# Ben Jaderstrom

VP, Majors @ Cognition (Devin) | Building the team shaping the future of software engineering  
Cognition  
San Francisco Bay Area

## At Cognition

- Role: VP, Majors Sales (Sales/GTM)
- Joined: Apr 2025
- How they joined: With Windsurf (https://www.autumn.ai/resources/cognition/acquisitions/windsurf)
- Before Cognition: Regional VP, Enterprise Sales (West), Grafana Labs
- Overlapped before Cognition with other Cognition people at: Grafana Labs; Salesforce (https://www.autumn.ai/resources/cognition/worked-together)

## Identity
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaderstrom
- Domain: cognition.ai

## Notes
- Announced in Apr 2026 that he had 're-joined Cognition following the Windsurf acquisition to help lead and scale the Majors sales org'. He named Windsurf colleagues Sandeep Shah, Isaac Kim, Henry G., Alex Maske and Jeff Wang, plus Nicholas Erdenberger, Russell Kaplan and Scott Wu. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benjaderstrom_a-few-months-overdue-i-am-fired-up-to-share-activity-7449854652935847936-DL_U)
- Current role (since Feb 2026): VP, Majors Sales at Cognition, leading Retail & CPG, Healthcare, Industrials, Media & Gaming, Travel & Hospitality, and Telco. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaderstrom)
- Joined Windsurf (Codeium) in Apr 2025 as Regional VP, West & APAC, hired to scale the team after its Series C. He stayed through Cognition's July 2025 acquisition of Windsurf. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaderstrom)
- Sept 2026 post: Cognition run-rate revenue went from $492M to almost $900M in four months. The post also covered a $2B raise at a $48B valuation led by a16z and Accel, and the SWE-2 and Devin Fusion launches. He was hiring leaders and reps across all six Majors verticals. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benjaderstrom_four-months-ago-cognitions-run-rate-revenue-activity-7505314698628632576-MmUY)
- In Aug 2025 Resolve AI CEO Spiros Xanthos announced Ben as VP of Worldwide Sales: 'Helping scale GTM at Grafana (40x growth) and Windsurf, he saw the impact of AI and the gap in production systems.' His LinkedIn role list does not show this stint. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/spiros_im-thrilled-to-welcome-ben-as-our-vp-of-activity-7363597417448968193-KAmV)
- At Windsurf his team reported 610% quota attainment in Q1 FY26 and 194% in Q2 FY26. It closed the two largest Windsurf deals in company history plus Fortune 20/100/500 logos. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaderstrom)
- Oct 2026 post: 14,000 Citi engineers now use Devin, and Citi CEO Jane Fraser said in-sourcing cut vendor spend 30% YoY. His recurring framing: 'what would you do with an infinite army of software engineers?' (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benjaderstrom_14000-citi-engineers-now-use-devin-on-activity-7518368429171425280-5cek)
- Promoted Cognition's AI Productivity Guarantee: if Devin delivers less engineering value than the customer pays, Cognition funds usage until it does, up to $10M. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benjaderstrom_today-cognition-is-introducing-the-%F0%9D%90%80%F0%9D%90%88-%F0%9D%90%8F%F0%9D%90%AB%F0%9D%90%A8%F0%9D%90%9D%F0%9D%90%AE%F0%9D%90%9C%F0%9D%90%AD%F0%9D%90%A2%F0%9D%90%AF%F0%9D%90%A2%F0%9D%90%AD%F0%9D%90%B2-activity-7468418008370200576-WoPo)
- Posted that Cognition raised $1B at a $26B valuation, that Devin writes 89% of PRs at Cognition, that enterprise usage was up 10x, and that run-rate revenue hit $492M. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benjaderstrom_%F0%9D%97%96%F0%9D%97%BC%F0%9D%97%B4%F0%9D%97%BB%F0%9D%97%B6%F0%9D%98%81%F0%9D%97%B6%F0%9D%97%BC%F0%9D%97%BB-%F0%9D%97%B7%F0%9D%98%82%F0%9D%98%80%F0%9D%98%81-%F0%9D%97%BF%F0%9D%97%AE%F0%9D%97%B6%F0%9D%98%80%F0%9D%97%B2%F0%9D%97%B1-activity-7465446546973560832-AP-J)
- His rejoin post cited Devin customer results: Nubank 8x efficiency and 20x cost savings, Itau migrating 59 services from .NET to Java over 6x faster, and Citi and Goldman deploying Devin at scale. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benjaderstrom_a-few-months-overdue-i-am-fired-up-to-share-activity-7449854652935847936-DL_U)
- Resolve AI's announcement quoted him: 'Writing software isn't the bottleneck anymore. Running production is.'. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/resolveai_huge-news-we-are-incredibly-excited-to-activity-7363585809913913346-_JUE)
- Grew Windsurf West & APAC front-line leadership from 1 to 4 and AEs from 7 to 15 in 10 weeks ahead of the Cognition acquisition. He also built a candidate scoring system to standardize the ICP and hiring. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaderstrom)
- Grafana Labs Regional VP Enterprise Sales (West), 2023-2025: 27 AEs across NorCal, SoWest, PNW and the Rockies. FY25 the team ranked #1 in AMER and closed a $23M TCV deal at a Fortune 10 company (2nd-largest TCV in Grafana history). (https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaderstrom)
- Cognition headline-sponsored RAISE Summit 2026 at the Louvre in Paris (July 8-9). He worked the event, which had Scott Wu's keynote, a Devin AI Lounge and the Aston Martin Aramco F1 show car. Mercedes-Benz, Snyk, Aston Martin F1 and Ferrovial spoke as customers. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benjaderstrom_what-a-week-feeling-fired-up-after-raise-activity-7482826920020070401-lJhJ)
- Credited Cognition's Marketing team (Zach Diamond, Nicole Zuuring, Carolina Barberii, Mariko Funai, Justine T.) and Forward-Deployed Engineering team (Arjun Mishra, Eashan Sinha, Roshan Fernando, Harrison Reeves) for RAISE. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benjaderstrom_what-a-week-feeling-fired-up-after-raise-activity-7482826920020070401-lJhJ)
- Grafana Labs path: Enterprise AE (2020), Regional Director Enterprise Sales (2021-2024), RVP (2023-2025). Resolve AI's CEO later credited him with helping scale Grafana GTM through 40x growth. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaderstrom)
- Public headline says "VP, Majors @ Cognition (Devin) | Building the team shaping the future of software engineering". (https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaderstrom)
- Across Grafana, Windsurf and Cognition, his posts end with the same 'we are hiring, every role' call. His LinkedIn history stresses team building (promoting RSDs to RVP, leadership benches). (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benjaderstrom_a-few-months-overdue-i-am-fired-up-to-share-activity-7449854652935847936-DL_U)
- At Salesforce 2014-2020 he worked as Account Manager, then Manager of Advertising Services, then AE and Senior AE on the Krux Digital (DMP) team, then Enterprise AE for Thunderhead. All were acquired-company product desks inside Salesforce. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaderstrom)
- Started in ad tech at Adconion Direct as Advertising Analyst (2012) and then Digital Marketing Manager (2013-2014). (https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaderstrom)
- Holds a BS in Business Administration and Management from San Diego State University (2007-2011). (https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaderstrom)
- Founded the music site thissongslaps.com (2010-2014) while at San Diego State. His early skill list (blogging, blogger outreach, Ableton Live, WordPress) reflects that side project. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaderstrom)
- Previous roles include Regional VP, West & APAC (Windsurf) at Cognition; Regional VP, Enterprise Sales (West) at Grafana Labs; Regional Director, Enterprise Sales at Grafana Labs; Enterprise Account Executive at Grafana Labs; Enterprise Account Executive, Thunderhead at Salesforce; Senior Account Executive, Krux Digital at Salesforce; Account Executive, Krux Digital at Salesforce; Manager, Advertising Services at Salesforce. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaderstrom)
- Education history includes Bachelor of Science - BS, Business Administration and Management, San Diego State University. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaderstrom)
- Location is San Francisco Bay Area. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaderstrom)

## Experience
- VP, Majors Sales at Cognition - San Francisco Bay Area (Feb 2026 - Present): Rejoined Cognition following Windsurf acquisition to lead and scale the Majors org.

Leading: Retail & CPG, Healthcare, Industrials, Media & Gaming, Travel & Hospitality, and Telco
- Regional VP, West & APAC (Windsurf) at Cognition - San Francisco Bay Area (Apr 2025 - Jan 2026): Acquired by Cognition (July 2025).

Led West & APAC enterprise sales through acquisition. 

———

2nd-Line Strategic & Enterprise Sales Leader overseeing GTM across West & APAC. Hired to scale the team post-Series C and prepare the business for IPO or strategic acquisition.

Team Performance:
- Q2 FY26: 194% quota attainment
- Q1 FY26: 610% quota attainment
- Team closed the 2 largest Windsurf (SaaS) deals in company history
- Team closed Fortune 20, 100, and 500 logos

Leadership Impact
- Promoted one RSD to RVP
- Quadrupled front-line leadership (1 → 4) and doubled AE headcount (7 → 15) in 10 weeks—built an A+ team ahead of the acquisition by Cognition
- Built repeatable processes for data collection and outbound prospecting, enabling higher VP+ engagement across West & APAC GTM teams.
- Helped own rollout and adoption of sales tech tools to increase pipeline fidelity while improving coaching and performance management at scale. 
- Created a candidate criteria and scoring system to standardize our ICP, evaluate critical areas (experience + intangibles), and streamline interview processes.

About Windsurf
Windsurf is redefining how software is built. As creators of the first agentic IDE, we use advanced AI to eliminate inefficiencies in the software development lifecycle, empowering developers to move faster, innovate more, and unlock their full potential.
- Regional VP, Enterprise Sales (West) at Grafana Labs - Los Angeles, California, United States (May 2023 - Apr 2025): 2nd-Line Strategic & Enterprise Sales Leader
Oversaw a team of 27 AEs across 5 regional territories (NorCal, SoWest, PNW, and the Rockies). Focused on scaling high-performing teams, driving pipeline velocity, and developing future leaders.

Team Performance – FY25
- #1 in AMER | #2 globally (of 7) in NACV/bookings
- Q4: #1 globally in NACV + pipeline
- Q3: #4 in NACV | #1 in pipeline
- Q2: #2 in NACV | #1 in pipeline
- Q1: #3 in NACV | #2 in pipeline
- 46% YoY growth on mid/high 8-figure ARR base
- 108.8% annual renewal rate on same ARR base
- Team closed 2nd largest TCV ($23M) & 3rd largest NACV deal ($4M) in company history at a Fortune 10 company

Leadership Impact
- Recruited and developed 3 RSDs → successor ranked #3 of 18 in NORAM
- Promoted 2 AEs → front-line leaders and multiple AEs → higher IC levels
- Built a durable leadership bench and succession plan for long-term growth
- Designed and led the West's transition into Growth and New Logo segments, resulting in clearer ownership, faster onboarding, consumption, and improved attainment.
- Regional Director, Enterprise Sales at Grafana Labs - Los Angeles, California, United States (Aug 2021 - Apr 2024): 1st-Line Enterprise Sales Leader | SoWest, NorCal & West

Strategic Scope
- Moved to LA to launch and scale Grafana’s “SoWest” sales region (SoCal, NV, AZ) post-Series C
- Led GTM execution across 3 configurations:
- FY22 – West (7 AEs)
- FY23 – NorCal & SoWest (8 AEs)
- FY24 – SoWest standalone (6 AEs)
- Built early regional culture, operating cadence, and field momentum through hypergrowth

Team Performance
- FY23: President’s Club (Saint Lucia)
- FY23: 106% overall quota attainment
- Q1 FY23: 140% quota attainment
- Q3 FY23: 159% quota attainment
- Q4 FY23: Promoted to RSD 2
- FY22: President’s Club (Guanacaste, Costa Rica)
- FY22: 201% overall quota attainment
- Q3 FY22: 148% quota attainment
- Q4 FY22: 235% quota attainment
- Q4 FY22: 100% of ramped reps hit quota (5 of 5)

Leadership Development
- Hired 12 AEs across FY22–FY24; promoted 5, including 3 to 1st-line RSDs
- Coached multiple reps to President’s Club and breakout performances
- Developed a semi-automated system to track pipeline progression and meeting cadence across reps, accounts, and sales stages, enabling data-driven coaching and performance management
- Designed and delivered multi-track enablement programs covering pipeline generation, negotiation, champion-building, executive alignment, ROI storytelling, and objection handling
- Enterprise Account Executive at Grafana Labs - San Francisco Bay Area (Apr 2020 - Jul 2021): Joined Grafana Labs at ~$10M ARR as employee #140 and rep #10, responsible for building early pipeline and closing foundational logos during Series A–B growth.

Highlights & Impact
- FY22: Achieved 103% quota attainment in just 5 months
- Q2 FY22: 324% attainment — ranked #1 globally
- Q2 FY22: Closed Grafana’s largest-ever (at the time) self-sourced new logo and TCV deal by 3X ($3M)
- Q1 & Q2 FY22: Recognized as “Impact Player” by VP, WW Sales
- Q3 FY21: Closed $279K new logo with a $0 ramp quota
- Closed logos: Workday, Salesforce, Genesys, Pinterest, Tinder, Match.com, CBRE, and more
- Enterprise Account Executive, Thunderhead at Salesforce - San Francisco Bay Area (Feb 2019 - Apr 2020): 1st dedicated AE for Interaction Studio (OEM partnership powered by Thunderhead, which Medallia acquired in January 2022), covering enterprise accounts nationally. 

Achievements:
- FY20: 148% quota attainment
- FY20: 378% YoY growth

With Marketing Cloud Interaction Studio, you can visualize, track, and manage customer experiences across all channels with real-time interaction management. Use customer experiences to drive valuable engagement at the right moment and just the way your audience prefers.
- Senior Account Executive, Krux Digital at Salesforce - San Francisco Bay Area (Feb 2018 - Jan 2019): Achievements:
- FY19: 144% quota attainment
- FY19: awarded AE of the Year by AVP
- FY19: President’s Club (Maui, HI)
- FY19: promoted to Enterprise Account Executive
- Account Executive, Krux Digital at Salesforce - San Francisco Bay Area (Feb 2016 - Jan 2018): Salesforce acquired Krux Digital, a leading Data Management Platform (DMP), for $700M in 2016 to bolster its cross-channel / cross-device capabilities for Salesforce Marketing Cloud.

Achievements:
- FY18: 193% quota attainment ($5M closed)
- FY18: awarded Cloud Sales AE of the Year by COO
- FY18: President’s Club (Kauai, HI)
- FY18: promoted to Senior Account Executive
- FY17: 162% quota attainment
- FY17: awarded Rookie AE of the Year by AVP
- FY17: President’s Club (Maui, HI)
- Manager, Advertising Services at Salesforce - San Francisco Bay Area (Jul 2015 - Jan 2016): - 1st line leader overseeing advertising campaigns for SFDC's largest Advertising customers
- Responsible for strategically deploying millions of dollars in monthly advertising spend 
- Led a team to drive revenue growth and client satisfaction through strategic advertising services
- Frequently worked with sales to sell the value of managed services and help close deals
- Account Manager at Salesforce - San Francisco Bay Area (Apr 2014 - Jun 2015): - Post-sales onboarding, management, and success for SFDC's largest AdTech customers
- Cultivated relationships with strategic customers to drive ongoing growth and satisfaction
- Digital Marketing Manager at Adconion Direct - San Diego, CA (Mar 2013 - Apr 2014): Responsible for deploying and managing digital advertising campaigns for Fortune 500 brands like Nike, Safeway, Microsoft, and more.
- Advertising Analyst at Adconion Direct - San Diego, CA (Mar 2012 - Feb 2013): Analyzing and optimizing the performance of digital advertising for Fortune 500 brands.
- Founder at thissongslaps.com - San Diego, CA (Oct 2010 - Mar 2014): While in college at SDSU, I built, managed, and scaled a global music publication to support up-and-coming artists by promoting their freely distributed music.

- Scaled the site from 0 to 25,000+ daily visitors, 80,000+ Facebook fans, and 20,000+ Twitter followers; formerly ranking in the top 75,000 websites worldwide
- Developed several recurring revenue streams including advertising (direct sales, ad networks, and via Google AdSense), sponsored articles, paid reviews, and weekly sponsored artists
- Recruited and managed a team of 50+ contributors and 525+ college campus representatives
- Designed and sourced the production of clothing, accessories, banners, and stickers that were shipped to fans, contributors, and campus representatives worldwide to promote the site locally
- Managed social media presence, marketing, branding, event coverage, and content creation
- Managed relations with multiple ad networks and managed Facebook, Google, & Twitter advertising
- Outsourced web development, graphic design, admin work, SEO, and managed contractors

## Education
- San Diego State University - Bachelor of Science - BS, Business Administration and Management - (Jan 2007 - Jan 2011): Sigma Alpha Lambda (National Leadership & Honors Organization) & Dean's List.

## Sources
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaderstrom
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaderstrom?miniProfileUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_profile%3AACoAAAng9moBHDvLOB1JbhXwdhuXspSykbdiuUs
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benjaderstrom_sequoia-backed-grafana-labs-reaches-3-billion-activity-6836047199030403072-PzJW
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/spiros_im-thrilled-to-welcome-ben-as-our-vp-of-activity-7363597417448968193-KAmV
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/resolveai_huge-news-we-are-incredibly-excited-to-activity-7363585809913913346-_JUE
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benjaderstrom_a-few-months-overdue-i-am-fired-up-to-share-activity-7449854652935847936-DL_U
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benjaderstrom_four-months-ago-cognitions-run-rate-revenue-activity-7505314698628632576-MmUY
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benjaderstrom_14000-citi-engineers-now-use-devin-on-activity-7518368429171425280-5cek
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benjaderstrom_today-cognition-is-introducing-the-%F0%9D%90%80%F0%9D%90%88-%F0%9D%90%8F%F0%9D%90%AB%F0%9D%90%A8%F0%9D%90%9D%F0%9D%90%AE%F0%9D%90%9C%F0%9D%90%AD%F0%9D%90%A2%F0%9D%90%AF%F0%9D%90%A2%F0%9D%90%AD%F0%9D%90%B2-activity-7468418008370200576-WoPo
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benjaderstrom_%F0%9D%97%96%F0%9D%97%BC%F0%9D%97%B4%F0%9D%97%BB%F0%9D%97%B6%F0%9D%98%81%F0%9D%97%B6%F0%9D%97%BC%F0%9D%97%BB-%F0%9D%97%B7%F0%9D%98%82%F0%9D%98%80%F0%9D%98%81-%F0%9D%97%BF%F0%9D%97%AE%F0%9D%97%B6%F0%9D%98%80%F0%9D%97%B2%F0%9D%97%B1-activity-7465446546973560832-AP-J
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benjaderstrom_what-a-week-feeling-fired-up-after-raise-activity-7482826920020070401-lJhJ


Researched with Autumn (https://www.autumn.ai) from public sources. Updated 2026-11-04. Profile: https://www.autumn.ai/resources/cognition/people/ben-jaderstrom · Everyone at Cognition: https://www.autumn.ai/resources/cognition/people