How Netflix runs sales compensation: Designing for culture, deciding with speed

How does an entertainment company like Netflix design sales incentives when speed is part of the strategy? In this episode, Forma.ai CEO Nabeil Alazzam sits down with Nathan Rosas (Director, of Global Sales Incentive Compensation at Netflix) to unpack how elite comp professionals build plans that fit company culture, stay flexible through constant change, and use listening mechanisms to catch friction early. Plus Nathan shares Netflix’s “data-informed vs. data-driven” mindset for making decisions faster without losing trust. Having built compensation programs across Microsoft, Amazon, and now Netflix, Nathan brings a rare vantage point you don't want to miss.

Netflix is best known for entertainment—but behind the scenes, it’s a company built to move fast. This mindset shows up in places most people never get to see, including how Netflix designs sales incentive compensation while the ads side of its business evolves.

In this episode of The Sales Compensation Show, Forma.ai CEO Nabeil Alazzam sits down with Nathan Rosas, Director of Global Sales Incentive Compensation at Netflix. Nathan brings a rare vantage point on different cultures and operating models having built compensation programs across Microsoft, Amazon, and now Netflix.

Together, the two explore how senior Sales Comp and RevOps leaders can join forces to build incentive programs that land cleanly and keep pace with change, even when balancing the relational work involved with stakeholders across the org.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Nathan's view on incentive “playbooks” having limits (and the importance of designing plans that feel native to your company’s culture)
How Nathan prioritizes listening mechanisms across leadership, managers, and reps to catch friction
How Netflix avoids complexity creep and why simplicity can be a deliberate, strategic choice in dynamic environments
How to create manager ownership in your org so plans motivate as “how we win,” not “what we were given”
Netflix’s operating principle of being data-informed vs. data-driven and what this means in practice
Nathan's take on the comp leader’s real superpower as the context engine around the full business picture