Sales Engineer of the Year 2025 is a wrap: what the contest taught us about great Sales Engineers

Over the past three months, the NAASE community turned a simple idea, recognizing standout Sales Engineers, into a continent‑wide celebration of the craft. Interest was strong across North America, with more than 600 downloads of the nomination materials and 67 entries submitted by self- and peer-nominators from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Texas (11) and California (9) led the way, with entries spanning multiple industries and seniority levels.

Why we ran SE2025

We launched the contest to spotlight the professionals who turn problems into possibilities: the people who simplify complexity, drive adoption, and anchor trust in the buying journey. That ethos guided the program criteria and recognition tiers from day one. Awards emphasized measurable Impact, Innovation, and Leadership & Community, and recognition extended beyond the winner to finalists, nominees, and nominators.

How it worked

SE2025 ran as a two‑stage competition reviewed by a six‑judge panel. Judges scored entries against our rubric, with the top candidates advancing to a finalist round. From there, finalists submitted brief videos, which were independently scored by multiple judges using a composite that included clarity of presentation, difference made, and outreach. In total, ten finalists advanced to the video round and eight submitted presentations.

Key dates kept the program moving: nominations opened July 15, closed September 15, finalists were announced October 7, and the winner was revealed October 21. A winner’s live webinar follows in November 2025.

The (delightfully) unexpected

We also experimented. And learned. This year, we allowed unlimited peer nominators per nominee. One entrant’s supporters truly ran with it: 18 separate peers put their name forward. (More on him in a moment.) We also had a laugh-then-gulp moment when we discovered one nominee had no idea they’d been nominated until we reached out: an honor in itself, even if he didn’t ultimately reach the finalist list. And like every good deadline story, the last 72 hours were a sprint: three days before the cutoff, we worried about too few entries; immediately after, we worried about having enough judge capacity to do the surge justice. That tension is exactly what made this program feel alive—the community showed up when it mattered.

Meet the 2025 SE of the Year: Ryan Bivinetto (BlackBerry Radar)

After all six judges independently submitted their scores—without knowing how others voted or seeing cumulative results—the combined totals revealed Ryan Bivinetto, Sales Engineering Manager (Global) at BlackBerry Radar, as the 2025 NAASE Sales Engineer of the Year. Ryan brings an operations‑first lens to telematics: he came up through roles as an EMT, electrician, and fleet maintenance professional before moving into presales, making him a bridge between real‑world constraints and elegant solutions. At Radar, he averages 10 enterprise wins a year, sits on the Product Council shaping patent‑backed capabilities, and is credited by customers with analytics dashboards and a maintenance module that surfaced new revenue and helped cut overdue service events by 25%+ in a quarter. He also builds reusable demo frameworks and SE toolkits, mentors “Future Leaders” cohorts, and has been nominated by 18 peers.

Two short quotes capture why Ryan stood out. NAASE President Diana Diaco Cervantes told us, “Ryan exemplifies what great sales engineers do for customers and teams.” Sachin Wadhawan, NAASE Board Member and author of Trust Your SE, added that Ryan “turns know‑how into assets the rest of the team can reuse.”

What this says about the profession

Ryan’s story, and many of the finalist stories, underscore a broader truth about modern sales engineering. The very best SEs operationalize their insights: they codify what works, build assets others can run with, and shorten the time from curiosity to value. They teach as they go: with customers, with product, and with their own teams. They also measure what matters: not just “I built a cool demo,” but “we recovered a stalled POC,” “we increased uptime,” “we shifted the adoption curve.” That mix of craft, generosity, and evidence is where the bar is moving.

A finalist community worth following

This year’s ten finalists came from oil & gas, manufacturing, fintech, software, and more; they represented California, Texas, New Jersey, South Carolina, Washington, Indiana, Ohio, Ontario, and beyond. To keep momentum (and cross‑pollination) going, we’re formalizing the Finalist Guild, a merit‑based community with a private Slack channel, so finalists can swap ideas and help shape the profession together. We’re also preparing a research brief that summarizes finalist submissions (with permissions) to highlight repeatable practices the field can adopt.

What’s next

SE2025 doesn’t end with a press release; it continues as shared learning. In November 2025, we’ll host a live AMA with Ryan to unpack his playbooks—from analytics dashboards to reusable demo frameworks, and answer your questions. Keep an eye on the SE2025 page and NAASE channels for the date and registration details.

In the meantime, revisit the SE2025 page for the winner profile, the finalist gallery, the recognition tiers, and the judging criteria. If you’re an SE leader, consider borrowing the rubric for your own team’s internal awards or Q4 retros. If you’re an individual SE, use the criteria to frame your impact story for 2026 reviews (and perhaps next year’s award).

Thank you to every nominee who put their work on the record, to every colleague who raised a hand to nominate, and to our judges who read, watched, and deliberated with care. SE2025 reaffirmed what many of us already believed: sales engineering is a team sport with measurable outcomes, and the professionals who practice it well lift entire companies. As Diana put it, Ryan exemplifies what great SEs do—and we saw that spirit in so many entries this year. Here’s to carrying it forward.