Women Of The Channel 2024: Finding Their Superpowers
As part of CRN’s Women Of The Channel project, we asked channel leaders what their superpower is.
Superpowers are the skills that set us apart from the crowd, making us a unique asset to our teams and organizations. They allow us to lead effectively and create spaces where ideas thrive.
This year, CRN is honoring over 1,700 women whose channel expertise and vision are deserving of recognition. Each honoree is unique, empowered and full of amazing talents.
As part of CRN’s Women of the Channel project, we asked these channel leaders what their superpower is. Move over Wonder Woman, Storm and Captain Marvel, these Women of the Channel have their own set of special capabilities.
Denise Zmuda
VP, Global Partner Programs, Enablement
Entrust
Pragmatism. I keep the end goal in mind and seek feedback to determine the best way to accomplish that goal while effectively balancing competing priorities.
Head of Scaled Partner Marketing
Google Cloud
I am a versatile marketing leader with a proven track record across the full spectrum of marketing disciplines. From demand generation and digital marketing to growth strategies and product marketing, I bring strategic depth and hands-on expertise to drive results. My experience leading teams in diverse environments, from startups to public giants, enables me to effectively connect with partners and foster collaboration within teams. Whether guiding partners or leading cross-functional initiatives, I leverage my coaching mindset and collaborative leadership style to unlock growth and success.
Director, Americas Sales Leader
Microsoft
While I'm a strategic big picture thinker and achiever who likes to work with cross-functional teams to solve complex problems, I am a life-long learner. I completed my Master of Science degree in Information Management at the University of Washington in 2021, specializing in AI and IT consultancy, during my tenure as a global sales leader at Microsoft. My superpower as a learner helped in areas for growth planning in sales, partner, channel development and account management. With these current learnings, I was able to activate my passion for cloud services and Intelligent Edge technologies and enable channel sales.
Global Head of Strategic Alliances
Atlassian
I am unapologetically passionate about unlocking business outcomes for customers by leveraging our most strategic alliances and co-selling alongside co-delivering to drive results. Helping customers become the best version of themselves with strategic alliances is my passion.
Sales Operations Analyst
Morpheus Data
I love to learn. I'm always ready to dive into a new opportunity or challenge, which has often led me to places I never expected to go, in both the military and civilian sectors, and across finance, medicine, and technology industries. Not shying away from the new or unknown has helped me achieve personal successes and drive advancement within my organizations.
Janet Hendrickson
Director, Strategic Accounts
Intermedia Cloud Communications
My superpower is “Tenacious Entrepreneurship.” Being a female in tech starting out in the early ’90s, I put everything into understanding every facet of the business, which led me to investigate additional revenue paths, whether that be through verticals, partnership, programs, etc. Never stop learning, never stop driving, always be on the lookout for new opportunities.
Director, Global Marketplaces, Cloud Partner Sales
Broadcom
The ability to remain balanced, collected, and productive in the face of radical change at a high velocity pace. In such an environment, one's demeanor and temperament resonate to all those surrounding you, so having the ability to positively influence and demonstrate constructive behaviors has accelerated my leadership skills and career.
VP, North America Operations
Insight Enterprises
My superpower is creating high performance teams. I'm a big believer that investing my time and energy into ensuring that every teammate in my organization is the CEO of their desk. Empowering teammates to make decisions to drive client experience, innovate in their area of expertise and cultivate an inclusive network creates an environment of efficiency and quality growth.
CMO
Dataprise
As a channel leader with an analytical and strategic mindset, my superpower lies in my ability to dissect complex situations and craft comprehensive strategies. This skill has been instrumental in building my career. It enables me to identify underlying patterns, anticipate market trends, and optimize channel performance. My analytical approach provides a solid foundation for decision-making, while my strategic thinking guides the development of long-term plans that align with organizational goals. This combination has led to successful channel initiatives, fostering growth and innovation. It's my unique ability to blend detailed analysis with visionary strategy that has propelled my career forward.
Meghan Haley
Sr. Product Manager, Strategic Alliances
Connection
I’ve been called an “informational bounty hunter.” I approach challenges with curiosity, digging in until I learn how to do something, I find the answers to my questions, or I understand more about the challenge that will allow me to create my own way to solve a problem. By seeing a problem from identification through resolution, I’ve been able to learn from others and establish relationships with multiple stakeholders.
Mary Hagerson
Sr. Director, Distribution Sales, Operations
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
My superpower is my ability to engage with partners on a deep level to understand both their own goals and current strengths and to gather from them data that can help grow our business based on our strategic priorities. I moved into a new role this year to focus on distribution sales and operations, so I've been leaning on this superpower to help our distributors and HPE Aruba Networking continue to grow SaaS and NaaS together and scale our SASE business.
VP, Business Development, Strategic Alliances
NetSPI
Unsatiated curiosity. There is so much to know about so many topics, and I want to know about all of it. The theme of multiple interests has recurred throughout my education and career. I studied Earth Systems at Stanford because of the multidisciplinary nature of the major which included courses in chemistry, physics and biology.
Co-Founder, CEO
Zomentum
My superpower lies in fearlessness, embracing risks with a front-foot approach and consistently placing bold bets in the game of life. Beyond unwavering hard work, which I trust has compounding effects, I am a first-principles thinker. As a first-time entrepreneur, reliance on instincts propels my forward march. This unique combination of courage, strategic thinking and instinctual navigation defines my entrepreneurial journey, shaping a path illuminated by audacity and guided by the belief in the power of calculated risks.
Area VP, Channel Resellers, Strategic Partnerships
Cato Networks
I studied journalism and mass communications in college and strongly believe I’ve been able to better serve internal and external customers because of this. Career advancement may have been a by-product but first and foremost I've used a strong foundation in writing, communication, and presentation skills to drive results. Whether educating internal sellers, communicating with partners, or building training and messaging, clear communication is the underpinning of both the tactical and strategic work that goes into leading a channel go-to-market.
Marketing Director
Plugable Technologies
I'd say my superpower is teleportation. I'm able to quickly teleport to the top of the mountain and get the 50,000-foot view of the strategic business initiatives and our customers, but then can teleport down to the bottom of the mountain and dive deep into projects/tasks and be more tactical. I really love doing both! My teleportation superpower has been pivotal in building my career. It enables me to quickly switch between high-level strategic planning and detailed, hands-on project execution. I've been effective in leading teams to success by ensuring that strategic objectives are grounded in practical, actionable tasks.
Jill Eastman
Amazon Web Services
Sr. Manager, ISV Sales
My superpower is my ability to think strategically. As a result, I have become adept at writing strategic and operating plans that stand the test of time. I am thrilled when I can look across the business and help determine a course of action.
Director, Global Partner Development
Microsoft
I've been blessed with two superpowers: Conflict Resolution and Creative Visionary. I work with hundreds of individuals across different organizations and teams, ranging from CEOs to support. Resolving conflict effectively and efficiently is a power that I get to develop regularly and has been beneficial in the day to day of my role. Having the ability to think creatively and strategically definitely feeds into that as it drives "out of the box" thinking across problem solving, innovation, and ambitious goals. There have been so many opportunities to develop these superpowers, and the refinement from those opportunities built my career.
Go-to-Market Director, UK Device Partner Sales
Microsoft
I am a voice of inclusion, and I consider equitable treatment as vital for the success of each team. This is something I am practicing daily both on business and development interactions with the team. I can collaborate with and influence numerous stakeholders at every level and with differing capabilities to drive positive change!
Director, Communities, Partnerships
D&H Distributing
Social Leadership. In today's world, the meaning and purpose behind what you do is what drives success. That said, I focus a lot of time and effort on making emotional connections. This allows me to build a personal relationship that has a foundation of trust and a genuine bond, which ultimately will drive collaboration and execution professionally. It is important to me that those that I work with understand that I care about their goals and expectations and will help them execute. I will always go the extra mile to build stronger and more positive work environments.
Manager, Indirect Channel Operations/Sales Support
Cloudflare
My superpower is a Builder/Fixer/Shifter. Throughout my career, I have been the one called upon to build or mend relationships with vendors, customers and executives. I build out strategies that align internally and externally (with vendors and customers) and pivot the business when needed to identify the next opportunity.
VP, Operations
In-Telecom
My superpower lies in my ability to analyze data and metrics, coupled with a passion for fostering growth and efficiency in high-paced environments. This skill has been instrumental in identifying trends, optimizing operations, and driving strategic decisions, greatly contributing to my career advancement. It's enabled me to lead teams effectively, grow businesses, and manage large-scale projects successfully. By leveraging this analytical prowess, I've consistently delivered results that align with organizational goals, ensuring sustained growth and positioning me as a key asset in every role I've undertaken.
Sr. Field, Channel Marketing Manager
Abnormal Security
Resilience. This is a key and rare attribute in an innovative and ever-changing industry. It's provided me with fuel that empowers me to stay motivated, positive, solution-oriented, decisive, and consistently focused on growth regardless of the circumstance. It enhances your EQ, helps you foster strong collaboration and relationships, and activates your inner drive.
Sr. Director, Channel Management
Verizon Business
Negotiation. Being able to understand the desire of others helps with career, leadership, sales, and life!
CRO
Corero Network Security
The ability to keep multiple plates spinning simultaneously has served me well both at home and at my career. My true superpower, however, lies not just in keeping multiple things in play but by relying on my intuition to anticipate not only what the next steps are but how to strategically move from Point A to B to C. I can always look at a situation dynamically, connect the dots, and then arrive at the next series of steps to either solve the problem or bring in the right people to solve it.
Sr. Marketing Manager, Global Partner Programs
Dell Technologies
My superpower is being “the glue.” I connect and bond various people, business, and operational aspects to rally around a common purpose. Together, we make the seams fit perfectly!