Talent Spotlight: Senior Sales Director Catie Gehl Shares Her Navan Experience

Senior Director of Mid-Market Sales Catie Gehl joined Navan in early 2023 after spending almost six years at Uber — and says she is thrilled to find that her experience exceeds expectations so far.

Catie joined the Uber for Business team in its early days and focused on developing it for the B2B segment. As her role expanded, she was responsible for selling to different buyer personas within organizations, from travel managers to marketing teams. 

“I got to see a lot. It’s one of my favorite parts about growing an organization. If you really understand the product and the customers, you can provide value to different areas of the business,” she said.

While at Uber, Catie started to hear more and more about Navan. When the opportunity arose to interview with the company, she got excited about its early position in a large market, the product’s excellence, and the company’s momentum.

“I saw firsthand clients’ pain points with Concur, so I understood that there was a better way to do things,” said Catie.

Meeting Navanians

Catie was impressed throughout the interview process by each Navan team member’s caliber of talent and passion. She spoke with people at different levels of the organization and was interested in their stories, drive, and determination to make the company succeed. She also appreciated that Navan had a clear way of communicating and executing based on best practices in the industry, which was different from other organizations she considered.

“Everyone seemed to perform with a high degree of rigor and operational excellence,” she said.

Catie felt even more confident about her decision to join Navan after the exceptional onboarding experience, which included a mix of self-directed learning and an in-person boot camp where new hires meet people from different offices and teams. 

“Something that Navan has always prided itself on with the sales and customer success organization is the onboarding and enablement process, which has continued to show up throughout the lifecycle of my experience as an employee,” said Catie.

Power of In-Person Connections

Catie reports to Kirk Giddens, VP of Mid-Market Sales North America, who has helped her navigate the basics and intricacies of the business. She appreciates the hybrid working model with her New York-based team that comes into the office three days a week. PG Tuesdays and All Hands meetings are particularly energetic, with music, meals, and activities. On PG Tuesdays, the team takes the day off from external meetings to focus on pipeline generation. There’s a Slack channel dedicated to tallying the meetings booked in New York and a friendly competition among teams.

“Working in the office allows everyone to interact with their team and the larger community in New York, which has been fun. I had someone start on my team on Monday, and he’s already able to sit in on meetings to shadow his colleagues to learn best practices. Spending time together in person is a great way to learn,” said Catie, whose team of four is looking to expand.

The ideal candidates have a hunger to succeed and thrive in a dynamic industry ripe for disruption. Catie says she’s looking for people who like to learn, ask questions, strive to deeply understand their product, and help define the go-to-market strategy.

“We’re looking for very driven individuals who get excited by complex sales cycles and selling to CFOs,” said Catie, who emphasized the importance of a collaborative, team-first attitude.

Navan is actively hiring for sales roles globally. See available positions at Navan.