The Channel Company Launches Women Of The Channel Leadership Network

‘Every member is going to be at a different place in their professional journey, so we want this to be a welcoming site for everyone—whether that be sales, marketing, [human resources] or finance, and from CEOs to those just starting their careers in the channel,’ says the leader of the Women of the Channel Leadership Network and channel veteran, Kim Stevens.

The Channel Company Tuesday launched a new online community dedicated to supporting women of the channel.

The Women of the Channel Leadership Network is a curated community aimed at helping women in the tech industry thrive. The platform’s purpose will be to connect women in various stages of their channel careers to learn from one another, as well as build new relationships. Community members will have access to resources, compelling content, events and a live communication feed, according to Kim Stevens, Women of the Channel community leader at The Channel Company, the parent of CRN.

“This community is meant to be organic,” Stevens said. “Every member is going to be at a different place in their professional journey, so we want this to be a welcoming site for everyone—whether that be sales, marketing, [human resources] or finance, and from CEOs to those just starting their careers in the channel.”

Stevens herself, who joined The Channel Company in November, is no stranger to the channel. The IT veteran most recently served as channel sales manager for Fujifilm and prior to that, was director of channel sales, North America, for Kaspersky Lab.

The Women of the Channel Leadership Network will feature articles, interviews, blogs, videos and podcasts on topics such as channel innovation, leadership and work-life balance. Community members can also view and attend upcoming events such as webinars from the site. Featured prominently, a live feed will allow members to engage in real time with one another and ask questions, discuss best practices or even share inspiration, Stevens said.

“We want our members to share—it could be knowledge-sharing, triumphs they just experienced, or defeats and they’re looking for tips. It’s going to be an intimate vibe, and we want to have a bit of fun, too,” she said.

Tanaz Choudhury, president and CEO of TanChes Global Management, a Sugar Land, Texas-based solution provider, said she is looking forward to the tech-centric connections to other women that the community will be able to foster.

“Something I feel will be most valuable would be the human connection and [the ability to ] share of our triumphs and losses, a place where women of the channel can connect and share war wounds and know they are not alone in this journey,” said Choudhury.

The community will offer two membership tiers: a free, basic membership and a VIP tier. The VIP membership tier comes in both a monthly and annual payment option with monthly VIP memberships for $49.99 or $479.99 with a 12-month commitment. The benefits of the VIP membership compared with the basic membership include access to peer networking groups that will meet every other month, the ability to contact people in the member directory, post-webinar live Q&A sessions with speakers, discounts on partner training, and $50 off each individual pass for Women of the Channel Leadership Summit live events, according to The Channel Company.

The basic membership tier gives users access to content, upcoming events, access to the member directory and the live feed, as well as an email subscription to the Women of the Channel newsletter.

“Ultimately, we want to expand our reach to as many interested folks in the tech channel [as possible]. The more members of the community, the stronger the community will be,” Stevens said. “Just like our Women of the Channel Leadership Summits, we want this to be a place people continue to come back to.”

While in-person events have largely been on hold this year, on the horizon is the Women of The Channel Leadership Summit West, currently scheduled for May 2021 in Palm Springs, Calif., and Women Of The Channel Leadership Summit East, currently scheduled for December 2021 in New York City.

Stevens is encouraging women in all stages of their career and life to “come as you are” to the new community. The Women of the Channel Leadership Network, she said, is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in the tech industry.

Prospective members can join the Women of the Channel Leadership Network by visiting TheChannelCoCommunities.com and requesting a membership.