Salesforce — Power Map

Salesforce Opal 2026 Stage: Proposal Value: $102K (likely ~$70-80K initial) Close: 2026-03-20 (at risk) Updated: 2026-03-16
Champion
Economic Buyer
Technical
Blocker / Gatekeeper
Unknown / Gap
Optimizely
Executive & Budget Authority
Exec Sponsor (Emerging)
Joe Ursinello
President, Emerging Technology · Reports to Benioff
Fully supportive of experimentation expansion. Asking Brandon for Opal expansion vision. New team formed Jan 2026. Not yet engaged on this specific purchase — save for expansion play.
Economic Buyer
Digital MarTech Org Leader UNKNOWN
Barry's boss · Controls budget allocation
Verpee submitted funding request. No response yet — traveling to Hyderabad. This is the single gating decision for the deal. No direct Optimizely engagement.
SVP
Sasha
SVP · Reports to Ursinello
Fully supportive after NYC experimentation on-site. Part of emerging technology org.
Senior Leader
Severio
Reports to Ursinello
Fully supportive after NYC experimentation on-site. Part of emerging technology org.
Budget Sponsorship & Internal Advocacy
Budget Champion
Verpee
Brandon's leadership (exact title unknown)
Made funding request to digital MarTech org leader. Aware of Optimizely's generosity during discovery. Actively championing budget internally. If MarTech denies, Q2 incremental ask is fallback.
Unknown Role
Barry ASSUMED
Digital MarTech Org
Referenced only as reporting layer between MarTech org leader and the team. Unknown disposition, unknown involvement in budget decision.
Champions (Actively Selling Internally)
Primary Champion
Brandon Brackett
Experimentation & Experience Development Lead
Driving pilot, securing executive buy-in. Sharing Opal opportunity deck across org today. Posting "next step: acquire funding" in Slack. Wants to co-develop expansion vision with Optimizely product team. Says process is straightforward once funded.
Technical Evaluators & Users
Technical Champion
Nol Franklin
Lead Experimentation Developer
Mapped entire experimentation process against Opal agents. Built custom agents, tested workflows. "You guys kind of dropped a bomb on us" (on automation). Sole remaining experimentation developer after mid-year reduction. Last contact: 2026-01-16.
Technical User
Cory Jircitano
Experimentation Team Member
Supportive but less vocal. Noted Salesforce doesn't use email — Slack is critical path for adoption. Last contact: 2026-01-16.

Signature Path

1
Champion
Brandon Brackett
Actively socializing deck, building internal momentum. Executive readout complete with positive reception.
2
Internal Sponsor
Verpee
Budget request submitted to digital MarTech org leader.
3
Budget Approval
MarTech Org Leader
No response yet. Leader traveling to Hyderabad. Single gating decision.
4
Order Form
Not started
Conor drafting order form to have ready upon approval. Brandon says process is straightforward once funded.
5
Procurement
Not identified
No named procurement contact. Brandon indicated standard process regardless of funding org.
6
Signature
Not identified
Signatory unknown. Determine once funding org is confirmed.

Deal Context Updated 3/16

Initial Purchase
~$70-80K
Bottom tier (~100K credits). Strategy: use portion for custom agent development, prove value, then expand.
Expansion Path
Custom Agents + Trailhead MAU
Brandon building expansion vision for Joe Ursinello. Trailhead MAU pricing shared, awaiting budget response from that team separately.
Fallback
Q2 Incremental Ask
If MarTech org denies funding. Budgets tight org-wide — "not everyone got 100%" of requests.

Informal Influence Network

Brandon Brackett → reports to → Verpee, who made the budget request to the digital MarTech org leader. Brandon's org has no budget — entirely dependent on lateral funding.
Joe Ursinello → reports to → Marc Benioff (CEO). Joe is asking Brandon for an expansion vision. Top-down interest signal. Save this lever for expansion, not the initial $70-80K purchase.
CMO Directive → mandates → Decentralization of experimentation to PMMs (Americas only). Opal directly enables this. Gives Brandon air cover beyond his immediate chain.
Nol Franklin → validates → Brandon's pitch with hands-on proof. Mapped entire process, built custom agents. Authentic technical credibility layer.
V2MOM Alignment: Experimentation and AI are declared investment areas across Salesforce. Organizational priority, not just team-level interest. Agents, ROI measurement, and expanding experimentation across work streams are priorities.
Sasha & Severio (Ursinello's reports) are supportive after NYC on-site. Emerging technology team formed Jan 2026. Evaluating experimentation at scale, assignment services, cross-platform collision prevention.

Optimizely Team

AE (Account Owner)
Caleb Ping
Account Executive
Primary account owner. Introduced Jan 2026.
Overlay
Conor Leary
Opal Specialist
Deal strategy, order form, product team connections, event coordination. Primary relationship with Brandon.
Solutions
James Stout
Opal Solutions
Technical enablement, environment configuration, workflow demos. Needs Slack Connect access to Salesforce.
CSM
Kevin Dudginski
Customer Success
New CSM introduced Jan 2026. Customer success management.

Map Gaps

Who is the MarTech org leader?
The economic buyer is described only as "Barry's boss" and "the leader of the digital MarTech org." No name, no direct engagement, no relationship.
Ask Brandon: "Can you share the name and title of the person Verpee submitted the budget request to?"
What is Verpee's exact title?
Verpee is championing internally but we don't know their formal authority, budget ownership, or political capital with the MarTech org.
Clarify with Brandon during next sync.
Who is Barry and what's his role?
Barry is referenced as a reporting layer. Unknown whether he influences or is involved in the budget decision.
Ask Brandon: "Is Barry involved in the funding decision, or does this go directly from Verpee to his boss?"
Procurement contact?
Brandon says paper process is straightforward, but no procurement contact is named. Need to avoid delays once budget is approved.
Have order form ready. Ask Brandon to identify procurement upon budget approval.
Contract signatory?
Unknown who signs. May depend on which org provides funding.
Determine once funding source is confirmed.
Nol Franklin engagement gap
Last direct contact was 2026-01-16 — two months ago. He is the technical validator for the business case. Need to confirm pilot data supports the pitch.
Re-engage Nol on technical progress, Slack integration status, and agent utilization needs.
Trailhead team budget holder?
Trailhead MAU is a separate opportunity. Brandon shared pricing but we don't know who decides on that team.
Ask Brandon for Trailhead team contact if budget response is positive.
Legal / security review required?
Unknown whether Salesforce requires legal review, security assessment, or architecture board approval for a ~$70-80K AI tool purchase.
Ask Brandon: "Once funded, are there any legal or security reviews required before signatures?"
✓ Executive readout outcome
RESOLVED: End-of-Feb executive readout received positive reception. Leadership supportive.
Led to current budget request path.
Last Updated: 2026-03-16 — INTERNAL USE ONLY