Tess Hilton

Qualitest is the world's leading managed services provider of AI-led quality engineering solutions. It helps brands transition through the digital assurance journey and make the move from conventional functional testing to adopt innovations such as automation, AI, blockchain, and XR.

Briefly describe the nominated individual: history and past performance (up to 1,250 characters):

Tess is an unusual sales success story with a nontraditional and nonlinear path to where she is now. Born and raised in Australia, Tess originally trained and worked as an adult psychiatric nurse in a top Melbourne hospital. Then in 2016 she took a giant leap and moved to London. Tess had no connections and no experience when she was inspired to move into sales. Her first job was at Capita, where despite her lack of formal training or experience, within two years she was promoted to senior sales management and was leading a team whilst topping the sales charts each year.

In 2020 Tess was then headhunted to Qualitest to focus on our top tier global clients. It turns out that sales is where her passion lies and she was quickly promoted to Sales Director working in new business sales. Tess' background has given her an unparalleled ability to connect with clients, and her dedication and drive to succeed shines through. In less than nine years Tess has risen from no experience to an outlier on the leaderboard and leading teams, in a country where she had to build her network from scratch.

Outline the nominee's achievements since July 1, 2023 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 1,500 characters):

In 2025 alone, she surpassed her sales target by over 250%, topping the Qualitest global leaderboard which has been the case since 2023.

In 2023, Tess closed six major new clients across highly regulated and competitive industries, including a leading pharmaceutical organisation, a global power utility, a smart metering technology provider, a logistics leader, and a world-leading FMCG brand. These wins reinforced Qualitest's credibility in mission-critical testing and quality assurance engagements.

In 2024, Tess continued to raise the bar by securing two landmark enterprise deals with a global luxury handbag brand and a leading UK luxury department store. In both cases, she successfully displaced incumbent suppliers' mid-contract-an achievement that required executive-level influence, strategic differentiation, and deep understanding of client risk and transformation priorities.

In 2025, Tess delivered further standout results by bringing five high-profile new logos into Qualitest. These wins span retail, consumer goods, global brands, and elite sporting organisations, underscoring Tess's ability to open doors at the highest levels and translate complex quality and transformation challenges into long-term partnerships.

Tess has been recognized several times by Qualitest's C-Suite for her exceptional work and ability to close large value deals with new clients.

Her understanding of the technology space and relationship-building skills have enabled her to convey the value of independent software testing and win bids with Tier 1 companies. SAP themselves have made formal recommendations to use her services over the top solution integrators.

Explain why the achievements you have highlighted are unique or significant. If possible compare the achievements to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the organization's past performance (up to 1,500 characters):

At 32, Tess has already brought in over $29 million in sales. She consistently leads her companies' sales leaderboards, outperforming her peers. With a non-traditional background, Tess's human-focused approach to sales creates real business value for her employers and clients. Utilizing empathy and her drive for excellence, Tess is an unstoppable force.

Tess's impact extends beyond impressive sales numbers. Her exceptional relationship-building skills with Qualitest partners, such as SAP, are key to her success. She excels in fostering connections that go beyond transactional interactions, building trust and reliability in every partnership.

As a mentor and team builder, Tess is committed to developing her team's skills and helping them achieve their targets. She coaches Qualitest's SDR function, co-writes RFP responses, creates customer-focused events, and collaborates with the marketing team.

Tess's focus on client success is transformative. She not only secures deals but also transitions clients into long-term partners. This strategic shift from a transactional model to a partnership-based approach significantly enhances client loyalty, wallet share, and business sustainability. At the end of 2025 Tess has now been promoted to Head of Enterprise Sales and given the task to build out a European sales function which has never been done before.