Novell Turns Inside To Hire Its New Channel Chief
Colado's appointment, effective last week, comes nearly six weeks after the sudden departure of Pat Bernard, vice president of global channel sales, who left, according to the company, "to pursue other interests." Colado will report to president and CEO Ron Hovsepian and will relocate from Spain to work in Novell's Waltham, Mass., headquarters.
Novell's channel management has undergone some turbulence during the last year. Bernard took the reins of the company's channel operations just last November when Novell's channel executive ranks underwent major changes including the departures of Steve Erdman, vice president and general manager of channels and alliances, and James Simzer, director of North America partner sales.
Executives at the time said the changes were designed to direct more of the Novell's sales through channel partners. Colado echoed that goal in an interview. "We're pretty serious about this channel transformation," he said. "We want to be a channel-centric company."
Colado has been with Novell for two-and-a-half years and his EMEA duties included managing the company's channel operations in those regions. Before joining Novell he held positions at security software vendor McAfee and telecommunications equipment maker Lucent Technologies.
Colado, who's formal title is general manager, partners, said the post is evolving from a sales-centric job to one that's more integrated with operations across the company. One of the challenges he faces is making sure those internal operations are working in sync with the company's channel emphasis. He also said that while the vendor has a strong product lineup, he said channel partners aren't always aware of all the products the company has to offer -- a lapse he intends to correct.
But he maintained that the changes in channel management haven't distracted the company from its renewed focus on the channel. "There's been changes in the people, but the direction is clear. The ultimate goal is to shift a greater percentage of the company's business to the channel," he said, while declining to cite specific numbers.
Tim Wolfe, president and general manager of Novell Americas, who has been managing Novell's channel efforts since Bernard's departure, will return to his main duties.