Darlene Sullivan is a dynamic and proven executive with a distinguished career spanning over three decades in the technology industry. As a highly accomplished sales leader, she is known for building high-performing teams that drive top-line revenue, expand profitability, and enhance customer satisfaction within some of the world’s most complex, fast-evolving organizations. With extensive experience in IT and digital transformation, workforce modernization, and enterprise security, Darlene has consistently acted as a powerful catalyst for change—helping global clients adapt, thrive, and grow in an age of continuous disruption.
Most recently, Darlene served as the Client Partner Executive at Dell Technologies for Ford Motor Company from 2017 to 2022, where she successfully led a global 145+ person sales and delivery team. Her leadership directly contributed to more than $600 million in revenue by unifying the entire Dell Technologies portfolio—Dell, Dell EMC, SecureWorks, Virtustream, VMware/Pivotal, Boomi, and RSA—to solve business and financial challenges, close talent gaps, and accelerate IT and cloud transformation. Under her guidance, the team consistently exceeded revenue targets, improved profitability, and delivered outstanding client satisfaction, maintaining an NPS score of 9 out of 10 for five consecutive years. Her strategic approach facilitated multi-cloud deployments, modernized data architecture, and helped Ford align governance, risk, and compliance priorities with the RSA Archer Software Suite. In recognition of her team’s impact, they were honored with a prestigious Ford World Excellence Award in 2021.
Prior to her success at Dell, Darlene held multiple executive roles at Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) from 1996 to 2016. As Vice President of Global Accounts for the Central Region, she led a $750M+ business encompassing some of the world’s largest Fortune 100 companies. She drove consistent year-over-year growth and operating profit, leveraging HPE’s broad portfolio to meet the evolving needs of enterprise clients across hybrid infrastructure, IoT, cloud, analytics, and mobility. Her track record includes designing a landmark five-year committed spend agreement with General Motors, delivering a CAGR of 8%, and closing the largest ELA in HP software history with a $147M agreement.
Darlene’s leadership impact was equally profound in earlier roles, including Vice President of the Manufacturing Vertical and Managing Sales Director for Global Accounts. She oversaw billions in worldwide portfolio revenue and orchestrated multi-tier enterprise architectures for major clients such as Ford, GM, Apple, Johnson Controls, and Boeing. At Compaq Computer Corporation, she led the $330M global relationship with General Motors, doubling revenue and managing a 150+ person team across geographies.
Her career began at Unisys Corporation, where she held a variety of sales positions serving the public sector and financial clients. A lifelong learner and advocate for professional development, Darlene holds an MBA in Finance and a BS in Business Administration from Wayne State University. She has also completed executive education at Simmons School of Management and numerous industry certifications, including the HP Executive License to Practice and Dell’s Client Executive Endorsement Program.
Darlene is a passionate mentor and leader in women’s empowerment initiatives. She has served as a facilitator for executive leadership programs, participated in the Elevating Women Mentor Program, and contributed to shaping future industry leaders through roles on the Industry X Advisory Board and Michigan Council of Women in Technology.
With a unique combination of strategic foresight, sales acumen, and an unwavering commitment to customer success, Darlene Sullivan continues to lead with purpose—transforming businesses, empowering teams, and delivering exceptional outcomes in every endeavor.
Character
Darlene Sullivan demonstrates exceptional integrity, resilience, and a passion for mentorship, consistently leading with purpose while building trust-based relationships with clients, colleagues, and executive teams. Her unwavering commitment to excellence and empowering others is reflected in her long-standing leadership roles and contributions to professional development programs.
Knowledge
With a deep understanding of enterprise technology, digital transformation, and complex sales strategy, Darlene brings decades of expertise across IT, cloud infrastructure, analytics, and security. Her education in finance, executive training, and hands-on leadership in multibillion-dollar portfolios have equipped her with both the technical and business acumen needed to navigate and lead in evolving global markets.
Strategic
Darlene is a forward-thinking leader who consistently drives growth by aligning business and IT goals to deliver measurable outcomes for Fortune 100 clients. From negotiating multimillion-dollar enterprise agreements to developing transformation roadmaps, she excels at identifying high-impact opportunities and executing plans that scale across large, matrixed organizations.
Communication
An articulate and influential communicator, Darlene builds strong executive-level relationships and leads cross-functional teams with clarity and focus. Her ability to engage stakeholders, inspire teams, and translate complex solutions into actionable strategies has been instrumental in fostering long-term client partnerships and delivering sustained business results.
