The Thread Podcast

Author: Justin Vandehey

The Thread Podcast explores the future of enterprise sales in the era of AI. Hosted by Justin Vandehey, founder of Thread, we bring together top sales leaders, enablement pros, and innovators shaping how go-to-market teams grow and win.Each episode dives deep into whats changing in salesfrom real-time AI coaching to modern revenue systems of actionand features actionable insights from CROs, RevOps leaders, startup founders, and the technologists building the next generation of tools. Whether youre scaling founder-led sales or leading a global GTM team, youll walk away with new strategies to improve seller performance, accelerate deal cycles, and leverage AI for growth.If youre ready to think differently about sales execution and the future of GTM, follow The Thread and join the conversation.
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Genres: Business, Careers, Entrepreneurship

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From Cisco to IBM: How Professional Services Became the Most Important Role in Enterprise Tech w/ Sanjay Pal, WW VP of Software Professional Services at IBM
Episode 149
Friday, 24 April, 2026

Justin sits down with Sanjay Pal, Worldwide VP of Professional Services at IBM, to explore what it really takes to lead services at global scale and why the role is more strategically important now than ever before.Sanjay draws on his journey from Cisco to Accenture to IBM to break down what has fundamentally changed about services delivery in the AI era, and what has stayed the same. He shares how IBM thinks about standardizing delivery across 16 global markets without sacrificing client experience, why the forward-deployed engineer model is gaining momentum, and how professional services leaders need to evolve from deployment executors into trusted business advisors.He also shares a personal story about his father, who wrote 52 books with pen, paper, and a stack of research clippings, and what that means for what's possible now.Chapters[00:00] Intro and Sanjay's Path to IBM [02:33] What's Changed in Services, and What Hasn't [05:00] How AI Amplifies Delivery Without Replacing Judgment [08:01] Standardization vs. Customization at Global Scale [10:38] The Evolving Role of the Services Leader [12:44] Forward-Deployed Engineers and Leading with Services [15:02] Breaking Down Silos Across Pre-Sales, Implementation, and Post-Sales [16:05] What's Top of Mind Heading into 2026