This sales superstar has achieved President’s Club status not once or twice, but five times throughout his time at Enterasys Networks and later Extreme Networks. Inspired by the strengths exhibited from those around him, Dane has always been driven to learn and grow. He’s been fortunate enough to live in many places across the country, meeting new friends and role models along the way. His innate passion to help his customers succeed makes Dane a phenomenal Account Executive. See how Dane advances with us!

How did you get into technology sales?

My journey goes all the way back to 1988 when I was still in high school. My instructor saw something in me and took me under his wing. He encouraged me to pursue a career in technology and computer science. It sent me down a path and I quickly got started with network engineering during college. In 2010, I joined Extreme as a solutions architect before transitioning to sales two years later as an account executive.

You’ve been with Extreme for 10 years; some people would say that’s a long time. Why have you stayed?

After 10 years, I’ve seen things from a lot of different vantage points and I’ve come to appreciate what makes Extreme, Extreme. I was originally drawn to Extreme because it was a big company without the bureaucracy. While there were challenges, I always and still feel like we face it as a team. Even after being acquired as part of the Enterasys acquisition and watching the company acquire others [Zebra WLAN, Avaya Networking Business, Brocade Data Center Networking Business, and Aerohive Networks], I still feel like Extreme is a big company without bureaucracy. I truly love the passion that our leadership team and employees exhibit on a daily basis. That passion, trust in each other, and the willingness to go into battle together is an incredible motivator. And I don’t see that drive running out anytime soon.

What do you like about Extreme’s core values?

I’ve seen companies that roll out core values and say their culture is built on it, but here at Extreme, our core values aren’t just words on a wall – leaders and employees truly live by them. I personally try to embody them each and every day. Going back to when I first started at Extreme, we had an internal motto, “We never win alone, and we never lose alone. It’s always a team effort.” Ten years later, we still live by this motto. Our core values of transparency, curiosity, candor, inclusion, ownership, and teamwork underpin our success.

What fun things do you like to do outside of work?

My wife and I have two daughters, a 24-year-old and a 17-year-old. We were both very athletic in our younger days, so we like to think we passed our traits along to our girls.  The oldest is now a 2L at Duke law, (very proud parents), and our younger daughter is a junior in high school, who we cheer on at track events on the weekends. We also love cheering on the professional sports teams in the area.

Do you have a fun fact to share?

My favorite sport is soccer. I grew up in the Caribbean and I’ve been in the US for the last 30 years, but I have never abandoned my first love of the sport of soccer. My family and I actually went to the World Cup in Brazil in 2014. I’ve always wanted to go to Brazil to watch some of the sport’s greatest players, and it was amazing to be able to bring my family with me. We took in a game on Copacabana Beach and it was beautiful with the waves in the background. Truly an amazing experience. 

^{[Dane and his family enjoying a World Cup game]}

What’s been your favorite memory at Extreme?

There are so many. Every day I collect new memories of pieces of advice and lessons learned. But, if I had to pick a fun memory, it would definitely be the time I got to bring my wife to Barcelona as part of my President’s Club win that year. I was so thrilled to go to Barcelona because my favorite soccer team in the world is FC Barcelona. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to see the team play because no games were going on, but I was able to go on a tour of the stadium. It was fantastic to see where one of the most prestigious and powerful sporting clubs in the world competes. I’m so thankful to Extreme for the opportunity.

^{[Dane poses with a picture of Lionel Messi at FC Barcelona’s Stadium]}

Do you have any advice that you can share with colleagues or recent college graduates who are considering pursuing a career in sales?

Folks are going to receive a plethora of advice, and I recommend they listen to all and then glean from it the things that are most appropriate for your personality and character. From my experiences, I suggest embracing teamwork. Here at Extreme, I mentioned the biggest thing is you never lose alone. If you go down, you go down fighting as a team. So, be willing to embrace teamwork, work off of each other’s strengths, and work on your weaknesses together. Having a strong work ethic and instilling that in others will motivate the team.

As a leader on Black@Extreme (BEX) our employee resource group for Black and African American employees, what advice do you have for companies that want to empower and drive inclusion for a diverse workforce?

Be purposeful and intentional. I like that Extreme is purposeful with our initiatives. Regardless of race, creed, or background, everyone can contribute to the workplace. Our initiatives are designed to ensure that everyone gets an opportunity to be heard and ensure that they can and feel comfortable being heard.

Join Dane and the rest of the team!

Visit our careers page to explore opportunities in sales as well as the many other roles in which you can advance and help Extreme drive effortless networking experiences for enterprises worldwide.