Uncappd Insider

Beyond the spreadsheet, a comp plan is a story reps either trust or don't. Winnie Maignan, VP of Sales Compensation at McKesson, sits with Siva on Uncappd Insider for the comp plan conversation most teams aren't having: AI's real role in comp, the SPIF ceiling rule, the 30-day audit, and why low rep attrition can be a red flag. Presented by: Everstage • Uncappd Insider Podcast Guest: Winnie Maignan, VP Sales Compensation at McKesson Host: Siva Rajamani, CEO & Co-founder, Everstage If you design comp plans, run RevOps or Sales Ops, manage SPM or ICM, or sit closer to the CRO than the spreadsheet, this is your masterclass on what separates a comp plan that ships from one that survives the year. Winnie shares the five data points she pulls in her first 30 days at any new comp role, where AI earns its keep in comp planning and where it absolutely does not, the comp plan red flags hiding inside healthy-looking metrics, why sales comp is a year-long cycle, not a Q3 sprint, and more. Join Uncappd - an exclusive sales comp community with over 700 professionals from Notion, Anthropic, Klaviyo, PepsiCo and more. Chapters 00:00 - Intro: why this conversation matters 2:12 - Winnie and Sales Compensation 4:55 - Factors defining the success of your sales comp program 6:10 - Minimizing gaps 6:53 - Keeping your plan relevant through the year 7:45 - Customer experience in sales compensation 9:37- Cross-functional collaboration - organized chaos? 12:41- When & where AI works in sales compensation 16:22- Thriving in a sales compensation role 18:35- Bring value to the table 20:34- Communications as a sales comp strategy 24:20- Stepping into a new company? Look for these signs 27:00- Top data points to watch out for 28:36- Low attrition- a red flag 30:03- Territories as a metric 30:48- Cost of compensation 32:32- Sales comp as a year-long cycle 33:39 - Mid-year plan changes 35:44- Designing your SPIFs 36:40- Final thoughts 42:42- Inside Uncappd

What does it take to design and run one of the world’s largest sales compensation organizations, paying out nearly half a billion dollars in commissions? In this episode of Uncappd Insider, we sit down with John Lee, Senior Director of Sales Compensation at LinkedIn, who leads a team that manages compensation for 5,000+ sales reps. Presented by: Everstage • Uncappd Insider Podcast Guest: John Lee, Senior.Director of Sales Compensation, LinkedIn ( / johnlee49ers ) Host: Shiva, CEO & Co-founder, Everstage ( / sivasrajamani ) If you’re in RevOps, Sales Ops, or SaaS leadership, this is your masterclass on how sales comp becomes a growth engine. John Lee shares 25 years of lessons from spreadsheets to AI agents on scaling compensation systems, driving growth, and turning governance from red tape into trust. Join Uncappd - an exclusive sales comp community with over 700 professionals from Notion, Anthropic, Klaviyo, PepsiCo and more. YouTube Chapters 00:00 – Intro: The hardest part of building a modern revenue engine 02:20 – From analyst to architect: John’s journey into sales comp 05:10 – From spreadsheets to systems: the rise of cloud-based comp 08:55 – Designing plans that drive the right behavior 10:30 – How LinkedIn scaled comp for 5,000+ reps 14:45 – The art of agility: how priorities shift during the year 22:00 – Building one of the largest global comp teams 27:20 – Inside LinkedIn’s comp org structure 32:00 – Building resilient systems and processes 37:40 – AI in sales comp: the first inning 38:30 – How John’s team uses AI agents to flag and automate 40:20 – Why AI won’t replace judgment—it’ll scale it 44:30 – What future leaders in sales comp need to master 48:10 – Storytelling and stakeholder influence as core skills 50:30 – The biggest lesson learned in 25 years 52:00 – Why execution beats perfect strategy 56:40 – Lightning round: metrics that matter 1:00:20 – The most underrated enablement artifact 1:04:00 – Closing analogy: run comp like a Michelin-star restaurant

John Waldron is currently the Total Rewards Director, Global Compensation at PepsiCo. He is a time-tested veteran in sales compensation with over 27 years of experience across multiple roles in sales management, sales operations, and sales compensation. This episode of the Uncappd Insider features John, where he shares about: His unique journey from a sales rep to a global sales leader Advice for novice sales compensation professionals New-age trends in sales compensation to keep an eye out on Connect with John Waldron Follow us: Linkedin | X

David Miller is currently the Sr. Manager of Global Incentive Compensation at Integrated DNA Technologies. With over 15 years of experience spread across 3 decades, he is a seasoned veteran in sales compensation. This episode of the Uncappd Insider features David, where he discusses: The role of technology in shaping sales compensation Tips for upcoming sales comp professionals for career growth The changing landscape of sales compensation and the opportunities in it Connect with David Miller Follow us: Linkedin | X

Ryan Wheeler is currently the Manager of Sales Compensation at Altus Group. Previously, Ryan was a Senior Sales Compensation Analyst at Rapid7, a software technology company based out of Boston. In the latest episode of the Uncappd Insider, Ryan talks about: Transitioning from business development to sales compensation Tips for novice sales compensation professionals for career growth The challenges and new age approaches in sales compensation Connect with Ryan Wheeler Follow us: Linkedin | X