Thor Draper Jr · Walking Deck ~/career/elevator-pitch.sh
A seller's instinct, rebuilt on technical depth.
Senior Security Solution Engineer, Microsoft · Charlotte, NC
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.
03 · Superpowers
In plain English.
- I earn trust fast.Career sales DNA, used to listen first.
- I simplify the complex.Years teaching career changers shaped how I explain technical work.
- I run things end to end.40-plus person Enterprise branch and a P&L of my own.
- I lift the team around the deal.Specialists, partners, execs — orchestrated, not herded.
- I keep showing up.Five career reinventions. Every one made the next one work.
I'm a seller who learned the technology, so customers get the version of Microsoft that actually solves the problem.
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.
06 · Voices Around the Work
Credibility compounds when other people say it for you.
Microsoft leader"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 Setork, Sr Solution Engineer Mgmt
Sales security peer"It 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 Krantz, Sr. Security Specialist
Cross Org Technical Teammate"Your 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 Uy, Principal Cloud Solution Architect
07 · Proof of Passion
Where the work shows up off-hours.
This blog and this walking deck are built, designed, and version-controlled by me — Astro, custom interactions, no template. Proof I ship, not just pitch.
Community talks, internal Microsoft sessions, and panels. I take the mic when it sharpens the message or the audience.
Operator notes on security, AI, leadership, and career — published here on a steady cadence so the thinking stays public.
08 · The Ask
Open the career development plan An 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.
My manager recently recommended I build a walking deck.
The classic version is a PowerPoint that introduces who you are: your story, your principles, what you do outside work, what you have done professionally, and where you are headed. Useful enough.
I wanted something that did the same job in less time, with more truth, on a page that can keep growing.
The eight-slide bones, web-native
The deck above maps directly to the canonical eight-slide flow — Cover, Human, Strengths, Brand Essence, Experience with Impact, Voices, Proof of Passion, Ask — but uses what the web does well that a slide cannot: a typewriter pitch, a clickable forks-in-the-road tree of paths I took and paths I did not, a page that updates as the story does.
The forks section is the part I am proudest of. A career is not just the line you walked, it is also the version of you that did not happen, and why. Naming the path you turned down (the Paychex ladder, the empty pandemic gym, heads-down at the MSP) makes the path you walked legible.
Closing thought
The chapters already make sense if I am disciplined enough to carry the right lessons forward. Sales taught trust. Ownership taught risk. Teaching taught clarity. Microsoft is where they finally compound.
Keep what is true. Make the pattern clear. Build it in a format that can keep growing.