Next-Gen Solution Provider Fivesky Nabs Former Proofpoint Exec Tierney As Managing Partner

Next-generation solution provider Fivesky has landed a big executive win, appointing former Proofpoint exec Luanne Tierney as managing partner and co-owner as the company looks to vastly expand its business.

Tierney joined Fivesky this month, most recently from Proofpoint where she was senior vice president of marketing since June of last year. Prior to that, she held a series of executive marketing roles at Fortinet, Juniper and Cisco.

Proofpoint confirmed Tierney’s departure in an email to CRN. "Luanne left Proofpoint to pursue other opportunities and we wish her well in her new endeavor,’ Gary Steele, Proofpoint co-founder and CEO, said in a statement.

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In her new role, Tierney is focused with helping the quickly-growing New York City-based solution provider open an office in the San Francisco Bay region, including overseeing all end-to-end sales and marketing efforts there. Fivesky was founded in October 2012 and now has 51 employees worldwide. The company has recorded triple-digit growth since its launch, driven by its engineering-led approach and a full stack of next-generation solutions, including virtualization, cloud, mobility, big data and security.

In an interview with CRN, Tierney said she was excited to expand her role beyond marketing, as well as leverage her extensive background in marketing and security to help Fivesky expand in the region. Fivesky opened its Menlo Park, Calif., office last week and has hired account managers and other staff as it expands in the region under Tierney’s leadership.

’I saw where the market is going and I thought that there needs to be more companies like Fivesky…We really are one of the few agile partners with an engineering focus and with global delivery capabilities,’ Tierney said. ’It’s rare to see someone on the manufacturer side go to the partner side, but I’ve always wanted to be able to sell…the best-in-breed and future products that will give digital transformation to companies.’

Fivesky founder Reza Pourkhomani said Tierney’s appointment will help put Fivesky ahead of its expected growth curve, particularly around marketing and expansion to the Silicon Valley region.

’Having someone like Luanne has been great to bring that talent to us and be the real driver behind [growth in] San Francisco behind the scenes,’ Pourkhomani said.

Those types of capabilities are key as Fivesky looks to stay ahead of a ’big shift in the industry’ around the adoption of virtualization, hybrid cloud and automation, Pourkhomani said. Customer needs around those technologies are changing, he added, and they are looking for next-gen partners like Fivesky to help them stay ahead of the curve with best-of-breed technologies.

Tierney said she is already starting to see the fruits of the push into the San Francisco region pay off, with customer referrals already starting to roll in since she joined the company earlier this month. She said that will only continue to grow as the company establishes its foothold in the region and ’puts some marketing engine behind it.’

’We feel like the future is pretty bright,’ Tierney said.