Building Trust in Billion-Dollar Sales: Lessons from AMD’s Tony Fernandez-Stoll, Now CRO at Carbice

From Laptops to Satellites: Lessons from AMD’s Sales Veteran Now Leading Revenue at Deep Tech Startup Carbice

Tony Fernandez-Stoll helped put AMD chips into everything from commercial ThinkPads to Xboxes. Now, as Chief Revenue Officer of Carbice, he’s bringing cutting-edge carbon nanotube cooling technology to some of the hottest industries on Earth—and beyond.

In this episode of Knocking to 10, Tony shares lessons from 20+ years of high-stakes enterprise sales and what it takes to lead go-to-market at a deep tech startup solving one of the most critical problems in AI infrastructure: thermal management.

Why AMD Won with OEMs

At AMD, Tony’s job was to win business from the world’s biggest device makers—companies like Lenovo—where sales cycles can stretch 18 to 24 months and involve dozens of stakeholders. The stakes were high, the competition fierce.

So how did his team win?

• Product leadership: AMD had to prove it could outperform Intel’s roadmap.
• Relationship depth: Tony built trust across engineering, procurement, and executive teams.
• Focus on sell-through, not just design-in: He helped customers think beyond technical validation and plan for demand generation and velocity.

“You don’t just sell a chip. You help the customer win in their market. That’s the only way you earn their long-term trust.”

What Founders Can Learn from Long-Cycle Enterprise Sales

Enterprise deals are complex, slow, and crowded with competition. Tony’s advice to GTM leaders navigating this terrain?

• Start by listening. Don’t force-fit your pitch. Understand your buyer’s business drivers—whether that’s profitability, channel growth, or product differentiation—and position your solution accordingly.
• Master the roadmap. Buyers need confidence that you’ll still be innovating two years from now. Transparent, credible roadmaps make the difference in multi-year design cycles.
• Build real intimacy. Knowing your customer’s goals, internal politics, and pain points is more powerful than any discount.

“Your product’s value prop only matters once you connect it to what keeps your buyer up at night.”

Now at Carbice: Redefining Cooling for the AI Era

Today, Tony leads revenue at Carbice, a startup commercializing a revolutionary carbon nanotube thermal interface material (TIM) that’s faster to apply, more reliable over time, and more sustainable than traditional thermal paste.

Use cases range from cloud data centers to satellites.

Why does it matter?

As AI workloads explode, the heat generated by chips is reaching critical levels. Existing solutions like thermal paste are outdated. They degrade, require rework, and don’t scale well.

Carbice’s material solves this with a peel-and-stick interface that doesn't degrade and can be mass-manufactured in the U.S.

“Every customer I’ve talked to has thermal pain points. They just don’t know yet that a better solution exists.”

Redefining the Sales Motion in Deep Tech

Selling a new category in a technical space isn’t easy. But Tony is clear on where to start:

1. Talk to customers. Understand their thermal strategy and how your tech fits in.
2. Shift upstream. Don’t wait to be part of a materials spec. Join the design conversation early.
3. Build credibility. Use thought leadership, white papers, and proof-of-concept testing to prove value before the RFP.

“We’re not just selling a sheet of material. We’re helping customers rethink thermal design from the ground up.”

Final Lessons for Sales Leaders

After two decades of global enterprise deals, what’s the one lesson Tony always comes back to?

“Be clear about what you want—and be ready to adapt. Know your goals, and stay flexible. The speed of business today demands it.”

And if you’re hiring or mentoring early career sellers?

“Coach them to listen more than they speak. If you understand the customer better than your competition, you’ll win more often than not.”

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‍Want to learn how to win billion-dollar customers or launch go-to-market in deep tech?
Listen to the full episode with Tony Fernandez-Stoll on Knocking to 10.
Read more about Carbice: https://www.carbice.com

Connect with Tony on Linkedin.