Executive Dinner: Rethinking Revenue Models for Sustainable Growth
Location: Hotel Ella, Austin, TX
Date: September 11, 2025 |5:00pm – 9:00pm
Hosted by:
An exclusive evening for software and device leaders focused on one goal: building smarter monetization strategies that drive long-term growth.
Building software is only half the battle. Monetizing it effectively is where growth happens. This invite-only executive dinner is for senior leaders at software vendors and intelligent device companies who are focused on growing sustainable, recurring revenue.
Join a select group of peers for an evening of open discussion, real-world challenges, and practical, implementable strategies you can take back to your business—from usage-based pricing and packaging innovation to IP protection and recurring revenue models.
Whether you’re refining your current model or exploring what’s next, you’ll gain insights grounded in real-world experience—not theory.
What You’ll Walk Away With:
- Practical guidance on modern licensing, pricing, and packaging models
- Lessons from peers moving to subscription, usage-based, and XaaS strategies
- Smart ways to protect IP while remaining agile and competitive
- A chance to benchmark your monetization approach with others facing similar challenges
Why Join?
- Small, focused group — senior peers, no noise, no filler
- Peer-led environment— connect with others facing similar challenges and learn from short, focused presentations designed to spark discussion
- Relaxed setting — quality conversation over drinks and dinner
- Time well spent — leave with insights you can apply right away
Who’s in the Room?
This dinner brings together senior leaders from software-led and connected device companies who are shaping how their organizations monetize and scale digital products.
You’ll be joining:
- C-level executives – CTOs, CIOs, CISOs, CFOs, CPOs, CMOs, and Chief Transformation Officers
- Product & R&D leaders – Product Management, Product Strategy, Licensing, Innovation, Engineering
- Commercial and strategy leads – Sales, Monetization, Business Models, Business Transformation
- Operations & IT decision-makers – Digital Transformation, Global Operations, IT and Business Operations
All attendees are Director-level and above, with a focus on driving revenue growth, product evolution, and sustainable transformation.
Speakers
Sara Yamase Partner, Simon-Kucher
Sara is Managing Partner of Technology, Media & Telecom at Simon-Kucher, based in both Silicon Valley and Houston. She specializes in pricing strategy, product positioning, and commercialization for software and internet companies. With deep expertise in segmentation, price model design, and advanced research, she helps executives drive growth through smarter packaging and pricing. Sara holds an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, where she also earned dual undergraduate degrees in Business Administration and Operations Research.
Philippe Benitez Director of Business Development, Thales Software Monetization
At Thales Software Monetization, I help companies figure out the best way to package and grow their software, for both pure-SaaS and hybrid hardware products. Over the past 5 years, I've worked with customers in the HVAC, automotive, IoT, and med-tech markets. And collaborated with ecosystem partners in billing, crm, cloud, and devops. By working with our partners, we are able to predictably deliver solutions that serve our customers for the long-term (which is why many of them have continued to grow with our Sentinel platform for decades.) I’ve been with Thales for 14 years, have a BSc in Systems Engineering and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. My wife and I live in Austin and are empty nesters (sometimes!), with five children 22 to 27 years old.
Brian Gunter, Director of Software Strategy and Operations
Brian Gunter is a B2B SaaS sales executive with a proven record of scaling revenue and building high-performing teams in complex technology markets. As Director of Software Operations & Strategy at Tektronix, he not only drives SaaS growth through new business acquisition, customer success, and go-to-market strategy, but also leads the company’s digital infrastructure initiative—implementing a modern licensing platform to power its business model transformation. Previously, Brian led global sales at Honeywell, securing Fortune 100 enterprise agreements in warehouse automation. He holds an MBA from the University of Notre Dame and a B.S. in Marketing from Minnesota State University–Mankato.
Damon Dageenakis, Sr. Director of Product | HID Global
Blending deep technical expertise with a strong commitment to excellence and innovation, Damon is a recognized leader in physical access and emerging technologies. With over 20 years of experience at the forefront of digital security, IoT, and advanced technology, he has consistently driven innovation that transforms complex challenges into secure, scalable solutions. At HID Global, Damon has led the development and global delivery of cutting-edge technologies—including IoT platforms, SDK/API ecosystems, RFID systems, and smart card solutions. Trusted by senior executives and global enterprises alike, he combines hands-on engineering expertise with strategic leadership to tackle physical and cybersecurity challenges, scale international teams, and shape the future of secure digital transformation. Known for turning complex technologies into actionable strategies, Damon continues to enable innovation–helping enterprises stay secure, agile, and future-ready.
