Paul Smith of Red Hat recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Institute for Excellence in Sales. The institute selects an honoree annually from among more than 50 top-level nominees.
“Candidates must have achieved the highest position in their firm’s sales organization, must be from a well-known, well-branded firm, and must have a 30-year-plus record of continual success,” said Fred Diamond, executive director of IES. “They must also have a legacy of producing sales leaders who have gone onto highly successful careers. And they must have a stellar reputation in their business and partner network for excellence, professionalism and success.”
Diamond described Smith as “one of the most successful sales executives in the public sector market.” Through his leadership, Red Hat has grown into one of the top software providers in that market. Red Hat has been a leading provider of Linux and open source technology.
With more than 30 years’ experience marketing technologies to the government marketplace, Smith is senior vice president, general manager of public sector at Red Hat. Smith has previously served as vice president of government operations at VERITAS, where his business unit became the fastest-growing vertical within the company. At Netscape Communication, Smith led sales for its state and local organization. He has also held leadership positions within Oracle and Unisys Corp.
Smith has a bachelor of business administration degree from Loyola University Maryland.
