Pivotal Woos, Hires Ex-Siebel VP

CRM software vendor Pivotal scored a coup this week after hiring Melanie Bell, a former regional vice president of sales at market leader Siebel Systems. Bell becomes Pivotal's senior vice president of North America strategic accounts and central region.

"We're attracting world-class sales executives like Melanie with our aggressive new sales strategy and compelling value proposition," said Bo Manning, president and CEO of Pivotal, in a statement. "Melanie has exceptional sales management talent, unsurpassed drive, and a track record that is second to none in the CRM industry."

Pivotal claims Bell, a five-year Siebel veteran, contributed more than $18 million of license revenues as an individual contributor and $70 million as a manager in a single year. Siebel declined to comment.

So why would Bell leave a market leader for a much smaller rival? It's the growth opportunity, of course. "This is a company positioned for a giant market move by addressing the needs of a large under-served market segment -- the entrepreneurial market," stated Bell. "Pivotal is ideally suited to capture this market by offering a sensible, cost-effective alternative to the 'humongous' CRM vendors."

Bell's hiring comes on the heels of another former Siebel executive's jump to Pivotal. Rob Douglas recently became Pivotal's executive vice president of North American sales and operations, after holding high positions at Siebel, Oracle and IBM.

Calls to Siebel and Pivotal were not returned.