Meet the 2025 OpsStars Award Winners

Each year, the OpsStars Awards recognize the innovators who are redefining excellence across revenue operations, marketing operations, and sales operations. 

Now in its seventh year, the 2025 program spotlights organizations and individuals who have turned complex challenges into opportunities for growth and alignment.

Hosted annually by LeanData, the OpsStars Awards honor programs that transform how go-to-market (GTM) teams work together, from optimizing lead management to operationalizing buying groups, AI innovation, and digital transformation. 

This year’s winners represent what’s next in operations: teams using technology, process, and collaboration to drive smarter, more connected revenue engines.

Let’s meet the 2025 OpsStars Award Winners.

Account-Based Program of the Year: Meltwater

Meltwater transformed its global go-to-market motion by building an automated, account-based routing engine. By centralizing lead-to-account matching in Salesforce through LeanData, the team ensured that every inbound lead and intent signal was routed to the right account owner in real time.

They also created a round-robin system for “floating” accounts, unowned leads that once fell through the cracks, ensuring every opportunity received timely attention. The initiative built trust across global sales teams and established a data-driven foundation for ABM success.

Operational Results:

• 1,200 previously unassigned UserGems leads successfully routed to sales
  
• 6,023 leads merged and 3,800 accounts properly assigned
  
• Lead-to-opportunity conversion rates improved through faster routing and ownership clarity
  

AI-Powered Program of the Year: Uber Technologies

Uber for Business equipped its sales organization with a custom-built, AI-powered co-pilot that integrates multiple data sources to deliver instant, actionable insights. This centralized hub gives every rep a unified view of account intelligence, buyer signals, and personalized recommendations, cutting hours of manual research from their workflow.

With features like “Ask IQ,” “Customer Synopsis,” and “Product Recommendations,” the co-pilot helps sellers engage more strategically and close deals faster. The phased rollout prioritized feedback and adoption, achieving rapid global scale.

Operational Results:

• 81% sales adoption within the first quarter
  
• 20% increase in contact response rates
  
• 17,000 new opportunities created from AI insights
  
• Sales cycles shortened by 20% (14 days)
  

Buying Groups Trailblazer Award: Veeam

Veeam made a bold shift from a lead-centric model to a buying-group approach rooted in Forrester’s Revenue Waterfall framework. The marketing team restructured strategy, processes, and technology around opportunities rather than individual leads, and launched a global SDR organization to support it.

By identifying group buying activity and orchestrating persona-based content journeys, Veeam’s new model connected sales and marketing around shared pipeline goals.

Operational Results:

• 86% increase in pipeline
  
• 46% rise in average opportunity size
  
• 41% increase in won opportunity value
  
• 40% reduction in sales cycle time
  

Digital Transformation Award: Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation launched an enterprise-wide digital transformation to modernize its lead and opportunity management during its Salesforce CRM migration. 

The company implemented LeanData to automate global routing, accelerate follow-up, and create visibility into distributor-led opportunities for the first time.

The initiative also decentralized ownership, empowering regional teams to manage their own processes and reduce reliance on central IT. 

Through continuous enablement, Rockwell built a culture of agility and accountability that connected marketing and sales across regions.

Operational Results:

• Lead qualification reduced from seven days to under five minutes
  
• Reporting accelerated from a 48-hour delay to real-time
  
• Distributor-led opportunities now visible in CRM
  

Lead Management Transformation of the Year (<1,000 Employees): ExtraHop

ExtraHop rebuilt its entire lead management infrastructure to eliminate manual inefficiencies and restore confidence in its routing system. The team reengineered LeanData to directly reference the Salesforce Territory Object, consolidating ownership data and eliminating routing errors.

With a new governance model in place, Sales Operations gained direct control over assignments while Marketing Operations refocused on strategic initiatives. 

The result was a scalable, accurate system that accelerated funnel velocity and improved collaboration between teams.

Operational Results:

• 50% increase in Marketing Accepted Lead (MAL) to Sales Accepted Opportunity (SAO) conversion velocity
  
• 624 hours of manual work saved annually
  
• Double-digit year-over-year growth in bookings
  
• Expanded pipeline by high double digits
  

Lead Management Transformation of the Year (>1,000 Employees): Samsara

Samsara transformed its lead management program by replacing a rigid, homegrown system with a scalable infrastructure powered by LeanData. 

The new framework centralized routing logic, standardized global processes, and equipped Account Development Representatives with AI-driven tools for timely, contextual outreach.

By integrating SamsaraGPT (a proprietary AI knowledge base) and automated SLAs, the team achieved consistent response times and stronger conversions. 

The initiative not only improved funnel efficiency but also created a foundation for future growth.

Operational Results:

• MQL conversion rate doubled to 12%
  
• 54% year-over-year pipeline increase
  
• Routing “dead-ends” reduced from 10% to under 3%
  
• 80-percentage point increase in SLA attainment
  

The Constellation Award: Zoom

Zoom’s Marketing Operations team led a cross-functional effort to align marketing, sales, and channel teams using LeanData to automate key processes.

When IT backlogs delayed solutions, the team delivered its own account-assignment automation within two weeks, cutting lead routing times in half.

They also streamlined reassignment workflows for sellers changing roles, saving valuable time across the sales organization. 

By taking a leadership role in solving cross-departmental challenges, Marketing Operations became a catalyst for collaboration and efficiency.

Operational Results:

• Lead routing time reduced by 39%
  
• Conversion rate increased from 11% to 17%
  
• 20 hours saved per quarter via automation
  
• Contributed directly to channel revenue growth
  

OpsStar of the Year: Nicole Looker, Director of Revenue Operations, Rebuy

At Rebuy, Nicole Looker unified go-to-market teams under a single RevOps strategy that centralized data, streamlined processes, and fostered collaboration. She redesigned the company’s Salesforce infrastructure, eliminated redundant systems, and implemented automation that saved teams dozens of hours each week.

Nicole also built operational talent by hiring and mentoring Rebuy’s first RevOps Analyst, creating a scalable foundation for growth. Her leadership redefined RevOps at Rebuy as a strategic partner driving alignment and performance.

Operational Results:

• 13,000+ new leads generated through automation
  
• 40 hours per week saved across GTM teams
  
• Improved pipeline accuracy and forecasting
  
• Reduced tech sprawl through consolidation
  

The Future of GTM Operations

The 2025 OpsStars Award Winners embody what modern operations leadership looks like. They balance technology and teamwork, transforming complexity into clarity through smarter systems and alignment.

Their work shows that true operational excellence depends on creating systems that help every team move faster and work together with purpose.

Congratulations to all of this year’s winners for advancing the craft of operations and setting the bar for what’s possible in 2026.

Meet the rest of the stars behind the stats

Read the full 2025 OpsStars Awards ebook.