GTM Discipline, Local Credibility: Shaun (DocuSign)
GM (APJ) @ DocuSign
Shaun McLagan has spent decades leading enterprise GTM teams across the APAC, from global giants like Dell EMC and Veeam to high-growth ventures like Snyk. Today, he serves as GM (APJ) at DocuSign, where he oversees one of the company’s fastest-growing regions.
In this Evolving Edge chapter, Shaun unpacks what it takes to build trust in regulated APAC markets, how to balance localization with global scalability, how to instill GTM discipline across disparate markets, and what separates a truly great sales leader from the rest.
Q: DocuSign is a brand that’s often synonymous with trust. But in APAC, levels of digital maturity vary widely. How do you build that trust in such diverse markets?
Shaun: Trust is everything for us - it is the product. Think about it: our clients are entrusting us with their most sensitive commercial agreements, from NDAs to high-value MSA contracts. If they don’t trust our platform’s security, compliance, or reliability, we’re done.
In Singapore, for example, we work closely with GovTech and have native integration with SingPass. That’s not just technical - it’s cultural. It signals to customers that we’re serious about being a local player, not just a global brand dropping in. Our conversations in these markets are about scaling workflows, complying with MAS frameworks, and embedding into high-frequency government and financial processes.
In contrast, in places like the Philippines or parts of Indonesia, the conversation often begins with fundamentals - legal validity of e-signatures, digital literacy, and accessibility. But this is where opportunity lies. For example, the unbanked population in the Philippines is still massive. That’s a digitization opportunity that DocuSign is uniquely positioned to support - reducing the friction to trust, helping banks reach new customers, and showing how digital agreements can be more secure than pen-and-paper.
So our approach flexes: in mature markets, we lead with scale and integrations. In developing ones, we educate, build ecosystem partnerships, and anchor on inclusion.
Q: How do you approach the tension between global standards and local needs, especially in regulated industries?
Shaun: We operate on the principle of "global standards, hyperlocal execution." Our global credibility gets us into the room. But what keeps us there is proving we’re not just exporting a U.S. playbook.
Take Japan. Without local data residency, native language UI, tailored identity integrations, and region-specific SLAs, we simply wouldn’t be relevant. The same applies in markets like Korea and Indonesia, where government regulations and cultural preferences drive decision-making.
But localization has a cost. You can’t say yes to everything - otherwise, you create product debt, support complexity, and erode the very platform stability that makes your brand trusted. So we use a simple 3-question filter: (1) Will this materially drive adoption? (2) Is it required for compliance? (3) Can it scale? If the answer is yes to two out of three, we greenlight the investment.
It’s not about ticking every local box. It’s about strategic prioritization. And the more we prove that we build for APAC, not just in APAC, the more trust we earn.
Q: What about pipeline discipline? Enterprise SaaS leaders always wrestle with that. What’s your approach?
Shaun: Discipline is non-negotiable. We sell the same platform from SMBs in Jakarta to global banks in Tokyo - so our revenue variability doesn’t come from product complexity. It comes from market maturity, segment dynamics, and sales execution.
That’s why we obsess over stage discipline. We ask: Is this opportunity progressing logically? Are we applying a structured framework like MEDDIC or SPICED? Do we have mutual close plans in place, with stakeholder alignment and a clear timeline?
We review the pipeline weekly across all countries. We look at coverage ratios, win rates by rep, deal velocity, and close predictability. Our forecasting is trust-based - the number in Salesforce is the number. We don’t inflate to avoid questions, nor deflate to game expectations.
I remind the team: pipeline hygiene is like brushing your teeth. It’s not glamorous, but it’s what keeps you healthy. And if reps treat it as a compliance exercise instead of a tool to win, they’ll never scale.
Q: You’ve hired and worked with dozens of GTM leaders. How do you tell who’s truly great vs just good on paper?
Shaun: A CEO I once worked with gave me a phrase that’s stuck: hire hungry, humble, smart. Those are the three traits that transcend background.
Hungry means they have a point to prove. They want to win, but not at any cost. Humble means they’re team-first. No lone wolf ever scaled an enterprise GTM engine. And smart? That’s the hard one. It’s about learning velocity. Can they adapt their playbook across Japan, India, Singapore? Can they take feedback, synthesize complexity, and still execute fast?
I also look for self-awareness. Great leaders know what they’re not good at - and build strong ops, marketing, or SE counterparts around them. And I value people who lead from the front. I’m in the Sydney office early, walking the floor, checking in - not to micromanage, but to stay grounded.
And finally, references. At this level, the world is small. You’ll hear if someone built lasting trust, or burned bridges.
Q: Everyone’s talking about AI. What does it mean for DocuSign and your GTM motion?
Shaun: I’m incredibly bullish. DocuSign has one of the richest agreement datasets in the world - structured, trusted, and scaled. That’s a goldmine for applying AI to real business outcomes.
Already, we’re using AI to assist with clause extraction, contract summarization, and intelligent routing. But the bigger opportunity is insight. Why are certain NDAs inconsistent across teams? Why do payment terms fluctuate by country? AI can surface these patterns instantly.
It’s not about automating people out. It’s about elevating them. Let lawyers focus on strategic negotiation, not boilerplate reviews. Let sales teams move faster with instant redlines and suggested terms. And of course, because we’re in a trust business, privacy and compartmentalization are critical. We’re investing in making sure every AI feature is secure, auditable, and context-specific.
Bottom line: AI won’t just be a feature layer at DocuSign. It’ll reshape how agreements are created, managed, and optimized globally.