oversees all finance related functions of the organization including financial forecasting and budgeting, operational accounting, tax and debt compliance, technical accounting, and internal and external financial reporting. He has experience leading large finance teams, creating operational efficiencies through process improvement, and driving improved business results through financial insights.

Luke graduated from Salisbury University with Bachelors’ degrees in both Accounting and Finance and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the State of Maryland.

Michael Norton still considers himself a constant student of the game when it comes to performance development and helping organizations meet and exceed their goals. He brings more than 25 years of experience in helping to drive leadership, sales management, and sales success for companies of all sizes.

Michael has developed, delivered, and created reinforcement programs that deliver real ROI while fitting into a company’s culture, processes, daily sales workflow, and budget. Having founded two companies prior to joining Sandler, he is considered one of the earliest pioneers of micro-learning for personal and professional development. Michael is also the former President of the Zig Ziglar Corporation.

Shannon Howell has been practicing law for over 24 years. Prior to joining Sandler in 2006, she was in private practice at a large law firm with her focus on franchise and distribution law. Shannon is head of the Legal Department at Sandler.

Shannon graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Arts, Magna Cum Laude, in Government and Politics, and from University of Baltimore School of Law with a Juris Doctor, Magna Cum Laude.

Kerri Martinek brings over 25 years of marketing and business strategy, with demonstrated success in building innovative marketing programs, processes, and teams required to drive scalable growth.

Her entrepreneurial spirit and understanding of marketing strategies for both SMB and Enterprise sized organizations has helped to accelerate revenue growth, brand equity, and market expansion at over 40 companies across a variety of industries.

Kerri graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a BS in Business Administration and has her MBA in Marketing from Babson F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business.

Lisa Ellis is passionate and innovative product leader with over a decade of experience in designing, deploying, and managing transformative learning experiences for revenue operations teams.

With deep expertise in the transformation of more traditional learning methods, Lisa builds learning experiences that successfully bridge the digital-physical divide. Her focus has primarily involved revenue teams, where she has led the design and implementation of training and performance programs that have developed more than 500,000 learners
In addition to her success in supporting sales performance transformation, Lisa holds a M. Ed. In Technology, Innovation and Education from Harvard

Tina brings over 20 years of sales performance, customer success, and client enablement experience to Sandler. Her passion for driving and delivering the best client experience has helped organizations embrace and sustain the Sandler methodology. With her perspective of starting as a client she is focused on delivering the best experience for both enablement teams and learners.
Tina graduated from Liberty University with a BS in Psychology.

Karrie is a seasoned technology executive with more than 30 years of experience shaping, scaling, and modernizing technology organizations. With a strong background in technology training and compliance, Karrie brings a deep understanding of how people, process, and platforms come together to drive meaningful business outcomes.

She spent nearly a decade in consulting, partnering with organizations to integrate learning and training technologies into existing technology infrastructures, ensuring solutions were not only innovative, but practical, secure, and sustainable.

In her role, Karrie leads teams across Learning Technology, CRM, Help Desk, Web Services, and Information Security, guiding a unified technology strategy that supports both operational excellence and long-term growth. Known for her ability to translate complex challenges into clear, actionable solutions, she is a strategic thought leader focused on innovation, integration, and simplification, leveraging technology as a catalyst for progress and organizational impact.