Novell Channel Chief To Leave Company
There is no immediate successor to Hardardt, who most recently served as Novell's vice president and general manager of Partners and Channels, according to company executives.
"Mark [Hardardt] is leaving Novell to pursue other opportunities," Susan Heystee, president of Novell North America, told CRN Friday. "We plan to fill Mark's shoes."
Heystee declined to comment on whether Hardardt is leaving because of Novell's planned layoff of 600 workers, which the Waltham, Mass.-based company announced Thursday.
Hardardt joined Novell three years ago as vice president of global sales. Novell said it briefed more than 120 partners during a conference call Thursday evening about the management change and other changes coming in 2006.
In the interim, Ladd Timpson, director of worldwide channel marketing at Novell, will move into the global field-marketing team, reporting to worldwide field operations.
Novell executives said they are rethinking the company's channel strategy but have no plans to make fundamental changes to the partner program. Novell plans to retain its channel forces in Europe, Asia and North America.
John Dragoon, vice president of global field marketing at Novell, said the company closed 30 offices as part of the restructuring but that its European channel staff wasn't affected. Novell aims to tie partners more closely to its marketing engine as well as align them more closely with its go-to-market campaigns, he said.
Timpson said Novell in January plans to launch an enhanced specialization program for partners to help them focus on growing areas, including Linux and identity and resource management. Novell also plans to increase sales enablement and training for Platinum and Gold partners focused on those areas.
Hardardt's exit is the latest executive move at Novell. Earlier this week, Ron Hovsepian, Novell's former global sales chief, was named as the company's president and COO.