Meet Corra’s new Director of Sales, Brian Benic

As Corra continues to expand, we’ve been seeking out the best and brightest in ecommerce. To that end, we are excited to announce that Brian Benic has recently joined Corra as Director of Sales in our LA office. Coming off of more than 5 years in sales at Magento, Brian brings some amazing knowledge and expertise to our team.

To get to know a little more about Brian, I sat down with him for a quick Q&A. We talked technology, culture, and goals for Corra’s future.

Can you tell me about your background and how you got into ecommerce?
When I graduated from college, I worked in headhunting and recruiting. In that role, I recruited and placed many technical people, and I got to a point where I really started to get interested in certain technologies and what people were doing. I ended up transitioning from recruiting to a tech firm, so that’s when I officially entered the technology space.

The firm was a small startup, but we worked with large brands. It was geared toward abandonment solutions, so looking at how AI could help brands engage shoppers, which was pretty technical even in a sales role. A lot of our customers were working with various ecommerce platforms, but many were moving to Magento. People were asking if our solution was compatible with Magento, so I was hearing a lot about it.

And you ended up working for Magento!
Yes, I finally met Magento at a trade show, and I took a sales position with them. I managed various parts of the globe, from parts of the US to canada to Asia Pacific. It was exciting to get that global exposure and learn about business outside the States. Next I moved into another role managing parts of the sales team for North America.

As Magento was growing and getting ready for divestiture from eBay, it was a really exciting time. I had an opportunity to move into a role geared toward sales operations, so I was involved in setting up operations and processes as we moved outside of eBay. I worked with at least 100 agencies over my 5 years there and built good relationships, but Corra always stood out.

What are some of your other goals for sales at Corra?
I think the biggest piece is just how we hone in on our differentiators. Corra truly is different, we set ourselves apart from the pack, but do we articulate that in our process. Yes, we are passionate about TotalCare and our design process. But there are other things, even those intangibles, that are important to define. I want to make sure our differentiators stand out with so much clarity.

After working at a large company like Magento, are you finding Corra to be a culture shock?
It’s different, but it’s refreshing! It’s similar in that both companies are in the same space, but at Corra I am involved in the strategy and processes at a deeper level. It goes back to the approach on culture and how it’s extremely important. Each and every person has such a critical role, so it’s important we have a good fit.

We were in a meeting yesterday and I was noticing how much passion was in the room. There’s a lot of drive to do good for the customer, and it’s not just about winning the deal. I’m really excited to work with a group of bright, passionate people. It’s so important to continue to have fun and smile, and I feel that here.

Questions of your own for Brian? Email him at [email protected]!