Thor Draper Jr · Walking Deck 01 02 03 ~/career/elevator-pitch.sh
A seller's instinct, rebuilt on technical depth.
Senior Security Solution Engineer, MicrosoftCharlotte, NC
Career signal
I loved sales enough to rebuild the technical depth around it.
A deliberate reinvention from sales into security — earning the associate's and bachelor's while working full time.
Where I started Sales, service, and entrepreneurship.
A decade of selling, leading, military service, and running my own hometown gym.
The reinvention MSP by day, cyber instructor by night.
Sold the gym before the pandemic and rebuilt deliberately around security depth.
Microsoft, fueled by curiosity A.A.S. at the door. B.P.S. while in the seat.
CPCC Cloud and Virtualization opened Azure Networking Rapid Response. A SANS B.P.S. in Applied Cybersecurity, earned on nights and weekends, pulled me into the Security STU.
Thesis
I did not leave sales because I was burnt out. I rebuilt on technical depth so the next sales seat compounds.
Next: AE in the AI era, then sales leadership.
Section 02 · The Human Behind the Headline
The person behind the resume.
Charlotte native, back in uptown two blocks from the Belk Theater. Sports junkie: Panthers, Hornets, Yankees. Married my wife in Banff on 7/11 (her birthday plus mine). Our adopted mutt Lloyd handles the household charisma.
Section 03 · Superpowers
In plain English.
- I earn trust fast.Eight-figure TCV E5 platform displacement at a regional health system, won on operational efficiency and security outcomes.
- I simplify the complex.Authored the AI Red Teaming workshop two regional user groups picked up and ran with their own communities.
- I run things end to end.40-plus person Enterprise branch and a hometown gym P&L sold before the pandemic.
- I lift the team around the deal.Covered 60 accounts on a 24-account quota — load-bearing teammate on the largest closes of the year.
- I keep showing up.Exceeded quota across all four revenue buckets this H2, with deals advanced as an overlay.
I'm a seller who learned the technology, so customers get the version of Microsoft that actually solves the problem.
Thor Draper Jr · Charlotte, NC Section 05 · Experience with Impact
Three chapters. Each one carried its abilities forward.
A career sphere grid. Click a node to load that chapter. Smaller satellites are the career, education, and service threads that branched off it.
Sales taught trust. Ownership taught risk. Teaching taught clarity. Microsoft is where they compound.
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01/ 03 Sales, Ownership, Service 2010 - 2019A decade of selling, leading, and serving.
▲ Ability Unlocked Trust at Scale + Led a 40-plus Enterprise branch teamEnterprise branch leadershipPaychex B2B sellingGym ownership and P&LArmy National Guard serviceA decade in sales and service: Enterprise Branch Manager at the largest non-airport location, Paychex seller, hometown gym owner, and Army National Guard infantryman. The through-line was operating discipline: customers first, team development, growth, then profit.
- Enterprise Branch Manager: 40-plus team at largest non-airport location
- B2B and B2C across Enterprise, Paychex, and gym ownership
- Four-prong approach: customers, employees, growth, profits
service Army National Guard E-4 Specialist, 11B Infantryman education Returned to education Re-engaged on degrees and certs -
02/ 03 Pivot to Tech 2019 - 2021Sold the gym, picked up the MSP, and taught the bootcamp by night.
▲ Ability Unlocked Teach to Sell + Explain it without jargonSold business before pandemicMSP role and cert stackCPCC A.S. in Cloud and VirtualizationCyber bootcamp instructorSold the gym just before the pandemic. Took an MSP role and started studying IT certifications at the front desk. Earned an Associate of Science in Cloud and Virtualization from Central Piedmont Community College in July 2021. By night I taught a cybersecurity bootcamp, which forced me to explain the work without jargon.
- MSP by day, cybersecurity bootcamp instructor by night
- CPCC A.S. in Cloud and Virtualization, July 2021
- Stacked industry certifications between client tickets
education CPCC A.S. Cloud and Virtualization, July 2021 career Bootcamp instructor Cybersecurity, by night, in front of cohorts -
03/ 03 Microsoft + Range 2021 - nowBuilt the technical depth on purpose so the next sales seat compounds everything.
▲ Ability Unlocked Compounded Range + Sell with deep technical credibilityMicrosoft contractor, Apr 2021FTE, Oct 2021Security STU + SANS B.S.H2 FY26: all four buckets exceededContractor in April 2021 on Azure Networking Support. FTE that October into Azure Rapid Response and Support Escalations. Now Senior Security Solution Engineer with a SANS B.S. in cybersecurity. Doubled down on technical depth on purpose so the move back to sales lands with credibility, not a learning curve.
- Azure Networking Support (contractor, Apr 2021) -> Rapid Response + Support Escalations (FTE, Oct 2021)
- Senior Security Solution Engineer + SANS B.S. in cybersecurity
- H2 FY26: 8-figure TCV E5, 7-figure Entra ID Governance, mid-6-figure DEX, Sentinel data lake doubled
education SANS B.S. Cybersecurity career AE-ready Next: Account Executive in the AI era
Sales taught trust. Ownership taught risk. Teaching taught clarity. Microsoft is where they compound.
Section 06 · Voices Around the Work
Credibility compounds when other people say it for you.
Sphere recordings. Captured from Microsoft leadership, sales peers, and cross-org partners.
Thor consistently operates at the next level, demonstrating strong judgment and independence in complex, ambiguous environments. He translates emerging requirements into scalable, repeatable mechanisms that drive measurable impact across teams. His cross-functional influence and ability to create clarity where none exists elevate both execution and strategy.
Erfan SetorkSr Solution Engineer MgmtIt is a privilege to work with Thor Draper as my Sr. Solution Engineer. Thor has excelled in his role as a Senior Solution Engineer specializing in security. Thor consistently demonstrates a deep understanding of complex security challenges and offers innovative solutions that deliver measurable results. His technical expertise is complemented by exceptional communication skills, allowing him to effectively translate technical concepts to stakeholders at all levels.
Chad KrantzSr. Security SpecialistYour technical knowledge, easy-going personality and dependability — I know that if I reach out to for help with a customer of mine, you'll make yourself available to engage as needed. And likewise, I know that you have no hesitation in reaching out to me when you're seeking my input or opinion on a customer matter.
Kevin UyPrincipal Cloud Solution Architect Section 07 · Proof of Passion
Where the work shows up off-hours.
Built, not bought.
This blog and walking deck — Astro, custom interactions, no template. Proof I ship, not just pitch.
main · deployed continuouslyMic on, when it sharpens.
Community talks, internal Microsoft sessions, and panels. I take the mic when it sharpens the message or the audience.
internal · external · on demandPublic thinking.
Operator notes on security, AI, leadership, and career — published here on a steady cadence so the thinking stays public.
cadence · steadyAn Account Executive seat, then sales leadership.
Near term: AE at Microsoft, where sales judgment, customer trust, and security and AI fluency compound. Mid term: sales leadership. Long term: GM and CVP-shaped seats.
- NowSenior Security SE
- NextAE, Microsoft
- ThenSales leadership
- LongGM · CVP
My manager asked me to put together a walking deck.
The classic version is a PowerPoint that introduces who you are: your story, your principles, what you do outside of work, what you've done professionally, and where you're headed. It does the job, but once the meeting is over it just sits in OneDrive and never gets touched again.
I wanted to do something a little different with mine. Same goal, less fluff, and a page I can actually keep adding to.
What I learned from Carson
The eight-section shape of this came from Carson Heady's post on LinkedIn about what a walking deck is actually for. A few things stuck with me:
- A walking deck isn't a resume. It's a self-intro short enough to read in the time it takes someone to grab a coffee.
- The objectives matter more than the slides — who I am, what I stand for, what I've done, and what I'm ready to do next.
- The people who've worked with you can vouch for you in ways your own bullet points can't.
- Proof of passion is the part most decks skip, and it's usually the part leaders actually remember.
Carson laid out the objectives, and I tried to hit each one. The piece I added is the medium — a page where I can update Section 05 the day a new project ships, drop in a new voice for Section 06 as soon as I get one, and let someone who wants to know me read through it without me having to be in the room.
The forks section
The part I'm proudest of is the forks. Your career isn't just the path you walked. It's also the versions of you that didn't happen, and why. Naming the paths I turned down (the Paychex ladder, the empty pandemic gym, heads-down at the MSP) makes the one I actually walked make a lot more sense.
Closing thought
Looking back, the chapters actually line up — as long as I'm disciplined enough to carry the right lessons forward. Sales taught me trust. Ownership taught me risk. Teaching taught me how to be clear. Microsoft is where all of that finally starts to compound.
If you're reading this and thinking about building your own version, have fun with it. Tell your story however you want. The format is yours to invent. Just keep the parts that are true, make the pattern obvious, and put it somewhere it can keep growing.