Odateam Spotlight: Mihaela Riza, VP, Global New Business

Welcome to the OdaTeam Spotlight Series! As the leading Enterprise Data Security and Management Platform for Salesforce, some of the best and brightest in the ecosystem work here at Odaseva at our offices in San Francisco, Paris, Sydney, London, Kuala Lumpur, and remotely around the world. In this Q&A series, we’ll be sharing their journeys with you. And by the way, it’s an exciting time to join the team transforming SaaS data management! You can see our open positions in here.

Today we’re featuring Mihaela Riza, VP, Global New Business

Let's dive in!

‍

Q: Tell us about what you do here at Odaseva

A: My mission since I joined Odaseva in August 2021 was to bring the largest French companies into the Odaseva family. Five years later, this mission became global as I now lead new business globally. 

We started as a team of four incredible dealmakers spread across the world, and together we have been signing Fortune 500 new logos. These are complex, high-stakes enterprise sales which involve long cycles and multiple stakeholders, and I love every bit of it. 

My role sits at the intersection of player and coach: I'm in a leadership role but still very much in the field with the team making sure each person has what they need to perform at their best. There's something deeply satisfying about building a global team that operates with both precision and energy.

‍

Q: What’s the team that you work with like?

A: Honestly, all of the teams I worked with throughout my 15 years of IT sales experience were great and helped me grow in many ways. The OdaTeam is a wonderful team I have appreciated since day one. Is it the French spirit, or the happy hours? I wouldn't know, but when I built friendships within this team, the sense of belonging is even stronger. My favorite part will still be the offsites events like the Sales Kickoffs. You can feel that everyone is both sharp and kind, which is a rare combo.

‍

Q: Why did you join Odaseva? 

A:  I joined thanks to the product and the mission, in that order. When I was going through the process, the mission of protecting the data of the world's biggest and most complex organizations felt real and consequential. Data security is not just a "nice to have." When data goes wrong for an enterprise, everything stops. Being part of the solution to that felt like something worth showing up for every day. The product features that showed much promise were full-platform - handling availability, compliance, automation, and AI challenges - which all showed that the mission’s goal never stop even after signing the first deal. 

‍

Q: What do you like about working at Odaseva?

A: The energy. Truly. There's a pace here that aligns with my personality. Things move fast, products evolve rapidly, and you can see the impact of your work and never get bored. 

It's living Kaizen: every week I come out of those conversations a slightly better leader than I was going in. The combination of leading my own global team and being challenged by the leadership team around me is honestly the best professional development I've ever had. Smart, ambitious enterprise leaders who challenge you to be better: that's addictive.

And then, there's the caliber of people. We get to sell to Fortune 500 leaders who don't make it easy, and shouldn't. That tension keeps you sharp. Fun, challenging, meaningful. 

‍

Q: What’s your proudest work-related accomplishment or project?

A: In a fast moving world such as Sales & Tech, I wouldn't attach too much attention to wins or lost projects, both internal or external. What I'm truly proud of is the journey, growing from inside sales all the way to leading a global new business team. What's driven that journey isn't luck or timing. It's showing up with integrity, building trust across ecosystems, customers, partners, colleagues, and never stopping learning. Every deal, every "no," every unexpected promotion has been a lesson I chose to lean into rather than walk past. That's my proudest accomplishment: not a project on a slide, but a career built on genuine connections and continuous growth. Very much a Kaizen story. 😊

‍

Q: What else can you tell us about yourself?

A: I'm someone who needs to feel alive at work! I am a passionate person, maybe a bit too much, if you hear my colleagues complain in the open space. Outside of work, I consider myself a dedicated daughter, a supportive sister, and a good friend. I bring that same energy to everything I do. Life is too short for boring colleagues and meaningless work. Odaseva ticks both boxes, and I don't take that lightly.

‍

Join the team transforming Salesforce data security! See Odaseva’s open positions here. When you join Odaseva, you’ll work alongside some of the most accomplished people in the Salesforce ecosystem, helping leading global companies manage a mission-critical asset—their data. Odaseva offers an inclusive, collaborative, work environment where talented people innovate and grow. We have openings in our San Francisco, Paris, Sydney, London, Kuala Lumpur offices, as well as remote work opportunities across the world.

‍

‍

‍