# Canyon Manske GTM at Cognition Cognition Austin, Texas, United States ## At Cognition - Role: GTM - Strategic Account Executive (Sales/GTM) - Joined: Mar 2025 - How they joined: With Windsurf (https://www.autumn.ai/resources/cognition/acquisitions/windsurf) - Before Cognition: Senior Sales Director, Enterprise Sales, Medallia - Overlapped before Cognition with other Cognition people at: Oracle; Medallia (https://www.autumn.ai/resources/cognition/worked-together) ## Identity - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/canyon-manske-47b238b4 - Domain: cognition.ai ## Notes - Marked one year since Cognition acquired Windsurf (2025-07-15) calling it the 'wildest 72 hours' of his career, with recruiters and customers calling and nobody sleeping; credits Scott Wu and Russell Kaplan for seeing that 'the best engineering org and the best GTM org in the AI Space belonged together'. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_one-year-ago-today-cognition-acquired-windsurf-activity-7482997531073945601-YItE) - Joined Windsurf (Codeium) as GTM - Strategic Account Executive in Mar 2025 after leaving Medallia in Feb 2025; Cognition acquired Windsurf in July 2025 and he continued in the same strategic AE role at Cognition from Jul 2025. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/canyon-manske-47b238b4) - Posted about Wells Fargo Technology engineers spending four days at Devin Co:Lab in San Francisco, saying he has 'been lucky to work alongside this team for a while now'. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_wells-fargo-technology-engineers-spent-four-activity-7521673491826311168-W2lu) - Current Cognition role is described as 'Helping enterprises adopt Devin, the world's first AI software engineer', based in Austin, Texas. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/canyon-manske-47b238b4) - His farewell post (2025-03-10) said he was 'thrilled to begin my next chapter at Codeium!' and thanked Meredith Siewert (McCarty), Sebastian Cañizares, Paxton Duff, Chris Li, Dave Frankel, and Sandeep Shah for 'your help getting here', which names the people who helped bring him from Medallia into Codeium/Windsurf. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_friday-marked-my-last-day-at-medallia-a-activity-7304877096739225600-iqzR) - Wrote that in 2024 'Enterprise demand was overwhelming. Devin wasn't ready yet' and that 18 months later Devin is embedded 'from tech-native companies to the most regulated institutions in the world'. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_2024-devin-launches-enterprise-demand-was-activity-7495906786604896256-5QQS) - Described two weeks with seven flights across the US meeting lead engineers and C-suite executives wrestling with 'what does the workforce look like once you embed an AI engineer into it', showing a field-heavy enterprise selling motion. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_two-weeks-seven-flights-across-the-country-activity-7486492446328049664-Oz_p) - Former Medallia colleague Jennifer Ortegon posted 'Medallia ties go deep! So fun getting to work with Canyon Manske and Jake Villas again at Windsurf!' in July 2025, showing a Medallia-to-Windsurf sales cohort moved together. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jenniferortegon_medallia-ties-go-deep-so-fun-getting-to-activity-7349202345836126208-Asv7) - Most recent post (2026-11-03) shared Cognition's 'A Practical Guide to Security in November 2026', arguing the developer laptop is 'the front door to prod'. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_a-practical-guide-to-security-in-november-activity-7523517343872794624-uC_i) - Public headline says "GTM at Cognition". (https://www.linkedin.com/in/canyon-manske-47b238b4) - Promoted Cognition's productive-engineering-hours estimator and the guarantee to 'fund your usage up to $10M' if Devin delivers less value than customers pay, a value-guarantee argument useful in enterprise deals. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_ai-should-earn-its-keep-introducing-the-activity-7468401451225018368--os1) - Commented on the xAI-Cursor deal that 'the strongest independent players' are accelerating amid consolidation, positioning Cognition as an independent winner. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_the-xai-and-cursor-deal-has-a-lot-of-founders-activity-7453042507216592896--f6y) - Spent Aug 2021-Feb 2025 as Senior Sales Director, Enterprise Sales at Medallia (Austin), the role immediately before Windsurf. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/canyon-manske-47b238b4) - Spent about four years at Oracle in Austin (Aug 2017-Aug 2021), moving from Customer Success Manager on ERP Cloud and CX Cloud to Applications Sales Rep for HCM Cloud and then Regional Sales Manager, Marketing Cloud, a customer-success-to-quota-carrier path. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/canyon-manske-47b238b4) - Public headline says "GTM at Cognition". (https://www.linkedin.com/in/canyon-manske-47b238b4) - |"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." -Ben Franklin |; this comes from the profile summary and preserves the person's own positioning. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/canyon-manske-47b238b4) - Called the Devin Oncall launch 'the most excited I've been for a launch in recent time'. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_introducing-devin-oncall-devin-automatically-activity-7516858677983604736-SuKz) - Highlighted Devin Fusion leading FrontierCode 1.1 Extended at $0.60 a task, emphasizing model independence and token-efficient harness as cost arguments. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_most-ai-coding-tools-get-expensive-as-you-activity-7510442063939780608-K7ru) - Reflected on Devin's March 2024 launch backlash ('The internet roasted us') and pointed readers to Jeremy Stern's Colossus profile of Scott Wu, arguing shipping early compounded into enterprise learnings. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_scott-wu-is-the-co-founder-of-cognition-ai-activity-7459946781737668608-lj1A) - |"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." -Ben Franklin |; this comes from the profile summary and preserves the person's own positioning. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/canyon-manske-47b238b4) - Previous roles include GTM – Strategic Account Executive (Windsurf) at Cognition; Senior Sales Director, Enterprise Sales at Medallia; Regional Sales Manager, Marketing Cloud at Oracle; Applications Sales Representative, Human Capital Management Cloud at Oracle; Customer Success Manager Customer Experience Cloud at Oracle; Customer Success Manager ERP Cloud at Oracle; Player Personnel Intern at The University of Texas at Austin; Global Sales lead Intern at Bazaarvoice. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/canyon-manske-47b238b4) - Education history includes Bachelor’s Degree, Economics, The University of Texas at Austin. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/canyon-manske-47b238b4) - Holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from The University of Texas at Austin. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/canyon-manske-47b238b4) - While at Windsurf he shared a Codeium session 'How Codeium gets developers to trust Windsurf' offering a live look at Windsurf in action. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_how-codeium-gets-developers-to-trust-windsurf-activity-7310362529434587136-RIBs) - Interned at Bazaarvoice (Sales Intern 2015, Global Sales Lead Intern May-Sep 2016), supporting the Divisional VP of Global Products with Internet Retailer 500 prospecting and Salesforce work. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/canyon-manske-47b238b4) - Was a Player Personnel Intern with University of Texas at Austin football (May 2016-May 2017), building recruit profiles and supporting game-day operations. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/canyon-manske-47b238b4) - Previous roles include GTM – Strategic Account Executive (Windsurf) at Cognition; Senior Sales Director, Enterprise Sales at Medallia; Regional Sales Manager, Marketing Cloud at Oracle; Applications Sales Representative, Human Capital Management Cloud at Oracle; Customer Success Manager Customer Experience Cloud at Oracle; Customer Success Manager ERP Cloud at Oracle; Player Personnel Intern at The University of Texas at Austin; Global Sales lead Intern at Bazaarvoice. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/canyon-manske-47b238b4) - Education history includes Bachelor’s Degree, Economics, The University of Texas at Austin. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/canyon-manske-47b238b4) - Holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from The University of Texas at Austin. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/canyon-manske-47b238b4) - Westlake football history lists Canyon Manske as 2012 All-District Honorable Mention, Defensive Back. (https://westlakefootballhistory.com/awards) - Location is Austin, Texas, United States. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/canyon-manske-47b238b4) - Location is Austin, Texas, United States. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/canyon-manske-47b238b4) ## Experience - GTM - Strategic Account Executive at Cognition - Austin, Texas, United States (Jul 2025 - Present): Helping enterprises adopt Devin, the world’s first AI software engineer. - GTM – Strategic Account Executive (Windsurf) at Cognition - Austin, Texas, United States (Mar 2025 - Jul 2025): Cognition acquired Windsurf in July 2025 - Senior Sales Director, Enterprise Sales at Medallia - Austin, Texas, United States (Aug 2021 - Feb 2025) - Regional Sales Manager, Marketing Cloud at Oracle - Austin, Texas, United States (May 2020 - Aug 2021) - Applications Sales Representative, Human Capital Management Cloud at Oracle - Austin, Texas Area (Nov 2018 - May 2020) - Customer Success Manager Customer Experience Cloud at Oracle - Austin, Texas Area (Dec 2017 - Nov 2018): Create and deliver a presentation to maximize and improve customer satisfaction survey responses. Act as strategic advocate to ensure clients are successful and grasp the value of their investment with Oracle. Provide best practice and knowledge on the Oracle CX products and solutions. - Customer Success Manager ERP Cloud at Oracle - Austin, Texas Area (Aug 2017 - Dec 2017): CSM's are responsible for leveraging Oracle resources, programs, and information in order to ensure the value of our customer's Oracle Cloud service. Customer satisfaction and retention are the two primary goals of my role. Ensure value through tracking key performance indicators, quarterly health checks, and annual business reviews. - Player Personnel Intern at The University of Texas at Austin - Austin, Texas (May 2016 - May 2017): - Performed administrative and clerical assistant to operations and recruiting staff - Formed prospective profiles for target recruits including highlights, social media profiles, logged calls, and communication exchanges. - Performed roles in prospective player identification, talent evaluation, customer service, and marketing as part of the team's recruiting strategy - Assist with Game Day preparation and operation - Reach out and engage with media members and outlets to confirm recruit’s performance or attendance. - Global Sales lead Intern at Bazaarvoice - Austin, Texas (May 2016 - Sep 2016): Vetted Internet Retailer 500 list for prospective client’s that met Bazaarvoice Consumer Generated Content standards to participate in a brand invite program. - Assist Divisional Vice President of Global Products on multiple aspects of high net-worth account management, including the study of client inquiries, examining portfolios, and integrating client database into Salesforce - Implement research into pitch books for for Divisional Vice President of Global Products for client servicing - Facilitate feedback from prospective and current Internet Retailer 500 clients to Sales Directors and Divisional Vice President of Global Products. - Train other Bazaarvoice employee’s how to use and navigate Confluence Team Collaboration Software - Analyzed and Calculated a weekly Direct Roll-Up Report with formulas in Excel consisting of closed won, commit, and pipeline opportunities in relation to quarterly and fiscal goals. - Performed research using Bazaarvoice Analytics tool and Curations Inspector to form a Live Links document in Confluence with multiple filters, which was used to show prospective clients in similar industries examples that are currently using the Bazaarvoice Curation program. - Created mock-up templates for prospective Curations client’s which were used in pitching opportunities - Sales Intern at Bazaarvoice - Austin, Texas Area (May 2015 - Dec 2015): - Perform active research for Senior Global Sales Lead - Support Senior Global Sales Lead on multiple aspects of high net-worth account management, including the study of client inquiries, examining portfolios, and integrating client database into Salesforce - Implement research into pitch books for Senior Global Sales Lead for client servicing ## Education - The University of Texas at Austin - Bachelor’s Degree, Economics ## Sources - https://www.linkedin.com/in/canyon-manske-47b238b4 - https://www.linkedin.com/in/canyon-manske-47b238b4?miniProfileUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_profile%3AACoAABg9Q58BZwMKJb4Sp2369xr2CypCcwV4GVg - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jenniferortegon_medallia-ties-go-deep-so-fun-getting-to-activity-7349202345836126208-Asv7 - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_how-codeium-gets-developers-to-trust-windsurf-activity-7310362529434587136-RIBs - https://westlakefeatherduster.com/2012/11/13/westlake-falls-short-against-lake-travis-loses-chance-at-district-title/ - https://westlakefootballhistory.com/awards - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_friday-marked-my-last-day-at-medallia-a-activity-7304877096739225600-iqzR - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-mysak-00883445?miniProfileUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_profile%3AACoAAAmOPggBvQQot1yc_iT6GUo1-WPsbw8Pyzc - https://www.linkedin.com/company/cognition-ai-labs/posts - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fiserv/posts - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_one-year-ago-today-cognition-acquired-windsurf-activity-7482997531073945601-YItE - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_wells-fargo-technology-engineers-spent-four-activity-7521673491826311168-W2lu - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_2024-devin-launches-enterprise-demand-was-activity-7495906786604896256-5QQS - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_two-weeks-seven-flights-across-the-country-activity-7486492446328049664-Oz_p - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_a-practical-guide-to-security-in-november-activity-7523517343872794624-uC_i - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_ai-should-earn-its-keep-introducing-the-activity-7468401451225018368--os1 - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_the-xai-and-cursor-deal-has-a-lot-of-founders-activity-7453042507216592896--f6y - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_introducing-devin-oncall-devin-automatically-activity-7516858677983604736-SuKz - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_most-ai-coding-tools-get-expensive-as-you-activity-7510442063939780608-K7ru - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/canyon-manske-47b238b4_scott-wu-is-the-co-founder-of-cognition-ai-activity-7459946781737668608-lj1A Researched with Autumn (https://www.autumn.ai) from public sources. Updated 2026-11-04. Profile: https://www.autumn.ai/resources/cognition/people/canyon-manske · Everyone at Cognition: https://www.autumn.ai/resources/cognition/people